ALT-2 Understanding how a Vehicles Water Pump Works
Think of your engine as a person, and the water pump as a heart in that person. In a way, both are dependent on some means for circulation of fluids through the system. Just like the heart, should it fail, the lack of circulation will cause a major problem for the engine. It's job is to keep the engines operating temperature in check so that it doesn't over heat.
The pump needs help to operate via a belt that is linked to the engines main pulley. As the engines rpm increases, so does the rpm of the pulley, and you can notice the increase of circulation if it were winter, and the heater produces less heat if sitting at a standstill. An occasional push on the accelerator to rev the engine a little, causes more hot water to quickly move throughout the system, as well as the heater core, and this is why you would notice an increase in heater output.
Your fluid level should be at the proper level in order for the pump to maximize what it was designed to do. If you don't have enough fluid, the pump still pumps the water, but there is less going through the system, and therefore would cause overheating. Another problem with low fluid is that your heater will only blow out hot air if you continually keep the engine at higher rpms than normal. This is because there is not enough fluid in the system for it to travel through with sufficient volume.
Your engines cooling system needs a way for the water to circulate throughout the engine so as to keep it cooler, and this is where the water pump plays it's role. The water pump is located central in the system, and it's function is to circulate the coolant with sufficient pressure, so as to constantly recycle the coolant through the radiator.
Then the radiator is where air intake pushes through the fins of the radiator, thereby cooling the water to be circulated back into the engine. Its a continuous process, and should the pump fail, you can severely damage your engine should it do so. Another way to understand a car engine's water pump is that it works the same as your washer water pump which empties out your washer.It has a pulley that is turned by a belt, and has fins internally that push the water out while pulling water in.
