Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: artbuc
Gates belt was not from JV Unitta plant and was stiff and noisy. Bearings were GMB and water pump sounded like a jet engine. Replaced with Aisin, Koyo and Mitsuboshi. Sweet and quiet.
That is pretty much exactly my experience with the one Gates kit a friend bought and I helped him install. The belt was stiff which made it more difficult to install, plus the timing marks were off to the point where it was a guess as to the correct position. The water pump failed in about 30,000 miles by leaking out the weep hole.
Gates is the OE supplier for some and the Honda V6 kit Gates sells has the OE Koyo bearings and Japanese belt.
But I agree, Gates water pumps are pure junk now. GMB makes a better water pump than gates. The last Honda V6 I did the GMB water pump was made in Thailand and has worked well so far. Beck Arnely use to sell Japanese water pumps but the last batch I saw were made in China.