Pro tip: check your coolant reservoir cap before buying a new water pump

Had a 2015 Ford Focus come into my shop last month with a slow coolant leak. Customer wanted to swap the water pump right away, $450 job. I decided to pressure test the system first and found the reservoir cap was cracked and couldn't hold 13 psi, so coolant was boiling over when the engine got hot. Replaced the $12 cap and the leak stopped completely. Anyone else ever catch something simple like that before throwing parts at a problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

black.mark4d ago

Yeah, that tracks.

amy_sanchez4d ago

My neighbor's cat got stuck in a tree twice last week, guess some patterns repeat no matter what.