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This is what it sounds like when your 5.7 water pump goes bad

46K views 28 replies 23 participants last post by  Cmh238 
#1 ·
Late last week I began to hear a growl from somewhere. Then it became louder and I could tell it was coming from the engine bay.

And here I am trying to figure out where in the engine bay until I finally hit on it at the end... the water pump.

Unfortunately, my dealer (Central in Norwood, MA, who is great btw) couldn't take me car for another 2 weeks, so I ended up going to a local independent and he's putting in a MOPAR water pump from... Central Dodge in Norwood.

But in case you're not sure what a failing water pump sounds like, here it is (video):

https://goo.gl/photos/uLgfGHhsr5WcKbsN8
 
#2 ·
Mine went out 2 weeks ago. Apparently it's a common failure.
 
#3 ·
That's a weird sound. I never would have thought that was from a bad water pump. I hope to actually never hear that, but if I do, this video will immediately come to mind. Thanks for the tip.
 
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#4 ·
Had quite a few water pumps fail in my day but dont remember them making any funny sounds. the obvious clues were allways an overheating engine and water leaking at the front of engine right below the water pump. The thing didnt overheat or leak? It just started making funny noises?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Nope, no overheating, no leaking, just noise. I had a water pump in my old Audi A6 go the same way. The bearings corrode, become pitted, and then stick together. The bearings make a racket once they stop rolling along smoothly.

$440 replacement cost at an independent shop using a MOPAR OEM pump.


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#8 ·
I'm at 79.5k
 
#10 ·
My 5.7 made a different sound, but an increasingly loud sound that came on rather quickly. I heard it from the driver's seat. No leaking water or overheating, just a noise that made me worry about taking a trip. I had 45K miles which seems way too low for that issue. It was a drive train warranty repair and I hope the new part was modified to correct the flaw since it seems rather common.
 
#11 ·
Rob, mine went out at 37K. The 5.7 has a nasty habit of this from what the techs were telling me.
 
#12 ·
But in case you're not sure what a failing water pump sounds like, here it is (video): https://goo.gl/photos/uLgfGHhsr5WcKbsN8
I had a '13 Dodge Durango R/T (5.7) and it started making that exact sound at 30K miles. Was indeed a failing water pump and they replaced it under warranty. Said it was a known issue with Hemi engines, but I haven't seen any Challengers (besides you) have issues.
 
#18 ·
The water pump on my 2010 R/T died while on the interstate hundreds of miles from home when on vacation last summer...fun. Only 55k on the engine.

Started hearing some belt squealing and noticed the temp gauge rising. Luckily I caught it before toasting the engine. The shop told me the bearings seized.
 
#20 ·
My '09 water pump sounded worst than that. It lasted about 60 miles and then blew the seal right as I pulled into the garage. How lucky was that?

If it is bad, you will be able to wiggle the water pump pulley a little (engine off naturally). A good one won't have any play.
 
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#24 · (Edited)
I hope an after market company designs an improved water pump that I can put on my Challenger before my water pump goes out. Sounds like Dodge used too small or weak of a bearing for the load being put on it. Because all the bad pumps I have heard or read about are bearings failing the only one I have heard that were leaking were caused by the bearing wearing out and letting the shaft wobble and destroy the water seal. On my Oldsmobiles from the 50's and 60's none of them have air conditioning I always buy and install the water pumps made for the air condition cars as they have a larger stronger bearing than non air cars because of the increased load on the pump form the air conditioning compressor running on the water pump belts. I have never had a bearing fail after installing the air condition water pump on those cars. But with 99.9% of cars having air these days their is no factory heavy duty pump for air conditioned cars anymore.
 
#25 ·
I just did 100K/5 year cooling system service on my 2012 R/T w/5.7 hemi.......coolant pump is in great shape, no weeping or signs thereof, no noise, all good and no play. My car gets a lot of extended highway use and is in perfect running condition, so it seems a bit strange that some of us got crappy components from Mopar. I currently have 100,226 miles on my car, love driving it.
I'm thinking that a small percentage of these parts are bad from the factory myself, as my car definitely appears to be a Wednesday-built car with its lack of problems over the last 5 years(only the air bag light staying on, unplug/plug in seat harness fixed that, and the dreaded blend door actuator which was a $24 fix using an aftermarket replacement)and its continued great performance. Even my clutch is in great shape and still works perfect.
I will be looking into buying a spare coolant pump for my ride, easy to change and relatively inexpensive. I also do all my own work on my vehicle as a retired mechanic......works for me!:5::smile:
 
#28 ·
Mine just took a dump on me two days ago. 2015 Durango r/t hemi 5.7 with 32kmiles. First got a low battery light, then I noticed the temp. gauge start to rise to about halfway, heard the belt squeak, decided to get off the parkway, Looked in my mirror and noticed steam coming from under car. By the time I got off the highway I had coolant everywhere. its all covered under warranty but they want me to pay $130 for the belt Because it’s not covered. A $30 belt? So if the water pump needs to be changed don’t they have to remove and reinstall the belt anyway? With all Im hearing on this thread about the bearings seizing up I'm not paying for a new belt if it was caused by a faulty water pump. Gonna call them in the morning and cry about it. Lol.
 
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