The cooling system is one of the most important components of your vehicle. The water pump will last a while, but won't last forever. It's time to replace it when your vehicle's mileage get to the upper hundred-thousands. What the water pump sends through is the coolant that the system depends on. When the pump stops working, so will your car. How to perform a check on your cooling system:

This is extremely simple. Place a large, white, absorbant piece of paper under your car at night. If it is wet, that's a sign that your water pump may be leaking. It is definitely coolant if it is green.

What if my water pump is leaking?

With the engine turned off, open the hood of your vehicle. There is a pullet connected to the pump. If you find all of the belts in the vehicle, there is more than just one pulley. Other parts of the vehicle use a pulley to operate like the alternator and maybe the air conditioner. Power steering and a smog pump will also have pulleys. A mechanic can show you the right one.

When you find the right one, see if it's loose. Grabbing it from both ends, check if you can rock it back and forth. If the pulley does have play you will be hearing the bearing that is bad. A low pitch grinding when the engine is running will be that.

The water pump is in the back of the pulley, so you can look for a leak. The pump may be working, but need a gasket. You may want to opt for a new water pump, unless you just replaced it. Other important parts. During summer, your coolant system should be working well. By performing a routine flush of the radiator it will make the system perform better and last longer. The coolant was not intended to stay in the vehicle forever. Flushing the radiator on a yearly maintenance basis is much more cost effective than having to repair a damaged radiator.