lanb

I started hearing bad bearing noise from my water pump on my 09 RX350 while away from home. Video attached.
Mileage - ~125K and I believe it is the original pump.
No coolant leaks or high engine temps yet.

I would rather drive home (~500 miles) and get it fixed locally rather than trying to hunt down a reliable place here.
Is it safe to drive back the 500 miles or could this go bad really fast in the middle of nowhere/highway ?

Thanks for any pointers.

uksparky

Are you sure its the water pump..... pump bearing noise is a whine grinding noise that gets louder with more use...your noise is a clicking noise....if it is the bearing its about to lock up.... only way to tell is to pull the belt tensioner so the serpentine belt is loose ..grab the pump pulley and the you can tell if its about to go

lccgl479

I’m no expert, but I’m not driving 500 miles with my vehicle sounding like that. I hope it all works out well whatever you decide.

Margate330

Hi friends, no way I would chance taking the car on a trip with any unidentified noises of any kind.

To risky IMO

DennisMik

After listening to your mp3, I have no idea what is making that noise.

My experience with water pumps has been that a bad water pump is completely unpredictable as to how long it will last before totally self destructing. If you tried to drive 500 miles with a bad water pump, I would bet that you won't make it.

lanb

Thanks all, you guys were all right. We took a chance (before the replies posted) and the water pump gave up and started leaking after 150 miles. Lesson learnt .

Waiting to get it fixed after the weekend.