Aisin Honda water pump any good?

[JeffKeryk]

Yesterday I R&R'ed the Aisin Water Pump on our 2006 Acura TSX, mighty K24, 221K
This is the 2nd time I replaced the pump; the previous one lasted 77K and perhaps 8 years. Weird. Was starting to grind a little...

Afterwards, I YouTubed a few videos about aftermarket Honda K24 pumps. One showed the fins being a little shorter than the OE pump. Also, the aftermarket pump had straight fins while the OE had a small 90* bend to pull more fluid.

Here is the pump I used last time and again this time. It looks just like the aftermarket pump in the YT video. Feeling a little short changed... I have no idea how much the pump would cost from Acura...
Your thoughts?

 

[The Critic]

*Waits for the Aisin fanboys to chime in*

 

[M1Accord]

I am interested as well. Last time I changed timing belt and water pump I bought a Gate kit about 12 years ago for my 02 V6 Accord. The OEM belt and water pump were fine and look good. The belt looked barely used at 125k miles so I was technically 25k over on a 10 year old car.

I am buying N Aisin kit soon to do another replacement and will definitely check to see how Gate hold up and what the Aisin kit look like compared to OEM kit I still keep and the Gate kit to be replaced.

I am thankful Ymir the Gate kit I am using and need to read up about rumor of quality downfall and china infestation. I mean, made in China isn’t always equivalent of bad as iPhones are made in China and so are Jordan shoes and many high end products. It is poorly counterfeited in China is my concern.

 

[drtyler]

*Waits for the Aisin fanboys to chime in*

Nah, SKP is where its at. Aisin is overpriced.

77k miles & 8 years isn't very much. I would feel shortchanged too.

 

[The Critic]

77k miles & 8 years isn't very much. I would feel shortchanged too.

I mean, that's about how long Toyota's Aisin water pumps last....right?

 

[kschachn]

*Waits for the Aisin fanboys to chime in*

Sure why not. I mean I’ve exclusively used Aisin pumps on every Asian vehicle I’ve ever worked on, all the vehicles in my sig plus an old Camry I maintain for someone. When the timing belts come due the pumps look pristine. I also used an Aisin oil pump on that same Camry.

So why wouldn’t I be a fanboy at this point? We are talking over 1,000,000 miles of combined service and not even the hint of a failure. Should I be expecting one soon?

 

[TomYoung]

A few thoughts: First, if the replacement pump had a differently shaped impeller than the original, that would be a definite no go for most folks familiar with Honda. Second, the list of no-name, generally Chinese, knockoffs and the problems they cause, is lengthy. I think that the best advice you'll get is to use OE whenever possible. On the k24, I would have expected a much longer life than the 77k you talked about originally. That's a little weird. Since it went that far, you can probably assume that it was installed properly. If you are going aftermarket on these assemblies, including belts, you probably should stay with Aisin, or Mitsuboshi, or Acura/Honda branded or maybe Gates. My mechanic sources stuff from NAPA and swears by it, but hard to provide a provenance for those parts. In my experience, it's quite a bit more expensive compared to knockoff/Chinese brands, but certainly not big money in the long term. If you have worked on Hondas and Acuras, you'd know that the OE stuff goes in nicely and always has that correct fit feel. It's worth a million bucks.

 

[drtyler]

I mean, that's about how long Toyota's Aisin water pumps last....right?

My last Tundra had 180k on the first water pump. I only replaced it due to lack of being brave. It wasn't leaking, but I wasn't sure about trying to take it to 270k for the next scheduled timing belt.

But it was OE Toyota/Aisin. It was replaced with an aftermarket Aisin, but it did appear identical. I had an OE Toyota pump for the same engine on a different truck around the same time, and I don't recall any differences. But that is one particular application. Seems the Aisin pumps for Honda are not the same as Honda OE, I assume because Aisin is not the OEM. I really don't deal with Hondas very often.

 

[TomYoung]

Sure why not. I mean I’ve exclusively used Aisin pumps on every Asian vehicle I’ve ever worked on, all the vehicles in my sig plus an old Camry I maintain for someone. When the timing belts come due the pumps look pristine. I also used an Aisin oil pump on that same Camry.

So why wouldn’t I be a fanboy at this point? We are talking over 1,000,000 miles of combined service and not even the hint of a failure. Should I be expecting one soon?

Agree. Not really sure what the issue with Aisin is supposed to be...

 

[cptbarkey]

What does "grinding a little" mean exactly? Not familiar with that failure mode.

Bearing failure? How did you diagnose it?

If you are so concerned why did you replace it with another Aisin? Or did you? Be clear.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Sad to see Aisin pumps not doing well with Honda

The OEM pump is $95 from this Honda dealer. It could also be cheaper from other online Honda dealers. Please don't buy it from eBay or Amazon unless it's sold from AND shipped by a dealer. Sometimes dealers actually do sell on Amazon (for example, I've seen Amazon listings sold and shipped by Lee Honda in Maine)

Do you remember if the original factory pump was made by Aisin? Even if a new one from the dealer is made by Yamada now, the original installed in 2006 could've been from Aisin. These problems could've been why Honda switched suppliers.

Since Aisin is Toyota, maybe they intentionally sabotage their Honda water pumps

Aisin pumps seem to be fine for non-Honda Japanese cars.

