VS V6 Water pump replacement.... Again

[Harvs82]

Hi All,

Looks like the water pump in the folk's VS is kaput again, the tell tale leaking of coolant behind the pulley down on to the crankshaft symptom is showing. I know what to do in terms of replacing the current one, but where is the best place to buy one these days? The current one wouldn't be much older than 3 or 4 years old, so I'm after something that isn't rubbish quality like the one currently in there. This will be the third replacement in just 160,000km, and the car has always had good quality coolant at the correct ratio.

So just after recommendations on where to buy, and what sort of price I could expect to pay these days. I'm pretty sure that they all come with a gasket too, but is there any other sealant required in addition to the gasket supplied?

Cheers!

[VR_Acclaim]

i always use a good sealant i always buy mine from a local spare parts place, there the same as what you get from supercheap and never had a problem

[Pub247]

mate these days they go for around $100 i got quoted that the other week from bursons. I got an elcheapo from superdodgey for $62 with 20% i was tight with money and needed to do it. I wouldnt buy another as the center hub is too small for the pulley so all the load is put on the 4 bolts that bolt pulley to water pump

You need sealant for the bolts that go through to water i use holden genuine sealant comes in a tin for $50 last ages though. i also use loctite no.3 for gasket and surfaces (aviation sealant) you can use this on the bolts if you dont wish to buy holden sealant its best all round sealant i reckon

[deanos70]

i normally use a GMB brand water pump from memory i think they are around the $70 mark
there are a lot of cheap ones on ebay, but i dont know what they are like

i always put sealant around it, i normally use a black hi temp sealant
or the stuff they call blue goo, a blue sealant is fine

[VR_Acclaim]

i have an ebay atm (old owner) its actually pretty good

[Brett_jjj]

I have just replaced my GMB brand pump on my VSV6 with another GMB brand pump that was in a "motorgear" box from bursons..My old pump was there for 6 years,it was still ok,it was just starting to weep coolant out the weep hole which is a sign the pumps seal is on its way out,but 6 years isnt too bad I reckon,I hope the new one lasts just as long.I paid $100 for it from bursons..Holden wanted $180 for a genuine pump,and they needed the engine number as there was a slightly different pump used half way through the VS series after a certain engine number...The GMB pump I got is universal fit,it comes with a shim that is fitted behind the water pump pulley if you have the later type of ecotec...

[Harvs82]

Ended up replacing the pump today, ended up going with a genuine one from Holden, they did mention that they needed the engine number to confirm which pump was correct, so got that all sorted. Fairly straight forward job, except for removing the old paper gasket, that was a huge hassle. Took forever to get all the bits off. Also an idea to remove the power steering pump pulley, makes access to the lower left water pump bolt much easier. Bolted it all back up and filled with coolant, and no leaks so far. Bled the system up, and topped up with coolant, will have to double check tomorrow morning when everything has cooled down again.

Cheers for all the info and suggestions.

[Brett_jjj]

Ended up replacing the pump today, ended up going with a genuine one from Holden, they did mention that they needed the engine number to confirm which pump was correct, so got that all sorted. Fairly straight forward job, except for removing the old paper gasket, that was a huge hassle. Took forever to get all the bits off. Also an idea to remove the power steering pump pulley, makes access to the lower left water pump bolt much easier. Bolted it all back up and filled with coolant, and no leaks so far. Bled the system up, and topped up with coolant, will have to double check tomorrow morning when everything has cooled down again.

Cheers for all the info and suggestions.

How much did you pay for the genuine pump?

[Harvs82]

$150, was the last one they had that suited my engine. I was expecting it to be something like that anyway, as the non genuine ones I'd been quoted around $80 to $100 for anyway. The one I replaced was a GMB one, made in Japan, so I'm surprised that it failed after only a few years.

[JAAV]

My GMB failed with in 12 months. Just luck I guess to get a good one.

[Hangman]

I bought one from supercheap today for 78 bucks. Was a Protex or something brand, can't remember exactly, the box is in the bin and the pump's on the car now. One thing I did notice was the impeller on the one I replaced(the bearing was farked)was a pressed type while the impeller on the new one was a cast type.

I've always been under the impression that the cast type impeller is better, at least on the older engines.

[edals]

+ 1 for the protex water pump from super cheap. I fitted one to the VX & VR, Both been strong for a good few years now :-)

[JAAV]

Just had to replace the GMB pump again yesterday as the Belt tore out my bonnet lining and lower rad hose. The belt didnt drive off but jumped 3 ridges and flew apart. The pump bearing failed. It feels fine in the bearing and not leaking just the shaft wobbles...I also found the funny noise that was coming from the front of the engine that stoped a few weeks ago. The impeller was machining the timing chain cover. Fitted a Master Part, Made in the PRC .