Water pump impeller gone

[Rulebreaker]

Bought a 98 Ranger with 230,000 miles and a blown motor. Tore it down today and discovered the water pump impeller is rusted completely away. Is this common or a freak thing? The bearings are tight and it showed no signs of leaking but it certainly coudnt pump water. RB

 

[Rearanger]

...discovered the water pump impeller is rusted completely away. Is this common...

Probably due to last owner never doing maintenance on the cooling system. More water than anti-freeze doesn't help either.

 

[pcollins]

I've seen it on acouple different vehicles a few times. Mostly due to the coolant being old and eroding the impeller away.