Which water pump to buy?

Well its time for a new waterpump and fan clutch, does anyone have advice on which ones to get, they all seem to look the same and have 1 year warrentys.Or should i fork over the bucks at the stealership and get the factory stuff.Thanks

Factory for the fan clutch and just get a rebuilt waterpump for about $20 bucks at the local parts store. Last just as long. Juice

juicexj24 said:

Factory for the fan clutch and just get a rebuilt waterpump for about $20 bucks at the local parts store. Last just as long. Juice

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I agree. I spent about $200 for a flowkooler pump. I'm assuming it's pumping at double speed, but don't really notice it. Would have gone aftermarket rebuilt had I known and saved $$. I put a fixed spacer instead of the clutch. Robbed hp, but keeps my hot XJ cool. That was something like $10 at quadratec.

Get one at either Autozone or Kragen.... The GMB Units that they carry have a lifetime warranty

First remember how important a working water pump is for any engine. If it fails and you over head bad you may be buying a new engine. Less likely with a cast iron engine but still possible.

I do recommend you install a new thermostat when you do the water pump. You will be removing the thermostat housing to gain access to the pump, or removing it makes access easier. I recommend you go buy a thermostat at the dealer, it comes with a nice gasket. Just install the gasket dry and tighten it up.

No matter what brand of water pump you buy install it with the dealer gasket. It runs less than $5. It is a nice gasket, has RTV pre applied to one side, all you need to do is install it dry and bolt up the pump. They even give you a sheet telling what torque to apply to the bolts. I used my torque wrench for the 13 ft-lbs torque and 2+ years later still working just fine!

I personally favor "new" pumps over "rebuilt" pumps. I installed a Hesco pump 2 years ago. It a high volume pump with a nice aluminum impeller. The impeller looks like something out of a turbine engine, the stock impeller is a sheet metal stamping.

My one coworker repairs cars on the side and he avoids the Airtex brand of pumps with a passion. He does think Cardone is a good rebuilder.

The reason I prefer new is for one reason, if the old pump was over heated it may of damaged the casting and things will not line up quite right, also seem some real pieces of junk at the auto shop I used on the military base. The full time guys who over see the shop tell me of some of the "junk" they have seen brough in as a "rebuilt". One I recall the rebuilder welded the pump casting back together but did not grind off the weld to make the contact surface with the block flat.

If I was buying a stock water pump I'd look at the dealer, think they wanted $50 to $60 for a new one when I checked last and should come with the $5 gasket. My neighborhood garage uses CarQuest components. The manager of the garage told me "I used autozone parts for a while but they kept failing, I offer a 1 year warranty and any savings on parts was taken away by rework labor".

On the fan clutch take your old one to the parts store and buy one that looks just like it. There are some "universal" ones which are too talk and would require you to tilt the radiator foward to install. I just purchased a new one for my 88 XJ, Carquest and O'reilly's had the right one.

I just got a new one, not a rebuilt one, from Napa--whatever brand they carry. I've had it on there a while and been happy with it. It was like $40 if I remember correctly.

martin said:

You will be removing the thermostat housing to gain access to the pump, or removing it makes access easier. I recommend you go buy a thermostat at the dealer, it comes with a nice gasket. Just install the gasket dry and tighten it up.
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My neighborhood garage uses CarQuest components. The manager of the garage told me "I used autozone parts for a while but they kept failing, I offer a 1 year warranty and any savings on parts was taken away by rework labor".

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While it's definately a good suggestion to replace the thermostat while you're at it I'm kind of curious how does removing it make the water pump replacement easier?? The two items are pretty much unrelated and fairly far appart.

Also the Autozone parts line (as in them failing) sound a bit like BS to me as a lot of their parts (if not all) are same parts that everyone else sells (like the water pump for example). Also I don't think I remember anyone complaing about their water pumps And lastly, I found out that manager of local repair shop will ussually go with whoever gives them a better deal on prices and or can get the parts faster. Quality has rarely anything to do with it but it does sound good though while talking to a customer

Kejtar, sounds like I hit a nerve with you, take it you either work at Autozone or own stock in the company.

I thought the purpose of this board was to share lessons learned. I was passing on what I heard. Also you had no idea how well I know the manager, if I play golf with him or he does not know me from adam.

Any of us can buys parts at any store we want to, install them and have a good result. I have read countless posts on here which say "I am replacing my xxxx for the 3rd time in 3 months, this lifetime warranty not worth is if I have to change it once a month."

I do agree with you on speed of delivery. This same garage had used NAPA but the local store always was telling him "we can have there here tomorrow from Birmingham." Yes, speed is important but as a manage if he finds all his profit is going labor replacing items under his own 12 month/12,000 mile warranty he will then look for "better" parts which allow him to fix the vehicle the first time and avoid come backs. A customer coming back for a bad alternator or any other part will do that one time but if it fails 2 times under warranty they may move their business to another shop.

