On tuesday i was driving home and i saw that the temp guage was hotter than normal
So when i got home and opened up the hood let it cool down and pulled off the radiator cap to see a bone dry radiator..

Grabbed the water hose. Filled it up and went on my way.

Thursday comes and I have a de ja vu moment and see the temp guage rising up above normal again...
Luckily i was down the street from my house. Got home and repeated what i did on thursday..

Friday comes and im going to my friends house. Glance at the temp guage and its almost to the red. borderlined.

Put some water. and take my truck home. (about a 2 minute drive)
Im turning down my street and I see steam coming through my hood.

Turn the truck off immediately and push it home. Let it cool off and checked it. The smoke was coming from down behind the main pulley. Just to the left of the thermostat.

Checked this morning and there is a puddle under my truck . Took some piks of where i think the water is coming from and where the crack is..




So is this a crack and should i be very worried??

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Hard to see from the pics, but I think it maybe the water pump that has the crack.

 

Sorry. Thats the best way i could get my hand and the camera down there to take the picture.

But It just recently started overheating. Can that be the cause??

 

Sure losing your coolant will make it over heat. Is the cracked part you see aluminum or iron? The water pump housing is aluminum (non-magnetic) where the block (iron) is magnetic.

 

When i put just straight water in my radiator would that cause any problems?

 

There's a weep hole at the bottom of the water pump. When the pump fails coolant will leak from that point.

Cold water in a hot engine is bad.

Friend of mine years ago did that and it cost him an engine.

Mind you when he did that a column of steam came out about 15 feet high for about 5 minutes. LOL. I have a pic somewhere if I can find it I'll post it.

 

Yep, straight water boils at 212* F at atmospheric pressure. If you have a leak you're probably not holding any pressure >> boiling coolant. Not to mention the electrolysis problem.