Re: Timing belt/water pump

[steveb@falcon.kla.com (Steven Buchholz)]

> >Here's what I know about it:  To change the water pump you need to pull the
> >timing belt, the bulk of the repair for the water pump is labor.  It's one
> of
> >those "while you're in there" jobs.  I haven't priced a water pump, so I am
> not
> >positive this "repair" is all that cost effective though.
> 
> FWIW, I didn't replace the water pump on my 5kcsTQ until 3rd belt change @
> 180,000 miles. Even then only changed it cause I was there. Not looking to
> start a string on whether or not to change the pump every 60k w/ belt, just
> stating experience.
> 
... If you are good and replace your coolant regularly and such you can get
a lot of life out of a water pump, no doubt about it.  The reason I recommend
replacing the pump whenever you replace the belt as a matter of course, is 
since the pump is so cheap (~$35 on special) and it is such a bit^H^H^H PITA
to get in there in the first place, you might as well get the cheap insurance.
Everybody is free to make their own decisions ... personally I've experienced
things like having to pull the tranny shortly after a clutch job to replace 
the pilot bearing that I originally thought was in good shape, so I tend to 
look for any cheap insurance ...

... at least replace the o-ring that seals the water pump to the block ...

Stay dry all!
Steve
s_buchho@kla.com
San Jose, CA (USA)