Its being a smart consumer, knowing the brands and then buy the brand. I buy goodyear fan belts a Autozone along with other stuff. Also if you look at the autozone web site parts that use to be lifetime are now 12 month warranty, and parts that were 1 year are now 3 months. I have a buddy who had a coil pack assy for his Buick 3800 engine go out. The autozone guy told him "keep that receipt, we now offer only a 12 month warranty on that part but as long as you have your receipt you will get a lifetime warranty".

My advice on this water pump was to buy new and use the dealer gasket, I also said avoid Airtex cause of my coworker's bad experience with their product repairing other people's vehicles.

martin said:

Kejtar, sounds like I hit a nerve with you, take it you either work at Autozone or own stock in the company.

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Nope... no nerve, but too often I see companies getting bashed for no good reason. I stand by what I said about the parts because it's too broad of a generalization to make. If a specific brand was mentioned, that'd be different

Kejtar said:

While it's definately a good suggestion to replace the thermostat while you're at it I'm kind of curious how does removing it make the water pump replacement easier?? The two items are pretty much unrelated and fairly far appart.

Also the Autozone parts line (as in them failing) sound a bit like BS to me as a lot of their parts (if not all) are same parts that everyone else sells (like the water pump for example). Also I don't think I remember anyone complaing about their water pumps And lastly, I found out that manager of local repair shop will ussually go with whoever gives them a better deal on prices and or can get the parts faster. Quality has rarely anything to do with it but it does sound good though while talking to a customer

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Thats possible, but the friend I deal with that has a shop took one look at the hoses I got from the dealer and compared them to the hoses he had just bought from his supplier and promptly ordered new hoses from the dodge dealer [they get jeep parts with a vin number]. The little things like including clamps on the hoses, spring in the lower hose, gaskets with the pumps, etc make a big difference. A water pump is one of those 'maybe dealer, maybe napa, maybe local parts store' but something like a fuel pump, slave are something I only buy OEM. Depends on the work involved when the cheaper part fails. I only want to do it once and dropping a tank for a FP is one of them, same with the slave even if it is external and I don't care if it has a lifetime warranty if it takes me 3 hours of sweat and labot to utilize that warranty three months after I already did it once. The OEM stuff FITS, ALWAYS. I hate breaking down, getting a ride to a parts store that assures me they have the part in stock only to get it home and it won't go on or seal.
No, I normally don't take the part off and take it with me, I kinda like to have the new part in one hand so to speak while I'm removing the bad one so I remember how it came off, however sometimes my new digital camera is somewhat of a substitute for short term memory loss that comes with age
Water pumps are not too bad, fairly easy to replace so I might try an aftermarket but NEW not rebuilt. Kinda like a radiator, I found thru $experience$ that I can get a New modine cheaper than I can get a rad re-cored which was an eyeopener and I never forgot that lesson and have applied that lesson to alot of other things in life. Just m .02

Ahh.. but you're comparing apples to oranges here I agree that dealer stuff almost always fits perfect and on the hoses they even inglude that spring for hte lower radiator one .

Btw.... since we're really getting off topic here, I was really surprised when I paid for the high performance mopar spark plug wires less (or just about the same) then I would have paid at the parts store for regular ones. So I guess what I'm getting at is that dealer doesn't always mean more expensive and it always helps to be a "known" face at the parts department and chit chat with them when they have the time

RichP said:

Thats possible, but the friend I deal with that has a shop took one look at the hoses I got from the dealer and compared them to the hoses he had just bought from his supplier and promptly ordered new hoses from the dodge dealer [they get jeep parts with a vin number]. The little things like including clamps on the hoses, spring in the lower hose, gaskets with the pumps, etc make a big difference. A water pump is one of those 'maybe dealer, maybe napa, maybe local parts store' but something like a fuel pump, slave are something I only buy OEM. Depends on the work involved when the cheaper part fails. I only want to do it once and dropping a tank for a FP is one of them, same with the slave even if it is external and I don't care if it has a lifetime warranty if it takes me 3 hours of sweat and labot to utilize that warranty three months after I already did it once. The OEM stuff FITS, ALWAYS. I hate breaking down, getting a ride to a parts store that assures me they have the part in stock only to get it home and it won't go on or seal.
No, I normally don't take the part off and take it with me, I kinda like to have the new part in one hand so to speak while I'm removing the bad one so I remember how it came off, however sometimes my new digital camera is somewhat of a substitute for short term memory loss that comes with age
Water pumps are not too bad, fairly easy to replace so I might try an aftermarket but NEW not rebuilt. Kinda like a radiator, I found thru $experience$ that I can get a New modine cheaper than I can get a rad re-cored which was an eyeopener and I never forgot that lesson and have applied that lesson to alot of other things in life. Just m .02

