Hello,

My '09 Clubman is in the shop at the moment for a coolant leak. They told me that it's leaking in two locations: at the Thermostat and at the Coolant Pump. Total cost to repair $1580.

My question is: Is the "coolant pump" a different component than the "water pump"? I've searched and can't find a clear distinction.

The reason I ask is that my "auxiliary water pump" was replaced exactly 23 months ago as part of this recall effort. So, I still have 1 month of warranty left on that part. However, the service adviser is telling me that this time it's a part called the "coolant pump". The trouble is that I'm looking at part stores online and engine diagrams for the N14 motor, yet can't find anything called a "coolant pump", only "water pump"

Even on my repair invoice from 2012, they interchange these two terms. In one area the adviser inserts the "Perform Auxiliary Water Pump Recall" action into the checklist of items to be performed during that service appt, yet later in the tech's description he says "replaced aux coolant pump as per recall".

So, I'm a bit confused, and this distinction could save me over $900.

Thanks much for your help!

 

The water pump is the coolant pump. Just using different language for it.

 

Yes, and the "auxiliary water pump" is different than the "water/coolant pump". Almost $1600, seems very high. I would certainly take it to an independent, should save you hundreds..

 

Same thing....coolant pump is likely more "technically" correct....
Kinda like the difference between a "motor" and an engine...
Just be 100% honest with your SA...
CALL UP...say my "aux water pump/coolant pump is still under warrenty...was done 23 months ago...is the part you are changing the same or is it different...explain this to me".
Simple. The sa's job is to be the go between the shop and the customer...the middleman...ASK...don't be afraid of asking a question and sounding dumb.

 

This.

 

ok, so this must be it then. The "aux pump" was replaced as part of the recall and now it's the main "pump". I'll clarify that with the SA today when I pick up the car.

a couple of notes in response to some statements made above:
- I actually did have this phone conversation with my SA previously, he said the "water pump" and the "coolant pump" were two different parts. However I wasn't convinced he knew what he was talking about technically...especially considering he kept referring to my tachometer (which is rattling like crazy at 2,000 RPM) as the speedometer.

- The $1580 cost was to replace both the pump and the thermostat, since the leak was in two places. Apparently it involves removing the bumpers and other time-consuming tasks. I'm sure it could've been done cheaper at an independent shop, but I also had a few other items being taken care of under my extended maintenance warranty, so just wanted to keep it easy from a time perspective.

Thanks again folks, much appreciated!

 

By technical definition a "motor" converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. An "engine" converts heat energy to mechanical energy! At least in the tech school I went to!!

 

This is a great resource for identifying all of the components of the Cooper S (N14), in case anyone is interested:
http://www.penskeparts.com/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=50031

The 11-Engine section clearly shows the difference between the "Coolant Pump" of the Waterpump-Thermostat system vs the "Auxiliary Water Pump" of the Turbocharger Cooling System.


Waterpump-Thermostat:



Turbocharger Cooling System:


Had I found this set of diagrams earlier, I wouldn't have had to bother you fine folks!

 

+1. EE Degree tells me so