New water pump?

[In The Ten Ring]

Since I plan to replace the original radiator anyway, is this a good time to replace the water pump also?

Is NAPA or Advance Auto a good source for these? If not, who is?

[jons70]

They'll be fine. Just have to give back your old one.... Usually.

I use a guy in a dumpy old industrial unit to rebuild my pumps or exchange. Great luck and cheap, not that a reman one from Advance or Napa will be all that expensive

[TBONE1964]

Piece of mind is priceless. In my opinion, these water pumps are real easy to change and if you are on a budget, leave well enough alone. Check and make sure there is no play in the bearings and there is nothing seeping from the vent hole.

[Lattimer]

I got mine from Advance and it seems to be fine.

[slow-1]

Advance will sell you a new (not rebuilt) one for $31.99...no exchange.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...erm=water+pump

[In The Ten Ring]

slow 1,

Cool man! As far as I know, nothing wrong with the original one and I'd like to just save it away on a "spare parts" shelf.

[kcsa75]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

Piece of mind is priceless. In my opinion, these water pumps are real easy to change and if you are on a budget, leave well enough alone. Check and make sure there is no play in the bearings and there is nothing seeping from the vent hole.

What he said.

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

slow 1,

Cool man! As far as I know, nothing wrong with the original one and I'd like to just save it away on a "spare parts" shelf.

Be careful. Those "spare parts" shelves can get out of hand in a hurry and before you know it, A&E will be showing up at your front door for an episode of Hoarders.

[slow-1]

Originally Posted by kcsa75

Be careful. Those "spare parts" shelves can get out of hand in a hurry and before you know it, A&E will be showing up at your front door for an episode of Hoarders.

My wife keeps threatening to call them on me.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by kcsa75

What he said.



Be careful. Those "spare parts" shelves can get out of hand in a hurry and before you know it, A&E will be showing up at your front door for an episode of Hoarders.

I have a real issue with that. if I let myself I would never throw anything away. So I actually force myself to throw out almost everything. Bit me once or twice when I needed something....


The flip side, my grandfather was a small engine mechanic. Had his own shop at home, and kept EVERYTHING. After he died we threw out like 4 five gallon buckets of old spark plugs.......and a whole lot more.

[Tx Firefighter]

I've had a run recently where new pumps had bad castings. Not that they leaked or anything, just the castings were the wrong shape and other various annoyances like holes not lining up or the pulley flange was the wrong offset so they didn't line up. For this reason I've been sticking with only rebuilt pumps lately and make sure I can see a GM part number cast into the body.
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[In The Ten Ring]

Tx Firefighter,

Now THAT is useful info!

Thanks.....everyone really. I hope to get into that part of it by the end of the month.

[MikeyMan]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I've had a run recently where new pumps had bad castings. Not that they leaked or anything, just the castings were the wrong shape and other various annoyances like holes not lining up or the pulley flange was the wrong offset so they didn't line up. For this reason I've been sticking with only rebuilt pumps lately and make sure I can see a GM part number cast into the body.
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I had a similar situation recently.
Bought a "new" long pump from Pep Boys (Bosch, I believe) for a good price and no core required.

Painted it up and installed with new bolts too. When I tightened the fan/clutch to the flange, the pulley would not rotate. When I loosened it, it would rotate.

Turns out, my double groove pulley was tight to the casting. Seems like the pump casting was sticking out a little at the "fins" near the base of the pump. Since the pump was already mounted, I took my angle grinder and slightly notched the "fins" on the casting. This created enough clearance for the pulley to rotate freely.

Check your new pump vs. old to make sure everything matches and lines up properly. Watch your pulley clearance.

[PatrickGMC70]

I got a new pump (well new to me - I'm not sure if it was reman.) Same casting number, but the pulley flange was different. Kinda of a pain to have to press off/on the flange from the old pump.

The other places around me (napa, advance, etc.) either wanted crazy money ($100+) or they had extra heater hose fittings that I didn't like the look of. I paid about $45 for mine plus the core I had to eat because my old one was cracked and not rebuildable.

Still, they're cheap insurance if you already have the coolant drained and everything else apart. If you have access to a press, I have a water pump rebuild kit I didn't use during my build. PM me if you're interested, but unless you have to have your original pump for some reason, a new pump is about the same price and without the rebuild hassle.Good luck.

Patrick
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