Which Water Pump to buy?

[George7941]

I am about to change a water pump on a 1997 Chevy Diesel Van(I had a previous post about it). My three options on the water pump are
a) New GM pump for $233.80 Cdn.
b) Rebuilt GM pump for $163.40 Cdn.
c) New ASC water pump from a parts store for $205 Cdn. This one comes with the pump mounting gaskets.


I am leaning towards the ASC water pump. Any opinions?




































4

 

[NYEngineer]

I don't know what brand pump I bought, but when the pump started leaking on my Yukon at 63,000 miles, I bought a rebuilt pump at Auto Barn. The truck has 193,000 miles on it now on that very same pump. I can't remember how much it was, but I remember it was very inexpensive and I thought it wouldn't last long.

 

[alanu]

Domestic cars are in for a real BIG PROBLEM now.

Your new AC Delco waterpumps are all made in china. I'd trust a Fenco rebuild compared to an inconsistant QC of the offshore ones.

All import cars I ever do will get japanese made waterpumps either OE or NPW. Worldpac has a huge selection for most imports. As for domestics there is virtualy no north american made pumps now and all are basically made offshore.

I run a shop and I absolutely hate comebacks due to defective products. Every time I do a water pump with a "NEW", "NO CORE" written on the box I get a bad feeling. I have used hundreds and hundreds of japanese pumps for imports and I have yet to have a leaking defective pump.

Just today I was working on a Kia sportage. Order a Fenco NEW offshore POS. There is only 1 water pump available for that 2000 model. The waterpump drive gear didn't even match the timing belt. There must be thousands of those waterpumps that are absolutely useless due to a blind eye to QC.

 

[TallPaul]

Rebuilt or remanufactured? I understand there is a difference. Way I was taught, rebuilt they just replace the bad parts, but remanufactured is completely re-constructed from the core with all new parts.

 

[Merkava_4]

Which one has the LIFETIME WARRANTY?

That's the main thing right there. I would never buy a water pump without a lifetime warranty. Have you checked the price of one at NAPA?

 

[alanu]

I think most pumps will be labelled as remanufactured not rebuilt.

We are seriously in a different age. Quality control is so sketchy in offshore (china/taiwan) products. Customers/people dont like to get fixed twice

shops loose money doing warranty work.

I've had the bypass tube on new fenco pumps bent improperly.

 

[George7941]

It takes many hours of work to change the water pump on this diesel van, it makes the warranty a very minor consideration. I definitely would not want to do the job twice.

Alanu's info makes my choice difficult. I did not want to go for the rebuilt one but,apparently, that might be the best route to take. I can get Fenco from my jobber. I will e-mail ASC and ask where their pump is made, I expect it will be Chinese/Taiwanese made.

 

[Merkava_4]

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It takes many hours of work to change the water pump on this diesel van, it makes the warranty a very minor consideration.

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I don't know why you say that. How would you like to spend $200+ on a water pump and have it fail right after the 90 day warranty? I've had that happen to me in the past, only I didn't spend anywhere near that figure.

As far as parts being made in China/India, there's no way in !@#$% I would ever put one on my vehicle. I know there's got to be a domestic built water pump for your van somewhere. I tried checking the NAPA site, but their server is asleep. This country needs to manufacture something besides hamburgers and pizza.

 

[punisher]

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It takes many hours of work to change the water pump on this diesel van, it makes the warranty a very minor consideration.

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I don't know why you say that. How would you like to spend $200+ on a water pump and have it fail right after the 90 day warranty?

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The better/more reliable/higher quality part doesn't necessarily have a better warranty. Autozone lifetime guarantees on electrical components are example #1. In a situation where the labor is a PITA and is very time consuming, it is wise to look for the best quality part regardless of warranty. Some jobs are just such a pain I have no problems paying for the part,regardless of a great warranty, that keeps me from having to do it over again.

 

[Merkava_4]

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It takes many hours of work to change the water pump on this diesel van, it makes the warranty a very minor consideration.

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I don't know why you say that. How would you like to spend $200+ on a water pump and have it fail right after the 90 day warranty?

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The better/more reliable/higher quality part doesn't necessarily have a better warranty. Autozone lifetime guarantees on electrical components are example #1. In a situation where the labor is a PITA and is very time consuming, it is wise to look for the best quality part regardless of warranty. Some jobs are just such a pain I have no problems paying for the part,regardless of a great warranty, that keeps me from having to do it over again.

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So you're saying a part can be of better quality and yet still have a limited warranty? I had always thought that a high quality durable-good like an auto part would accompany a lifetime warranty.

 

[TallPaul]

Or is a lifetime warranty a gimmick where they figure 90% of people will fail to use the warranty. When the garage door repairman was out, he told me the different years of warranty were the same door, so no better quality for the longer warranty. That was one particular brand of door. Others may be different.

 

[Greaser]

Purchased an ASC water pump for my 2001 Jeep TJ last year with 145,000km on it at the time.Installed the Canadian Tire replacement because it was new,had a lifetime warranty,had the best price and was made in the U.S.A.Now have 163,000 on the Jeep and it runs great.I will use this warranty because I keep mt vehicles till the tires fall off,then I buy bigger ones and keep on runnin' it.

