3rd time's the charm (Cruze water pump)?

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I've made a habit of checking coolant level and the area around the water pump for wetness whenever I pop the hood on my Cruze. That happens about every few weeks. The engine has a water pump that's known to be flaky, and the car's on its third water pump. Sure enough, the latest check reveals wetness around the pump impeller shaft, and the coolant is down 1/2". Back to the dealer it goes. I'm hoping that visiting the dealer a third time for this issue in 10 months will get me a pump that lasts. The first one lasted 78k miles, while the two replacements haven't fared anywhere near as well. Here's hoping that a third visit, and fourth pump, fixes the issue.

Cost-wise, GM keeps footing the bill and the dealer's willing to shuttle me to/from work, so I'll keep playing this game until the 150k mile warranty on the pump is up. By then odds are it should have a pump good enough to take the car past 200k miles.
 
Wow news to me, how can you mess up something that simple? Did they go electric or some kind of volume/demand adjusting complex model?
 
I'm confused - aren't the water pumps on only a select number/production period of the 1.4l Cruze's suspect? I did not think the problem was widespread so I'm suprised you about to be on your 4th.
 
I traded in my Cruze because they couldn't (or wouldn't) fix the coolant loss/smell issue.

This is a wide-spread problem with the Cruze.

Do car companies ever fire the 'engineers' that make these design mistakes?
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Wow news to me, how can you mess up something that simple? Did they go electric or some kind of volume/demand adjusting complex model?


Nope, just a standard water pump.

Originally Posted By: oilboy123
Delco pump? Makes you wonder if something is not right with pulley alignment, or something?


I've been wondering if it needs a new belt myself. The current one looks visually to be in fine shape, but it is 3 years/97k miles old.

Originally Posted By: 99Saturn
I'm confused - aren't the water pumps on only a select number/production period of the 1.4l Cruze's suspect? I did not think the problem was widespread so I'm suprised you about to be on your 4th.


It's almost enough to make me wonder if it's not installation error instead of bum parts. But until GM balks at paying, I'll keep getting it replaced on their dime. Even if it needs to go back a few more times.

My car has never had the "coolant smell" issue, despite eating coolant.
 
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It's been in multiple times for the same repair. I think I would explain the situation/show receipts and get another dealer involved.

If they are banging their head against the wall and getting the same result. They are wasting both of your time.......
 
Not necessarily the most appropriate place to say this, but I remember when I retired my '98 Chevy and bought a '13 Hyundai and posted that thread on here, I remember receiving a few questions about why I didn't get another Chevy and a few suggestions that outright stated that I should've gotten another Chevy.

I didn't feel comfortable at all with the Cruze (not to mention there are no 2 door models made) and when I read stuff like this in addition to other stuff such as the recalls, this makes me look at my decision with much more confidence.

Not to say that my ownership of the '13 Hyundai has been 100% perfect, but there are no problems of this nature this to report. Mine have all been cosmetic and I'll take that over cooling system issues anytime.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I traded in my Cruze because they couldn't (or wouldn't) fix the coolant loss/smell issue.

This is a wide-spread problem with the Cruze.

Do car companies ever fire the 'engineers' that make these design mistakes?


Well,GM did fire that DeGeorgio guy at the center of the Cobalt ignition switch issue...ONLY after they got caught.
 
The hassle of dealing with this 3 different times must be annoying. My '91 Camry water pump lasted 250k before I changed out the timing belt/ tensioner and it was recommended to change the pump as preventative maintenance. The original was working great. With 305K on the car now, the Autozone pump is working great.

I thought about getting a Cruze at one time but things like this are worrisome to a degree. I've always liked my Chevys, but they are 14 years old now and are still easy to work on. The newer cars don't seem to be anymore.

I hope this pump lasts as long as you have the car.
 
This is nuts!!! The shortest I've ever had a water pump last was probably the one on the '89 Town Car. It was replaced in the late 90's when the car was around 10 years old. The Ford one that was put back on is still on it. The one on my Mustang engine is original, as is the one on the Expedition, M5 and Charger.
 
The coolant loss/smell from my Cruze seemed to be related to surge tank venting.

There were so many possibilities as to where the coolant might be going (several different threads on the Cruzetalk forum with hundreds of pages of posts).

After several trips to the dealer with no satisfaction I realized that GM either couldn't fix the problem or wouldn't because it would cost too much.

I held off bringing it in to the dealer until they actually found a fix but it never happened. (In all those threads on Cruzetalk I never saw a satisfactory solution). The moderators said that GM knew about the issue and was working on a solution but that apparently wasn't the case.

I should have known better when I read that Daewoo did much of the engineering of the Cruze.

I will never buy a new GM again because of the way they handled this.
 
Originally Posted By: JetStar
So reading the OP, these are leaking at the shaft seal? How are they driven?


Standard belt-driven water pump. It's a cheap $0.20 bearing shaft seal that's failing. Spec a better bearing seal and the problem wouldn't be happening.

And, why would I fork over money at this point in time to do it myself when GM will fix it on their dime for a bit longer? I likely could fix it properly. But, since it's under warranty, it's their issue to fix. Let them take the hit in the bank account.
 
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