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Yup, found out about the plug wires a while ago, the HP wires are even cheaper than the normal OEM wires too, go figure... First time the parts guy compared prices he figured the programmers made a mistake but found they didn't.
I also discovered that a few minutes talking to the parts people can be rewarding, they are not always guys and if it's a chick comment favorably on something about her apperance , I did and my discount went from 15% to 25% :loveu: I mean what do you say to a guy, 'hey, nice tat', 'like your stache', 'that rental uniform really makes you look good', don't think I could do that and keep a straight face no matter what the discount... Oh, and if you make a comment to her 'nice eyes' while staring at her cleavage the discount can go one of two ways, discount or an added surcharge :anon:

RichP said:

Oh, and if you make a comment to her 'nice eyes' while staring at her cleavage the discount can go one of two ways, discount or an added surcharge :anon:

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Your discount doesn't go up... you just pay an additional viewing fee

Just a warning! At the shop that I work at we have ordered new aftermarket water pumps from ASC. Every single one of them that we installed no matter what make has leaked so stay away. We had to warranty about 20 units untill we learned our lesson. we normaly install factory or Napa with no problems.

Joe

I don't want to unfairly bash a company because I do agree that they carry some of the same parts as other places, but I've had really bad luck with Autzone's lifetime warranty rebuilt parts. I quit buying parts from them and I started buying new parts from Napa (or the dealer depending on the part) and even though I pay a little more its worth it for the better quality. I will say that Autozone has really good customer service.

I am a dealership parts man and have seen a lot of people come in with there aftermarket junk in hand and say your vehicles suck this (insert part of choice here) has failed 3 times! Then I remind them that there part was not made with the strict quality control and quality materials that DC uses, and was not scrutinized relentlessly and this is why there part keeps failing. I dont understand why you would even look at aftermarket parts if the price was anywere close. If DC has a quality problem (rarely happens) it usually clears up within a month or two. I mean how would you like to be the company that screws Chrysler only to find out that the fine print in your contract with them says "if there is a failure rate more than 3% and its deamed the manufacturing process is to blame then you the manufacturer will be liable for both parts and labor charges". :rtm: I have to send parts back to chrysler used in warranty repairs to a quality control plant specifically made for this purpose. I know that the price is sometimes the deciding factor and that DC prices some of there parts "rediculously" high, but allways at least check the dealer first. You might be pleasently surprised! :soapbox:

P.s I usually give my repeat customers deals! :shhh:

P.s.s Aftermarket water pump maybe, fan clutch never!!!!!!!!

Rabbit

Kejtar, If reporting one shop's experience using a particular "vendor" for spare parts is bashing than I guess from now on no one can convey what other people have learned and file that in the "lessons I did not have to pay for" file.

If I am to believe the commericals Mr. Cool Car Guy Jesse James uses ONLY Autozone parts. It's on TV, it must be true - right??

I did not go into how the guy with the bad coil packs on his buick also purchased TWO NEW bad master cylinders and installed them. When he took it back for a refund Autozone only gave the price he paid back, he did not receive anything for the core he had turned in when he puchased the first master cylinder. I told him to go back and get the core $ but he was just frustrated and wanted to be rid of that part from them.

I agree less expensive parts are nice. As I stated before I recommend a new water pump with a dealer gasket.

Atl XJ said:

I don't want to unfairly bash a company because I do agree that they carry some of the same parts as other places, but I've had really bad luck with Autzone's lifetime warranty rebuilt parts. I quit buying parts from them and I started buying new parts from Napa (or the dealer depending on the part) and even though I pay a little more its worth it for the better quality. I will say that Autozone has really good customer service.

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Why is it most of the time a "lifetime warranty" means it will take about that long to get one that works properly?

You guys are painting Autozone (and NAPA) with a pretty broad brush.

Yes, SOME parts at Autozone SUCK, and you will be FOREVER taking advantage of their "lifetime warranty".

The KEY is to know WHICH PARTS ARE GOOD. I would avoid things like water pumps, power steering pumps, etc. These parts, when "rebuilt", can be "cheaped-up", and hence can fail more easily.

Other things, though, sold at AZ have GOT to be just as good as anywhere else. That would include any BRAND NAME stuff (Raybestos, Goodyear, Champion, Fel-Pro, etc.)

And, NO, I don't own any stock in AZ, nor do I work at one. I have just learned to be careful when getting stuff there......

Unfortunately only people who work in the automotive repair industry have the insight to what parts are good from what vendors. The problem is that most people do not live in the same spaces. Therfore a Napa here is not a Napa there. As far as dealerships are concerned they are not all of the same caliber. I know other mechanics that work at dealerships who need to fix a problem on a vehicle but their parts department does not have the part to fix it. I guess this is why I always see parts store delivery drivers at the dealerships delivering parts. This is why it is nice to have a good site like this to weed out the bad and end up with good. This is not bashing it is helping out your fellow xj'er. atriot:

Joe