(This is a long post but I am at a crossroads and honestly stumped.)


Hey my name's Hank, I am 24 years old.. I have a 2005 Hummer 2 with 102,000 miles on it. I have had this ride since march of 2013. I love this Hummer and always took care of it.. up until recently I did something very very stupid. About a month ago the weather here (TN) got down to 8 degrees. I had water in there because I was in the process of changing out the radiator due to a small crack. It never over-heated before with this crack unless i let the coolant get low, but I always kept it topped. The weather was a good 60-70 degrees constantly so I wasn't worried since I was only running it with water for 2 days. Then one night, unexpectedly the weather took a dive to 8 degrees... I woke up and went outside not even thinking about it I started the hummer.. it didn't crank up the first time so i let it sit for a second then turned it over again, it went slow then fired up. I heard one minor banging sound then I turned her off.. It then hit me, I had water in this thing...

So I opened up the reservoir and to my worst fears it was frozen SOLID. This crack was now bigger too. So I let it thaw out which it did and tried running it again. I turned it on (60 degrees outside now) and let it sit for a good 15 min. It runs very smooth and sounds perfect.. but i noticed my heat is no longer working. Then I noticed the temp guage with it at idle was running a little hot. (Little past mid way) It always ran at 210 (dead center) So I drove it slightly (not far at all) and it instantly started to run hot, even with it topped off. So I parked it and knew I was screwed.

First I ordered a new radiator and I got the original one from GM that ran about 800 dollars. We ended up getting a deal from a guy my dad knew that had these radiators and got it for 200. It is a pretty solid radiator, almost exaclty like the one that was in it. So after getting it all hooked up I fired it up and same thing happened. No heat, and the engine over-heats. So I check for leaks, nothing.. I noticed the bottom house ran cold and the rest hot so I thought, thermostat. I tested it and took the stat out and ran it for about 30min just to see and the car never over-heated. Heater still ran cold tho. So I was able to drive with no stat without over-heating (yes I know you aren't supposed to opperate without a stat)
So to my knowledge I thought.. well the engine is now getting water without a stat so that means the stat was stuck closed or wasn't able to open for some reason. So I replaced the stat. Put it in correctly and everything, fired her up and BAM. Same issue.. no heat and engine over-heating.. I took out the stat and the original and boiled them both.. they both opened which means my thermostat is good..
So now I am left stumped.. I am thinking.. could I have busted the waterpump to pieces when it was frozen? Could it be that the water pump isn't moving water correctly to open up the stat?
I am stumped on this because usually a waterpump leaks everywhere when it's bad.. and I have been told you can usually tell and that rarely it shows no physical signs when busted. But I thought since it was frozen up, that the noise I heard that day could have been the blades or the pump busting to pieces when it was frozen.

Do you guys think my issue could just be the water pump at this point? I am going to take it off and order a new one as well as the timing belt.

My radiator is good my thermostat is good, my hoses seem fine, there is no odd noises going on, the engine runs smooth as when I first got her so I don't believe its a cracked block or head gasket, no smoke coming out the back or anything. It's just a complete mystery to me.. everyone is telling me the only other thing they think is the water pump but they say they've never seen a water pump go bad without hearing it or seeing leaks everywhere.

So I am asking for everyone's opinions on here. If you have any ideas please feel free to share. Anything will help.

PS a buddy of mine suggested it could be the heater core, but from what I know I didn't think a heater core could cause a car to over-heat or keep the stat closed. There are no leaks in the cabin or anything.. and my dad honestly thinks the heater core is good.

 

Well the main components left since you've either replaced or tested the others would be the water pump or heater core. The pump is you sheered off all the vanes isn't going to leak as the seal is still good. At the same time I would think if the pump inside was frozen solid the belt wouldn't have had enough grip to destroy itself but I could be wrong. Pull the pump and see how it looks.

 

I am guessing the one minor bang you heard was the water pump failing....either the impeller is spinning on the shaft or the vanes broke off? Something let go! Let us know what you find. take pics if applicable.

 

Thanks guys, I will definitely take some pictures. Seeing as this seems to be rare to bust a pump like that, i'll load up whatever it ends up being. This whole thing has been a mystery to me. I just started working on my own vehicles too, so what a place to start. Lol. I'm hoping it is the water pump, I miss my hummer

 

UGH! The thought of being without my hummer for even a few days would depress me!

 

TELL ME ABOUT IT!!
I am going crazy driving my girlfriends honda accord haha. I miss the beast. Also if that is your hummer in your profile pic mine looks very similar. Here's two pics of mine

 

I made this post a couple days ago but I fixed my issue. Just as I suspected the waterpump showed no signs of being bad and the seals were good, but I took it out and the impeller was completely shattered from the ice. So I threw a new waterpump on and it's running great again. Got my heat back from the heater and everything. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

I would say you got very lucky.

 

I agree man. As soon as I heard that pop i shut it down and let it thaw out. I didn't run it but a few seconds frozen.. had i kept it going I would be dealing with an engine replacement right now. Just thankful me and my dad figured out the issue and got it going again!

 

lets see some pics of that water pump!!