AC Delco Professional Water Pump - Year Seven

[Snagglefoot]

I thought I’d report in on my AC Delco Professional water pump I replaced 7 years ago. It now has 63,000 miles on the part and 128,000 miles on the 2005 Ford Taurus. Made in China. I’m thinking GM insisted on better quality manufacturing from China when they went big with them 10 years ago. I’ve been running Prestone 5 year and now Prestone 10 year coolant, changed at 5 years. Flame suit on.

 

[johnmyster]

"Higher quality." We put a man on the moon yet the auto industry has us convinced that getting two bearings and one seal to last 10 years while the company makes a profit is a scientific impossibility. It's one of the many parts that...assuming the cooling system stays clean, should last the life of the car. Which brings me to another gripe, all of today's junk "environmentally friendly" planned obsolescence coolants in a bazillion colors, that are incompatible even when the color is the same.

I say this, acknowledging that my truck is on its third WP (with a spare FCA/Cummins unit on the shelf) and the Toyota is on its second. I don't know where the mazda's WP is located and don't plan to find out.

 

[Snagglefoot]

My water pump on my 2008 Chevy 6.0 LS engine has 285,000 miles. ( I probably jinxed myself) using Dexcool and Prestone Dexcool changed every 5 years. I purchased an AC Delco water pump and it is sitting on the shelf. It might become part of my estate.

 

[D60]

"Higher quality." We put a man on the moon yet the auto industry has us convinced that getting two bearings and one seal to last 10 years while the company makes a profit is a scientific impossibility. It's one of the many parts that...assuming the cooling system stays clean, should last the life of the car. Which brings me to another gripe, all of today's junk "environmentally friendly" planned obsolescence coolants in a bazillion colors, that are incompatible even when the color is the same.

I dunno, even OAT keeps the weeds down

It's green to repurpose orange as RoundUp, no???

 

[johnmyster]

I dunno, even OAT keeps the weeds down

It's green to repurpose orange as RoundUp, no???

I can't say. It all washes down my driveway just the same.

 

[joekingcorvette]

It's nice to know there are some good parts out there. I replaced a water pump years ago on a Plymouth Horizon TC3 and it only lasted about two weeks. Good report and thanks!

 

[Capt W]

This Delco water pump is very likely a re-boxed GMB...who is the OEM for a large number of car manufacturers...and makes most Gates pumps as well. Nothing to do with GM's insistence on higher quality from China; rather, their aftermarket division simply got on board with one of the world's largest water pump manufacturers.

 

[Snagglefoot]

This Delco water pump is very likely a re-boxed GMB...who is the OEM for a large number of car manufacturers...and makes most Gates pumps as well. Nothing to do with GM's insistence on higher quality from China; rather, their aftermarket division simply got on board with one of the world's largest water pump manufacturers.

So GMB’s Chinese made water pumps are pretty good, right? Someone had to be responsible for quality control.

 

[Capt W]

They're really good IMO. Back in the 1990s (when I ran a large parts store), GMB was the primary maker of new water pumps and offered a lifetime warranty. Most were made in Korea and Japan back then. A lot of production moved to China about 20 years ago, but they're still good enough (with good QC) to be the OEM for many car companies.

The Gates timing belt and water pump kits I routinely buy have China-made GMB pumps inside. Have never had an issue with one.

 

[Fitter30]

2003 chevy astro van 4.3 250k every two years pull the bottom radiator hose flush with garden hose. Put in two gallons 50/50 a little more to top off the overflow bottle. Use concentrate mix with distilled.

 

[nwjones18]

Water pumps are a bit of a crapshoot in my experience.. I've had aftermarket ones last a decade and had one or two fail in a year. Just replaced the original pump on my Ram at 10yrs/73k miles which isn't very impressive. I do agree with Capt W that in many cases ACDelco professional = Gates = GMB. GM Genuine will be the actual OE part.

 

[willbur]

They're really good IMO. Back in the 1990s (when I ran a large parts store), GMB was the primary maker of new water pumps and offered a lifetime warranty. Most were made in Korea and Japan back then. A lot of production moved to China about 20 years ago, but they're still good enough (with good QC) to be the OEM for many car companies.

The Gates timing belt and water pump kits I routinely buy have China-made GMB pumps inside. Have never had an issue with one.

IIRC, Gates has a very bad rep here. So, is GMB bad too?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Since 2009-2010 GM increased its efforts to source parts directly from China. I’m not so sure they just went to GMB for water pumps. What other proof might be out there that GMB currently supplies AC Delco with water pumps?

 

[Capt W]

IIRC, Gates has a very bad rep here. So, is GMB bad too?

I rely upon personal experience...and take parts reputations from online forums with many grains of salt.

 

[Capt W]

Since 2009-2010 GM increased its efforts to source parts directly from China. I’m not so sure they just went to GMB for water pumps. What other proof might be out there that GMB currently supplies AC Delco with water pumps?

There is no direct proof as far as I know, but simply anecdotal evidence and logic. AC Delco (and Mopar, and Motorcraft) doesn't actually make their own aftermarket parts. GMB is (and has been) one of the world's largest Tier 1 water pump suppliers (supply parts directly to OEMs like GM, Ford, or Toyota). It's simply a fair assessment vis-à-vis water pumps, just like it's logical to assume Trico and Valeo make tons of OE wiper blades and Denso makes loads of OE switches and sensors.

They could, in fact, source their pumps from another company. My initial statement was the pumps are likely re-boxed GMB.

 

[D60]

I had an AC Delco for a Magnum fail in 4 months.

Recently I had an O'Reilly Murray for the same application (different truck) fail in under 8k miles

If I were guessing, Murray and AC Delco both use the Wuhan Institute of Water Pumpology. I really hope neither is GMB, but I have no idea who makes them except "China"

 

[Capt W]

Forgot about Murray. Last year I bought a Murray timing belt & water pump kit from a dude on ebay. Had a Mexico-made Gates belt and Chinese GMB water pump. Probably just a repackaged Gates kit.

I recently bought a Dayco timing belt & water pump kit for my 2007 Caravan. Haven't installed it yet, so went to have a look. Argentina-made Dayco timing belt, China-made Dayco-labeled water pump, China-made GMB belt tensioner, and Korea-made unbranded idler assembly. Everything seems to be a mixed bag these days. However, it's a pretty good bet the parts would all be identical if I went to the dealer's parts counter and bought it all individually.

For example, the Mopar timing belt for my van is part number 4621844. When you examine a photo of that part, the familiar Gates label is pretty obvious.