Q: Water pump blew, found there was no oil despite having it changed a month ago. Can no oil cause a water pump to blow?

asked by on September 24, 2016

I had the oil changed in my RAV4 a month ago. The engine starting making noises a few days ago, today all kinds of lights started coming on (trac control, battery light, then finally oil light right before it blew). It showed that it was running hot but immediately dropped all the way back to cool, then the pump blew. When I raised the hood it was smoking. I checked the oil and there was no oil in the engine. There was also a belt hanging down near the right front tire. Can no oil in the engine cause a water pump to blow?

My car has 125000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

The oil works hand in hand with the cooling system to keep the engine cool. If the engine has no oil, there will be more friction inside the engine. This will cause moving parts to wear very quickly and then cause play in the valvetrain parts due to the wear. When this happens the engine starts to knock and sound really bad. If the engine is ran any longer, the water pump is very likely to blow out due to the extreme temperatures the engine is reaching. The engines cooling system is not strong enough to cool an engine that has no oil in it. I’m sorry this happened to you. If you would like more information on how water pumps work please click on the link. I am sorry this happened to you.

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