Should I replace the water pump with the timing belt?

[jamesgarner83]

2003 Honda Pilot 114,000 miles runs and drives great. I am past due for a TB, I know I know been putting it off for too long. I am scheduling the service this week. I am planning on having the TB,TB tensioner and the drive belts done for sure, but was told by two different Honda dealers to inspect the water pump and only replace if it is leaking on the first TB change. I know that common wisdom says to replace the wp with the TB at the same time, but both dealers want over $200 extra to do the pump and say that as long as it checks out not to worry about it. They said the wp should be good for 200k miles no problem. What do you guys think? I have never heard of a water pump failure in the J series Honda engines, I am sure it has happened but do not think its very common. So should I shell out an extra $200 for a new water pump or save my money?

[humanoid]

Is that money worth a good night's sleep and insurance against being stranded somewhere when and if the water pump breaks? That should answer your question.

Sent from my Moto Droid RAZR MAXX

[jamesgarner83]

Originally Posted by humanoid

Is that money worth a good night's sleep and insurance against being stranded somewhere when and if the water pump breaks? That should answer your question.

Sent from my Moto Droid RAZR MAXX

Not really because about anything can break and leave you stranded in a 10 year old car. Often times when you fix stuff that is not broken you actually make things worse. I am kind of curious if anyone has had there water pump fail on them and at what mileage. A quick google search for honda v6 water pump failures turns up pretty much nothing.Come to think of it I have never had a water pump fail on any of the cars I have owned even after 200k, so IDK.

[Strate L O S S]

$200 is less than the would-be tow.

I say do it just to eliminate that possibility of failure. It will definitely cost more to replace on its own when it does fail.




Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[ahoy]

Originally Posted by humanoid

Is that money worth a good night's sleep and insurance against being stranded somewhere when and if the water pump breaks? That should answer your question.

Sent from my Moto Droid RAZR MAXX

and suppose it goes and you perhaps dont notice it then overheat the engine warping it into oblivion? cheap insurance - find some other place in your life to cut the $200 than your main mode of transport. in another few months you won't even notice the $200 you spent.

[ahoy]

oh, PLUS you're due for an antifreeze change anyway. right now you still have an opportunity to easily have this last 200k miles. a lot depends on what you do to it now that the first 100k items are due.

[humanoid]

Exactly, you have all that stuff removed already, why not just put a new one in?

[ltp646]

I had a Maxima once with timing chain, so it was not something to replace at certain interval. As such I never thought about replacing the WP. I drove the car for about 13 years and 250K+ miles, the WP did not fail. So for a 10 years old vehicle, it's a gamle and it'd be interesting to find out how long the WP would last in the Pilot. I may have to wait a long time to find out, but please post back and let us know if it would last another 100K miles.

[jamesgarner83]

Thanks for the advise everyone. According to the dealers I have talked to, Honda recommends inspecting the water pump and replacing as needed, so I am kind of wanting to go by the manufacturer recommendations. I would be all for replacing the water pump if there was any evidence at all of them failing but I am just not finding anything that suggests they are prone to failure, kind of why you buy a Honda or Toyota right? They for the most part use quality parts. I put 10k miles/year on the Pilot so I am thinking more then likely, I will not be the owner of the car when and or if the water pump does fail. As far as changing the coolant, I can do that myself it is super easy.

[oneonlywgs]

I would replace it.

[robs]

The water pump is a really simple device. Just a propeller on a shaft. It fails in one of three ways. Either it leaks from the seal on the shaft or from the gasket around the edges or the prop just goes to crap from corrosion. If they do an inspection and it's not leaking then forget it and do it next time around.

But really make sure they replace all of the hardware here. This is where the dealer will cheap out on you to make a few bucks on the return trip. Along with the belt there are three pieces of hardware that must be replaced. There are two pulleys and a tensioner adjuster. The adjuster it what fails on this thing, so make sure it's done.

[Ptwohey]

Always Always Always replace the water pump with the timing belt. Your having it done at a dealer and they are going to shaft you anyway. Might as well only be once. It's probably the same labor cost to do the belt as it is to do the pump. Don't pay it twice.

Or do the job yourself. Really not that dificult

[hondafan4evr]

Yes. It's easy to get to it during the timing belt replacement, and you'll save money and aggravation of a future replacement!

[nodinero]

It's not unheard of and is recommended by some That makes me suspect it's a cost benefit decision on Honda's part, based on experience. They might not recommend replacing it (with a rebuilt pump) because of potential problems afterwards. If only a few leak or fail, the dealer has to incur the cost of removing the belt, a new pump etc In the long run it doesn't pay the dealer to replace them if they are ok after inspection

[jamesgarner83]

Well I went ahead and had the pump replaced yesterday while they were at it and I am kind of glad I did. The pump looked brand new the bearing felt great and the weep hole was dry as a bone, however the rubber seal had some build up around the top of the pump and appeared to be letting coolant seep just a little. Probably would have got worse in the next 100k miles. I will post some pics tonight. It only ended up costing $159 more and I got new coolant out of the deal. I don't doubt the water pump itself would have easily lasted over 200k, but it does not look like the seal would have made it. The T-belt looked to be in pretty good shape to be 10 years old, I was kind of surprised.