Reliable water pump brands?
- Thread starter 97prizm
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How far did the original get you? Amortize the price difference of the OE (AC Delco?) over those miles and compare it to the frustration cost of having to replace some cheap W/P because it was, well, cheaper.
Melling. They’ve been making oil pumps for decades and expanded into water pump’s several years ago. I put one on my Chevy 5.3 and was impressed with the quality of the machining and a 3 year warranty. At the time it was priced about the same as AC/Delco and not a job I wanted to do every couple of years so I was good with spending a few extra dollars.
I have an AC Delco professional on my Ford Taurus. I installed it 6 years ago and it has 60,000 miles on it. This is a no brainer. A $29 water pump in 2025?
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I think that they are all equally terrible "white box" quality made in China. I bought mine from a local auto parts store (Advance Auto) and saved the receipt and got a new one for free. This was for a GM 3400 engine, which has a really easy water pump to change out. If you have a GM V6 engine (unlikely in a Cavalier?) it's probably the same.
From what Rock Auto has, get the GMB. They are an OE supplier to GM and others, though they might not necessarily have been OE on your Cavalier.
In installed a made in Thailand GMB water pump on a 3800 last year, and no problems so far
In installed a made in Thailand GMB water pump on a 3800 last year, and no problems so far
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It’s important to realize the advances in Chinese manufacturing in the last ten years. Sorry, but it’s true. A lot of experience on this board dates back many years prior to that.
I needed a water pump for my daily-driver Jeep around 2019 and could not wait for a mail-order part. So I decided to purchase a new Murray water pump from O'Reilly's with the Lifetime Warranty. As expected, it was made in China; however, the casting quality and fitment was exemplary, as was the included gasket.
It is still working to perfection today after ~50,000 miles and I consider it money well spent.
It is still working to perfection today after ~50,000 miles and I consider it money well spent.
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When I went through this decision in 2019 for a 2011 Buick, I decided GM OE. Two reasons…..it was made in Canada, and, it came with the 6 water pump bolts. The bolts were like $4 ea at the dealer so for $114 (at the time) I decided it was worth it over aftermarket which was around $70.
If you have a Euro vehicle;
My Volvo specialist in Winnipeg replaced the water pump on my Volvo with aftermarket parts at least twice (maybe 3 times) over a period of 6 years. When I got back to Edmonton and the water pump failed again, my Volvo specialist there said the problem was using aftermarket parts. He replaced it with a Volvo part and it never failed again.
In Winnipeg, it seemed that saving money was a motto. But for a Volvo, saving money on parts cost me a lot.
In Winnipeg, it seemed that saving money was a motto. But for a Volvo, saving money on parts cost me a lot.
If it is the 2.2 (the 2.4 may be the same pump) I would go with this one for $48. Do it once and put it to bed.
https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts/gm-pump-kit-88926237.html
I have the 2.2. It looks as if it doesn't have the pulley included. Second when I put my vehicle information in it says it can't determine if it fits my application. Not sure why.
That is NOS, if you look at Delco it fits the same part# GM Part # 88926237 so it definitely fits. Use the old pulley which is common.
https://parts.gmc.com/product/acdel...291,117942,117920,163979,117919,119296,115075
https://parts.gmc.com/product/acdel...291,117942,117920,163979,117919,119296,115075
Don't bother with AC Delco. They dont make parts any longer. Its just a box with a China part inside like any other cheap brand
But new old stock (NOS) might be better.
Gotta keep those old Cavaliers running! I'm inclined to lean towards OEM when it comes to water pumps. My Cavalier is an ecotec, but I put an aftermarket water pump on it and it didn't last a super long time. So after that one I found a deal on an OEM one from Amazon I think. I'm disappointed to see that Rock Auto doesn't have an OEM option. ACDelco Gold isn't quite it. This one maybe?
https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-252-...349&sprefix=88926237+water+pum,aps,136&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-252-...349&sprefix=88926237+water+pum,aps,136&sr=8-1
NOS might have bad a seal already.
I doubt that, NOS for that part may only be a few years ago. Many parts today are going to be NOS like some Akebono Pads, as of Dec 2025 they are closing the Elizabethtown US factory so USA made stuff may be available for a couple of years. Mexico and China are where they will produce after Dec.
