Water Pump Replacement

[willbur]

Greetings-
Interesting that water pump manufacteurs indicate some weep hole seepage is normal. One says to monitor coolant level for a month.If it doesn't go down, seepage from the weep hole is insignificant. One Detroit car company sent out a TSB that it is normal, too. I wonder how many water pumps are needlessly replaced because of weep hole leakage? Just saying...

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Gates water pumps are excellent and a good value. I have used 3 in my own personal projects with no issues yet. Aisin is also another excellent brand.

While they are in there, you should get the timing belt and tensioners replaced at the same time, i'm very surprised they did not mention this to you.


Maybe because it doesn't use one?

Op. Go with Aisin they are an OEM supplier and very good quality. Sell the Gates on fleabay or toss it in the trash, its cheap junk.

 

[The_Eric]

IMO, I'd steer far away from Chinese pumps. I've used my fair share, either by choice or because the boss said to put it on. The one I put on (a Bosch on my personal car) leaked within a couple of months. I've had several others leak at work too. For me personally, it's OE or OE supplier from now on.

 

[andyd]

Hmmp, Back in '05 when I bought Marina's 528e , I replaced a bunch of stuff , just because, to baseline. One was the water pump. Because I had gotten good service from GMB pump, I bought it again. 8 yrs, and 75 k miles later, it is weeping.Copiously, of late. I got another GMB, Hecho in China. I'm going with it. The 528e has a float switch in the expansion tank that triggers a light when it gets low.

 

[Silverado12]

Check it for play. If there is any, replace it. I have seen pumps that didn't leak a drop until the bearing went south, but it will give you some warning. I also wouldn't replace unless it showed some signs of going bad (but def check the weep hole AND bearing play).

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: Trav

Maybe because it doesn't use one?


thanks bro, move along now.

 

[MysticGold04]

So here's what I'm thinking:

Rockauto for Aisin pump and a new Dayco tensioner
Coolant from Amazon.com (2 Gallons)
Local Indy Shop labor

Total cost $325.00 vs Water Pump only from Toyo dealer $410.00

* I might as well price out Rad hoses too - as those are the originals, almost 10 years old.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: MysticGold04
What would you do?


I would keep the money in a bank account and wait for it to actually go bad. Its not timing belt driven, so let it go until it actually needs replacing.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: surfstar
I would keep the money in a bank account and wait for it to actually go bad. Its not timing belt driven, so let it go until it actually needs replacing.

Too-sensible advice; nobody on BITOG would ever follow it.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: MysticGold04
So here's what I'm thinking...


I don't say this to be a jerk (though it may come across that way)...but if that's what makes you feel better, replacing the pump, then you should do it. After a casual glance at this thread, it appears that more than half of the suggestions are to leave it alone. That would be my suggestion, too.

However, there is a risk associated with not spending the money now. If you plan to keep this vehicle well into the future, you can probably plan on spending it at some point. And things like this somehow find a way of happening at the most inconvenient time. The water pump *should* give you enough warning of future failure, but I wager that they sometimes do not. If you spend the money now on a quality water pump (the Aisin pump will be a good pump), you can probably rest assured that you won't have to spend it again, and you can rest assured that you have removed most of the risk of continuing to drive with an older water pump.

There's also a risk with replacing the pump now. You will be replacing a pump that you know works with one that you don't know works. It's a new part, and from a good manufacturer, so it's probably good. Just recognize that there's risk both ways, no matter what you do.

It's whatever makes you most comfortable. Life is all about risk management, and some of is are tolerant of more risk than others. You can educate yourself about the potential of failure from boards such as this, but only you can make the decision on what is right for your family.

 

[zzyzzx]

I would go to an auto parts store and look at the Dayco tensioner and see if I liked it before I bought it. IMO, I would tend to get OE, Gates, or Goodyear before I bought a Dayco tensioner. I do like some of Dayco's other stuff, but some of the tensioners I have seen I would not put in any of my cars (like the OE one has a metal idler and the Dayco has a plastic one, and on another car the Dayco aftermarket tensioner is thicker than the OE one and there is already a space constriction in that area).

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
I would go to an auto parts store and look at the Dayco tensioner and see if I liked it before I bought it. IMO, I would tend to get OE, Gates, or Goodyear before I bought a Dayco tensioner. I do like some of Dayco's other stuff, but some of the tensioners I have seen I would not put in any of my cars (like the OE one has a metal idler and the Dayco has a plastic one, and on another car the Dayco aftermarket tensioner is thicker than the OE one and there is already a space constriction in that area).

I agree that Dayco tensioners seem cheaply made. I installed one on my mother's Jeep Grand Cherokee about 2 years ago, and it did not seem as good as the OEM unit. However, it is holding up fine, so maybe it just appears cheaply made. The OEM unit also used plastic pulleys, so no loss there.

 

[tnt31]

I put a Dayco tensioner on a 2000 Dodge Durango. Quality seemed fine. Only has about 20k miles on it so cannot comment on it's long term durability yet.