replace water pump ?

[celia]

Are there any videos

[FestYboy]

none that i'm aware of but there are detailed instructions somewhere in this forum (i know, i wrote them... )

if you post your locasion, we may have a member close enough that would be willing to lend a hand...

[Bert]

Not the kind of operation a novice would want to do first time out, on the other hand if you're going to, or have decided to get your hands dirty, and have access to tools, none of this is rocket science. With shop rates exceeding $100/hr these days learning how to fix your own car is well worth the effort. If not for this particular 'fix' but for getting up the courage to stop going to and trusting your repairs to other people (garages/shops) in the future.
By the way: from where geographically do you hail? There are folks on here are from Australia, UK, Iran, Chile, Phillipines, USA etc and there may well be someone here that is located close to you.

[WmWatt]

Not Festiva specifically but there's sure to be Internet videos on water pump replacement for some car or another which would be similar.
Also you might get a copy of the Haynes repair manual for the Festiva/Aspire. It's sure to be covered there too.

[kimonomyhouse]

i believe, i too, have a bad water pump. i'm looking into doing it myself, but it does seem a bit complicated. i just orderd the haynes manual and will be trying to give it a go. how can you tell if it is the water pump or the head gasket that is leaking the water? i'm in southern california. riverside to be exact. i would totally appreciate some help. also if i can't fix it or if it is too cost prohibitive i will probably sell the car. it has brand new 12 inch tires and brand new wheel bearings. would be good for parts. i'll try to find FestyBoy's post for tips. thanks.

[FestYboy]

if the headgasket is leaking, you'll either overheat really easily and quickly, and/or you'll see your coolent turn to a chocolate milk consistancy and color, OR you'll constantly see white smoke from your tail pipe and it'll smell sweet. it all depends where the leak happens in relation to your cylinders, water and oil passages.

waterpumps will present themselves with an external leak arround the pulley area, typicaly at the weep hole located on the shaft housing.

[kimonomyhouse]

cool. thank you festyboy. it happened while i was driving. i had to stop at a gas station fill it up with water. let it cool. drive down the road. stop again let it coo. fill up with water etc. to get it home. it's been sitting for a few months now. i willfill it up with water and start it up to see exactly where the leak is. the oil looks fine and i read about taking the radiator cap off starting the car and looking for bubbles. if you rev the engine and more bubbles appear it is the engine gases getting into the cooling system and you have a blown head. one thing i worry about is when this did happen on the freeway, when i lost my water, the car overheated badly and lost power before i noticed something was wrong. the last time i filled it with water and turned it on i drove it around the block and the power seemed back to normal. i hope the overheat didn't do something more serious to the engine. it has been a good car to me 8 years. i hope i can get it back on the road again.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

It could be just a leaking hose, even the little $0.71 "bypass" hose. I just discovered that was my problem on one car, but only by sticking the garden hose into the radiator, turning it on full blast, and then spotting the leak. In normal driving, it would take a week to leak out enough to overheat.

[kimonomyhouse]

It could be just a leaking hose, even the little $0.71 "bypass" hose. I just discovered that was my problem on one car, but only by sticking the garden hose into the radiator, turning it on full blast, and then spotting the leak. In normal driving, it would take a week to leak out enough to overheat.

thanks for the tip. i"m going to do some diagnostics this weekend. i have received a lot of very valuable information from all of you here on the forums. i thank you all. i will definitely try the garden hose in the radiator. my water/coolant leaks out very quickly when driving. maybe a mile or so and it's gone. i'll let you all know what i find and how it goes from there. doing all my research now on water pumps, timing belts, and head gaskets so that i can be as prepared as possible for "the big fix" as i'm calling it. lol. thanks again to all of you. especially festyboy. your information, help, and tips have been invaluable. 3 cheers for fordfestiva.com