How Long is a Water Pump good for?

[EMBPilot]

Heres the scoop guys, just got word back on an email sent to the PO of my car.

he pretty much said that when he did the rollers and belts in 2003 and LESS than 5K ago that the water pump 'appeared' to have been replaced and was in good working order.

currently, I dont see any leaks from the pump, and it appears to be working just fine...

Rollers on the engine ect will be in good shape until the next timing belt cycle as they were done in 03...

im going to be doing the timing belts with VINMAN in the near future.

because i just bought the full tool kit from arrnworx ive already invested a bit into this particular project. to extend it furhter with a water pump will be a little painful BUT....

i know you cant predict the future but from your background do you think the water pump "should" be in good shape until i do the rollers tensioners ect in the future when they are due? or is this something i need to take care of immediatly when we do the timing belt together.

[rudidelange]

I saw a 83 car with the original waterpump, less than 180 000 kms.

[Lawrence Coppari]

Life of water pumps varies. If it is not weeping and the shaft has no play, I'd leave it alone.

As mine is a track car, I change the cam belt yearly. It is at that time that I check out the water pump for any weeping and for end play. If it is ok it's in there for another year unless, of course, it heads south during the year. That's about all I can do. Some last a very long time; some don't.

[Techno Duck]

Depends who you ask, but most sources agree it should be changed every other belt job. So roughly every 60-80k miles depending when you change your belt.

Of course inspect the roller every belt job regardless. A seized waterpump will probably destroy the timing belt. Its a bit more work to do the pump, as the crank gears needs to come off. A good time to change the oil seals for the balance shafts and crank..aswell as inspect or replace the oil pump drive sleeve.

You might get lucky and have a pump last 100k miles. Or you might not get lucky and have it fail at 80,001 miles. Like anything important with the 944, if you dont know the history you should change it. That makes the cost go up pretty quick, but i would rather be replacing it while its still working, than having to replace it after it fails. Not to mention..a new waterpump is still cheaper than rebuilding the head with new valves...and its much easier to change the waterpump than to have to pull the cylinder head off.

[EMBPilot]

guys, thanks again!

[Panzer909]

EMBPilot, how goes the belt job in general so far?

You're gonna get a wide range of answeras to your posted question. FWIW, I was always a believer in the "every other belt job" school of thought until I ran the car wiht the belt cover off just to observe and heard the pump roller squeeking. That's all I needed to see - new pump time.


Mine was moving right along but I'm now having the darndest time getting that crank bolt off. That sucker is ON THERE.

[EMBPilot]

lol johnny,
right now im gathering all the parts, (99% of which is in transit) and waiting for my schedule to line up with the other pelican member to set aside the time to knock it out.

im gonna try and keep a detailed log and take a bunch of pictures. ive been reading the clarks stuff so long it makes me sleepy and been reading bruces write up how to use his tool.

i hope the next time around i can do the job including all the additonal stuff on my own...so this will be a learning experiance. i'm sure i'll be rattling some threads once i crack it open and start freaking out.

like i said, im still one part excited and two parts afraid of the car

[Lawrence Coppari]

When I replaced the water pump I had to remove the crank pulley. Bolt was tight. Had to get a flywheel lock. Then I had to use a 3 foot piece of pipe on the breaker bar to get the nut loose. I weigh 150# and had the car on a lift.

Have fun!

[rudidelange]

It is possible to replace the belts without removing the pulley, not recommended - but I was able to slip the cam belt behind the crank pulley

[Panzer909]

Yeah, I was really pushing the envelope trying to get that bolt loose with my wrench & 15/16 deep socket. I was doing pull-ups on it and even climbed in the engine bay and stood on it to no avail. This just seemed so wrong so I stopped to find a breaker bar. It took a monumental effort to stop doing this - much like asking for directions when you're lost (I'm a typical stuborn guy). Getting one tomorrow afternoon so the fun can resume.

[Techno Duck]

Leverage is everything, a decent sized breaker bar and a quality 6pt socket are almost required when getting that crank bolt loose.

To tighten it again, i used my Craftsman torque wrench that is good to 150ft-lbs. Cranked it all the way to 150, then gave it an extra nudge or two with the breaker bar.