 

[punisher]

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So you're saying a part can be of better quality and yet still have a limited warranty? I had always thought that a high quality durable-good like an auto part would accompany a lifetime warranty.

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Sure. As TallPaul pointed out, sometimes it is a gimmick. If you make a part cheap enough, you can afford more returns and still turn a profit, and the "Lifetime Warranty" sticker does look good on a box.

Sometimes the parts chains do sell the exact same pumps that are available at the dealer as well as offer a cheaper price and a better warranty to boot, ie. years ago Autozone sold Aisin (Toyota OEM) pumps that were exactly the same as the ones that were sold at the dealer.

 

[George7941]

Here is the reply I received from ASC re. origin of water pump.



George,

We are a global company and therefore our water pumps consist of components from all over the globe. They are assembled and tested in our facility which is in North Canton, Ohio.
Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Thank you for your interest in our products.

Best Regards,





It looks promising, the pumps are all assembled and tested in the USA. I think I will try out the ASC pump.

 

[va3ux]

Interesting thread. I'm gearing up to replace the water pump in my Chrysler 2.7 V6 before it fails - and most of them have failed long before the mileage I have. Because the water pump is inside the engine, you basically only get one shot at this: if the pump leaks, it leaks straight into the crankcase and destroys the engine in short order. If a typical external water pump leaks, well...so it dribbles on the driveway and creates a bit of inconvenience, but that's about it.

This leaves me with a small dilemma, and that is who's pump should I use ? Price isn't the issue here. The existing pump is the original OEM and it seems to have done well. But many of them haven't. Plus with Chrysler's recent financial woes, you can imagine them cutting costs everywhere possible and going with a cheaper supplier for the pump. So perhaps the replacement Mopar water pump I get won't be the same quality as the original. Or, perhaps it will.

Then I see pumps on the internet from ASC, Airtax, GMB and Cardone, but I don't know anything about them. Are they any better, any worse, the same ? Who knows.

This internal water pump thing is a real PITA.

 

[falconman]

I recently went on a wild goose chase trying to find an American made water pump for a Ford truck I recently worked on. I finally got an ASC water pump which was assembled in USA "of domestic and imported parts". ASC and Airtex are the only pumps I know of which are assembled in America (I believe ASC owns Airtex now).

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Then I see pumps on the internet from ASC, Airtax, GMB and Cardone, but I don't know anything about them. Are they any better, any worse, the same ? Who knows.

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In my experiences, ASC and Airtex are good, GMB are junk, and as for Cardone, their remans are just like any other remans; sometimes very good and sometimes they're junk. I don't know anything about Cardone's new water pumps,though.

 

[Axe Man]

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Just today I was working on a Kia sportage. Order a Fenco NEW offshore POS. There is only 1 water pump available for that 2000 model. The waterpump drive gear didn't even match the timing belt. There must be thousands of those waterpumps that are absolutely useless due to a blind eye to QC.

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As a former Kia Sportage owner and member of multiple internet forums dealing with the Sportage this does not surprize me.

The water pump you received was for the SOHC engine. This engine was available only in 1995 and then dropped. The optional engine in 1995, and then standard engine from 1996 to 2002 was the DOHC. The timing gear on the water pump SOHC vs DOHC are different. Jobber lists have been inaccurate for years and the water pump specified for the DOHC engine is actually for the SOHC engine only. Numerous individuals have encountered this before. You are not the first.

The only way to guarantee that you get the proper water pump for the DOHC engine is to purchase it directly from a Kia Dealer. Yes, you (and your customer) will pay a premium price for the water pump but you will get the CORRECT pump.

 

[alanu]

Axe Man,

Good info indeed. I was trying to save some money for the customer/friend so I decided to get the fenco becuase its "new" and she's selling it in 8-12 mths. For 20 dollars more (my cost) I got a japanes made NPW brand which worked perfectly.

People are just not aware of the scary things that are going on in the manufacturing world. When it comes to water pumps I'll use japanese pumps for pretty much all import cars. Domestics its virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find a US/Canada made pump. Before I would MAKE the customer buy a new (North American) pump or decent results using fenco rebuilt water pumps.

I just put in a Bosch rebuilt starter in a ford pickup truck. Guess where it was rebuilt?? China...yes indeed. So Bosch is shipping cores all the way over to China to get things rebuilt for the rest of the world. The only concern is quality control. I dont hate overseas products I just hate the sketchy quality control issues.

If your looking at a huge part of AC delco its no longer made in USA. You wanna set of ignition wires for your beloved Chevy??? AC Delco wiresets are made in guess where??? Yup China.

 

[George7941]

Here is an update. I changed out the water pump a few days ago. I went with the ASC pump, it cost me $205Cdn. Pump looked well made and is working well now.

Another vote for Dexcool, the old pump was very clean inside and there were no signs of erosion on the impeller. The van has always had Dexcool, never saw any reason to switch.

I changed the front crank seal while I was at it and replaced a engine oil cooler line. GM wanted $180 for the line, I said, No, Thank you, and replaced the line with 300* rated pushloc hose and pushloc fittings, it cost me a total of $40 to fabricate the line.