Would you trust another aftermarket WP for the K24? GMB? NPW? Airtex? Carter? Maybe there's this GMB water pump on eBay if you don't want to spend $100 at the dealer. If GMB still makes them in Japan, you can just order a new one from Rock Auto or a similar site. Otherwise, that ebay listing will guarantee a Japan-made GMB. I don't think GMB is counterfeited as much as Aisin. Confirm with GMB if it's still made in Japan

Partsgeek has the NPW water pump. Partsgeek is a reputable site and uses Worldpac.

 

[PandaBear]

This is just my own opinion between Honda and Toyota: I noticed my Toyota tend to run at a lower cooling system psi than Honda, and there are fewer problems with cooling system on my Toyota overall. On Honda they would have different cooling pump between different engine model in the same family because the redline is higher or lower. The higher redline engine actually has a lower flow water pump!!!! Also heard about water pump cavity on the impeller if the wrong one is used online.

I personally think it is ok if you change it every timing belt job, but if you are concerned just get the OEM. Did it last as long as the OEM?

 

[JeffKeryk]

What does "grinding a little" mean exactly? Not familiar with that failure mode.

Bearing failure? How did you diagnose it?

If you are so concerned why did you replace it with another Aisin? Or did you? Be clear.

This is the third pump; OE, and 2 replacements. Both replacements were Aisin. Grinding noise from the pump; that's typical bearing noise.

I would have expected the pump to last double what I got out of it.

 

[JeffKeryk]

This is just my own opinion between Honda and Toyota: I noticed my Toyota tend to run at a lower cooling system psi than Honda, and there are fewer problems with cooling system on my Toyota overall. On Honda they would have different cooling pump between different engine model in the same family because the redline is higher or lower. The higher redline engine actually has a lower flow water pump!!!! Also heard about water pump cavity on the impeller if the wrong one is used online.

I personally think it is ok if you change it every timing belt job, but if you are concerned just get the OEM. Did it last as long as the OEM?

The K24 uses a timing chain.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Sure why not. I mean I’ve exclusively used Aisin pumps on every Asian vehicle I’ve ever worked on, all the vehicles in my sig plus an old Camry I maintain for someone. When the timing belts come due the pumps look pristine. I also used an Aisin oil pump on that same Camry.

So why wouldn’t I be a fanboy at this point? We are talking over 1,000,000 miles of combined service and not even the hint of a failure. Should I be expecting one soon?

My only complaint is the life of the pump. I service the coolant, do all the regular stuff. How many miles have you gotten out of Aisin water pumps? Curious... Thanks in advance.

I was an Aisin fanboi... Still am I guess. Who the heck knows; it's just a dang water pump, right? All good.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Sad to see Aisin pumps not doing well with Honda

The OEM pump is $95 from this Honda dealer. It could also be cheaper from other online Honda dealers. Please don't buy it from eBay or Amazon unless it's sold from AND shipped by a dealer. Sometimes dealers actually do sell on Amazon (for example, I've seen Amazon listings sold and shipped by Lee Honda in Maine)

Do you remember if the original factory pump was made by Aisin? Even if a new one from the dealer is made by Yamada now, the original installed in 2006 could've been from Aisin. These problems could've been why Honda switched suppliers.

Since Aisin is Toyota, maybe they intentionally sabotage their Honda water pumps

Aisin pumps seem to be fine for non-Honda Japanese cars.

Would you trust another aftermarket WP for the K24? GMB? NPW? Airtex? Carter? Maybe there's this GMB water pump on eBay if you don't want to spend $100 at the dealer. If GMB still makes them in Japan, you can just order a new one from Rock Auto or a similar site. Otherwise, that ebay listing will guarantee a Japan-made GMB. I don't think GMB is counterfeited as much as Aisin. Confirm with GMB if it's still made in Japan

Partsgeek has the NPW water pump. Partsgeek is a reputable site and uses Worldpac.

I don't remember the OE pump; I just swapped it out. This should be fine for another 8 years; I'm good.
Thanks for your post.

 

[PandaBear]

What does "grinding a little" mean exactly? Not familiar with that failure mode.

Bearing failure? How did you diagnose it?

If you are so concerned why did you replace it with another Aisin? Or did you? Be clear.

I had that happen once on my Integra after a top end rebuild. The sound eventually was narrowed down to a water pump I reused. It was worn out due to some engine issue (probably HG issue causes it to wear out prematurely). The bearing was loud but didn't leak, got louder after a rebuild.

 

[M1Accord]

The K24 uses a timing chain.

Easy things is that I see timing belt listed for I4 Accord, which uses timing chain. The part # is almost the same until someone here point out the minute difference. The price is $151 instead of ober $350 for the V6 kit.

My friend buy auto parts from eBay all the time. I avoid eBay. But now Amazon is becoming more like eBay too so it would be challenging to dissect what is high quality stuffs as I do need a timing belt kit for the 02 Accord V6 within 10k miles.

I had great luck with the current Gate kit at 100k miles and 12 years still running strong. I may need to see how much stealership charges and I wonder if they carry items for 02 vehicle unless the design has been unchanged in V6 models. And Honda needs to stop using timing belt. It is a money pit.

 

[cpayne5]

I replaced the OE pump on my TSX in July 2021 when it started to get a little noisy. I figure that was around 285k miles. I've since put 30k on the Aisin that I installed. We'll see...

 

[ctechbob]

I know @The Critic has had some J-Series pump issues...and we're not talking about them, but both of my High Mile J Series cars wear the Aisin pump and don't have any issues including odd noises. Lucky? Maybe, but I don't lose any sleep over it.