Should I replace my Ducato water pump ?

[MR. FUSION]

Hi all, I am getting my cambelt & ancillary belt replaced at 24K miles and the chassis by VIN number getting on for 6 years old. My thoughts originally were to get the water pump replaced as well, but should I ???? What do people think ???

 

[cmcardle75]

If the cambelt touches the water pump, I'd always change when changing the belt.

 

[Gellyneck]

Yes. Replace the whole lot, belt, pump, tensioner, etc. Additional parts cost are minimal however a lot of labour.

 

[Spriddler]

Water pumps themselves don't really 'wear' and reduce in efficiency but if one developed a mechanical fault (e.g. a bearing badly worn or breaking up) the belt will loosen and probably jump a cambelt tooth or three which would most likely cause as much serious engine damage as if the belt had broken.
As already said, the labour involved in replacing the water pump later would be almost the same as for fitting just a new belt.

 

[cmcardle75]

Water pumps themselves don't really 'wear' and reduce in efficiency but if one developed a mechanical fault (e.g. a bearing badly worn or breaking up) the belt will loosen and probably jump a cambelt tooth or three which would most likely cause as much serious engine damage as if the belt had broken.
As already said, the labour involved in replacing the water pump later would be almost the same as for fitting just a new belt.

Yes, it is the water pump bearings that you worry about. If the belt has done 60,000 miles, so have the water pump bearings. If the bearing seizes, you'd better hope it doesn't snap the belt and destroy your engine. Pumps are usually only about £40 and are often included in the cambelt kit.

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[PeteH]

Pretty much a recommendation whenever a Cam Belt is changed on any vehicle. (that has one) The perceived wisdom is you are already over halfway there to replacing a Water pump/Tensioners anyway. and labour is the more expensive part of both jobs, if done individually.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Years ago had a Renault Espace built mid ‘90s. Had the cam belt done. Couple of months later water pump failed dumping green antifreeze at the checkin to Poole harbour ferry to France. One abandoned holiday . Garage when it went back said they’d had recommendations to replace pump with cam belt

 

[Podney]

Yes.

 

[Landy Andy]

No. Water pump has only worked for 24thou miles and doesn’t fail due to age like rubber.

 

[Charlie9038]

is it not part of the kit? I would if not for peace of mind

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[Lofty1]

What year is your van as later ones pumps are more expensive and more difficult to fit

 

[MR. FUSION]

What year is your van as later ones pumps are more expensive and more difficult to fit

Late 2014 manufacture date as I remember.

 

[Coolcats]

Hi all, I am getting my cambelt & ancillary belt replaced at 24K miles and the chassis by VIN number getting on for 6 years old. My thoughts originally were to get the water pump replaced as well, but should I ???? What do people think ???

Just do it, too many people just want to skimp on the factory recommendations. They are recommendations for a reason.

 

[Lofty1]

Late 2014 manufacture date as I remember.

On that model the waterpump comes built into a large casing you have to remove the pump to change it and that may require a new seal as well, the price can run upto £500 for the whole job if problems occur, £400 if all go's well. but do change it as a snapped belt caused by a failed pump will cost thousands.

 

[rickwiggans]

Many years ago I had a belt go on an Escort. I was lucky in that none of the valve gear hit. Local garage replaced it and was adamant that the pump didn't need replacing. They were wrong. A week later the belt went again, this time resulting in a fair amount of damage, which cost the garage rather a lot to fix. Different engines I know, but I'd change it for peace of mind. Had one go in a X250 Ducato, 18 months old, put down to sod's law, but it wrote the engine off. Warranty job thankfully.

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

If there is no play in the pump once the belt is off then don’t bother as at that mileage it should be still like new.

 

[TheBig1]

anyone can give advice gambling with somebody else's money. Changing the pump is not a gamble, it is preventative maintenance of what is a consumable part prone to wear. Fiat themselves recommend changing the pump along with tensioners with the cam belt. When you see how much work goes into stripping down to change the belt and or the pump, you would understand that the advice to change at the same time is very valid

 

[Martin and Wendy.]

Just had mine done at 26k and 6 years. The garage looked at the pump and said it was o.k. The belt and pulleys looked almost brand new. It cost £400, it would have been an extra £250 to do the pump as well, I thought surely a pump is designed to do at least 100k? I didn’t bother. It annoyed me having to change the belt, whatever happened to timing chains?

 

[MR. FUSION]

Just had mine done at 26k and 6 years. The garage looked at the pump and said it was o.k. The belt and pulleys looked almost brand new. It cost £400, it would have been an extra £250 to do the pump as well, I thought surely a pump is designed to do at least 100k? I didn’t bother. It annoyed me having to change the belt, whatever happened to timing chains?

I had the same with my LR, belt hardly worn at 7 years & 50K as I am a careful driver. My moho has never really been above 3000 revs, in my hands. The moho I expect could be the same, but nobody knows until the cover is off. I always had timing chains on my motorbikes.

 

[RustyRuss]

I’d change the pump, when they go they let water into the bearing, which washes all the oil away and 200 miles later the bearing fails through lack of lubrication, the coolant leaks out, the pump seizes and either strips teeth off the belt or the belt jumps over the seized pump and snaps, either way you end up with between one and eight valves bent and the cylinder head “cooked”. The valves are relatively cheap at around £30 a pop, but it takes several, expensive, hours to take the ancillaries like alternator and battery and radiator(s) and air inlet pipes and fuel injection system off before you can remove and strip the cylinder head, send it away to have it skimmed/check it hasn’t warped, then insert and “lap in” the valves (do they still do that on modern engines?), rebuild the head and put everything back together again and hope to the High heid yun that it’s oil and coolant tight and that the cylinder head stays unwarped...... You can tell I’ve had experience of this can’t you? It was a 90,000 mile Peugeot 405 1.9TD. And I did all the work, apart from skimming the cylinder head, myself. It took 20 hours total, and a garage will charge £50/hour as a conservative estimate. The car was off the road for two extremely inconvenient weeks. So it’s a no brainier for me. Plus if it goes pear shaped and the belt snaps after a couple of thousand miles the garage will be liable. I believe someone said discretion is the better part of valour, replacing a water pump is definitely discretionary!! (The Pug lasted for another 90,000 miles but the heater never ever worked properly again.....)

Well that’s my pen’urth!

Cheers!

Russ

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