Can someone please explain whether or not the water inlet tube (19 in the illustration) would be able to stay connected firmly to the water pump inlet if it is missing the bolt on the bracket that mounts it to the block? This is assuming the car is daily driven normally over the course of a year or so . I need the explanation to be as in depth as possible please. I am compiling some information for a small claims court suit I have against a local dealership.



Thanks guys.

 

Ask them why they put the bolt there if it is not needed.It is there for a reason.

 

Thanks for the response- That was exactly my point, I've tried to explain to the best of my knowledge but right now it's a "their tech vs. your opinion" type of thing. So I'm trying to find a more detailed explanation from others who are more knowledgeable than myself.

 

coolant is a lubricant of sorts. I just rebuilt my motor, and had that tube in my hand not too long ago. When I was reassembling the motor, I sprayed a little WD-40 on the O-ring (item 20 in your picture) that mates the tube to the water pump so I didn't pinch/crimp the O-ring. It slid in like butter. It slides out like butter to! Without that hold-down bolt, keeping it in place, I can see the pressure within the radiator causing enough coolant leak-by past the O-ring to lubricate it, and allow it "pop" right out of the water pump.

From the engineer in me though (I do have a degree in chemical engineering), I can see how the pressure in the coolant system is going to be applied equally in all directions, and there should be NO driving force to pop the connection loose.

Either way, it's going to be a hard argument to win. If you can somehow convince them that they will spend more money defending their position in a court of law vs. the amount of money they would spend to fix your car, you stand a good chance.

 

Thanks for the response dubble, I appreciate it. The interesting thing is, when the problem initially happened, I also used the same process (WD40 on the o-ring), plugged the coolant pipe into the water pump inlet and it held fine at idle. But as soon as I gave so much as a blip on the accelerator pedal it would pop off and coolant would start draining. I actually tried this twice, the 2nd time I waited about 5 hours or so after plugging inlet pipe into the water pump.

The dealer's argument as that there is a "seal" (a physical item in their explanation) on the inlet pipe that keeps it held in place, so I was able to drive around with no bolt in the inlet pipe until this "seal" broke...Which coincidentally was 20 minutes after picking my car up from them my shifter linkage bushings. I found no such thing other than the rubber o-ring, which was in fine shape.

Edit: I see you are in Houston as well, stay away from Conroe Mitsubishi lol.

 

the only seal is the o-ring. But it sounds like you already know that! Best of luck to you my friend.