A young tech walks up to an old tech and he says to the old tech, “Do I really have to replace this water pump on this timing belt job? Is it critical?” The old tech looks at him and he says, “Well, are you willing to make that bet that that water pump will go 80, 60 or 100,000 miles?” The younger technician looks at himself and he thinks, “You know what? That’s a bet I’m not willing to make, because it’s not my vehicle and I know that these things rarely go 200,000 miles.” And this is true with a lot of modern vehicles.
No matter if it’s a timing belt or even a timing chain, you need to replace the water pump, if it’s driven by either. In both cases, if there is an issue with the water pump starting to leak, it could be catastrophic for the engine. In some cases, in some engines, well, the weep hole, which is designed to leak a little bit, will be vented to the outside or the side of the block. On some vehicles, well, if this water pump fails, it could leak into the oil supply. And once you have a large volume of coolant in the oil, they both separate, but coolant does not protect the bearings like oil.
So keep this in mind, whenever you’re doing a timing chain or a timing belt. Replace the water pump. In fact, some kits actually will include a water pump with a kit and all the other parts. This way, that driver can leave your shop and you’re going to know that that water pump and even the engine are going to go 100,000 miles or even more, without a problem.
This video is sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper To Bumper.
