Water pump - which one?

[steve20186]

I'm finding pumps on PP: $257 for Pierburg OEM supplier or Genuine Porsche for $437.

Local place has a Gates brand pump for $87 (generally trust Gates stuff...)

eBay search yields $60 and up for brands like Airtex, GMP, Gates, Hamburg Technic, Laso and then Pierburg for more than PP

Some have a composite and some have a metal impellers?

I plan on keeping the car for a while.

Any words of wisdom as to which I should get?

Thanks

[Ronnie38]

Being an ex BMW owner, I had the same problem the purists say OEM only, pocket book said cheep cheep.

As to water pumps, as a long time Beemer owner OEM lasted the same time as the off the shelf local auto parts house, except they may have a life time guaranty then that's the one to get, I prefer composite impeller, less weight to turn, plus I have metal ones including brass wear, corrode down.

Get the best guaranty, if you plan on keeping the machine.

[Loren]

I agree with JFP in PA - the number one reason a water pump fails is the bearing wears out.

So what happens then is the shaft starts to wobble - if the pump blades are plastic they will fracture and cause no real harm to the case and surrounding parts. But if the blades are metal they can carve into the case and perhaps do irreparable damage.

So even though it is a pain to flush and remove all the broken plastic parts - it is still better than a damaged case.

[Ahsai]

+1 to genuine pump. You can get it from Sunset for less than $300 shipped.

[steve20186]

+1 to genuine pump. You can get it from Sunset for less than $300 shipped.

Did you mean Suncoast?

[JFP in PA]

+1 to genuine pump. You can get it from Sunset for less than $300 shipped.

Did you mean Suncoast?

Sunset Porsche is a RennTech.org board sponsor.

[Ahsai]

+1 to genuine pump. You can get it from Sunset for less than $300 shipped.

Did you mean Suncoast?

Sunset Porsche is a RennTech.org board sponsor.

and their customer service is top-notch! I've been their loyal customer since '05. Edited March 15, 2014 by Ahsai

[rb101]

I just replaced after market one after 48K of use, the bearing were worn out and the seal was leaking. Get one from the dealer Suncoast or Sunset. I also replaced all the bearing in the rollers too as they most likely were the original @ 150K. They are 5202-2RS, 5202-ZZ Double Row Ball Bearings, 15x35x15.9. Just pressed the old and and new in.

Edited March 16, 2014 by rb101

[JFP in PA]

For those that would like to know a bit more about the water pump issues on these cars, the May 2014 issue of Excellence has an in-depth explanation in the "Tech Notes" section, starting on page 36 in the letter titled "Anxious Pump Watcher". A good read........

[steve20186]

Ordered OEM pump and a few other parts from Sunset - amazing prices and great service!

[Loren]

Ordered OEM pump and a few other parts from Sunset - amazing prices and great service!

:thumbup:

[Dennis Nicholls]

Get one from the dealer Suncoast or Sunset. I also replaced all the bearing in the rollers too as they most likely were the original @ 150K. They are 5202-2RS, 5202-ZZ Double Row Ball Bearings, 15x35x15.9. Just pressed the old and and new in.

When you say "rollers" are you talking about the two idlers and one tensioner pulleys?

It's really strange how big companies can't build decent waterpumps. Over on the Miata forum everyone reports that Bosch water pumps fail quickly, and that the OEM supplier GMB should be used. It's too bad that Bosch or Gates can't make decent water pumps for Porsche.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Dennis Nicholls

[steve20186]

I just replaced after market one after 48K of use, the bearing were worn out and the seal was leaking. Get one from the dealer Suncoast or Sunset. I also replaced all the bearing in the rollers too as they most likely were the original @ 150K. They are 5202-2RS, 5202-ZZ Double Row Ball Bearings, 15x35x15.9. Just pressed the old and and new in.

Thanks for this tip. Not sure why it never occur to me to even free spin these while the belt is off - they were all very free rolling and while not noisy, they were well on their way to failure.

[rb101]

Get one from the dealer Suncoast or Sunset. I also replaced all the bearing in the rollers too as they most likely were the original @ 150K. They are 5202-2RS, 5202-ZZ Double Row Ball Bearings, 15x35x15.9. Just pressed the old and and new in.

When you say "rollers" are you talking about the two idlers and one tensioner pulleys?

Yes, I replaced the idler and tensioner bearings. All are the same size.

[Ahsai]

I just replaced after market one after 48K of use, the bearing were worn out and the seal was leaking. Get one from the dealer Suncoast or Sunset. I also replaced all the bearing in the rollers too as they most likely were the original @ 150K. They are 5202-2RS, 5202-ZZ Double Row Ball Bearings, 15x35x15.9. Just pressed the old and and new in.

Thanks for the good tips of the bearings. May do mine someday.

[steve20186]

I found this place to have the best price on the bearings. Everything seemed to point to VXB but they only had an ABEC 1 rating. One other place with decent quality only had one in stock. I finally found this place: http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/5202--5202-2rs-5202-zz-premium-double-row-ball-bearings-15x35x15-9.html

$12.49 each and $4.40 s&h USPS 1st class mail. I'll update this when they come in.

[Dennis Nicholls]

I got the best deal from USA Bearings and Belts too when I rebuilt an alternator. I got a real SKF bearing shipped for about $12.

They have sizes for stock IMS bearings too if you want to press your luck...

http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/5204--5204-2rs-5204-zz-premium-double-row-ball-bearings-20x47x20-6.html

Edited March 19, 2014 by Dennis Nicholls

[steve20186]

I found this place to have the best price on the bearings. Everything seemed to point to VXB but they only had an ABEC 1 rating. One other place with decent quality only had one in stock. I finally found this place: http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/5202--5202-2rs-5202-zz-premium-double-row-ball-bearings-15x35x15-9.html

$12.49 each and $4.40 s&h USPS 1st class mail. I'll update this when they come in.

Received the bearing fast. They were RBI brand, mfg in China. http://www.rbibearing.com/. Packaging was first quality, they came sealed in bags and the box material wasn't the toilet paper weight stuff the Chinese sometime use. The bearings themselves looked to be good quality and installed in the idlers with the expected effort.

Next question.

Use sealant on the metal gasket?

If not, is the microscopic layer of black material on the gasket some sort of sealer?

Edited March 25, 2014 by steve20186

[Ahsai]

I would not use sealant. As long as the mating surfaces are clean and not galled, the stock gasket is good. You will have more problems if sealant got into the narrow coolant passages.

[JFP in PA]

I found this place to have the best price on the bearings. Everything seemed to point to VXB but they only had an ABEC 1 rating. One other place with decent quality only had one in stock. I finally found this place: http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/5202--5202-2rs-5202-zz-premium-double-row-ball-bearings-15x35x15-9.html

$12.49 each and $4.40 s&h USPS 1st class mail. I'll update this when they come in.

Received the bearing fast. They were RBI brand, mfg in China. http://www.rbibearing.com/. Packaging was first quality, they came sealed in bags and the box material wasn't the toilet paper weight stuff the Chinese sometime use. The bearings themselves looked to be good quality and installed in the idlers with the expected effort.

Next question.

Use sealant on the metal gasket?

If not, is the microscopic layer of black material on the gasket some sort of sealer?

Do not use any type of sealant on the metal gasket. Make sure the mating surfaces are clean (ScotchBrite) and torque to specs.