I think its usually a hit or miss with aftermarket water pumps from what i heard... I got the hempu one off eeuro and its held up fine so far

 

Not sure if they vary from T5/T7 like the A/C compressor does, but I have a used water pump and tensioner with 82k miles on them.

PM me if interested.

 

That's just nice, another 10k miles and the used one is dead too.

 

+1 for the HEPU rebuild kit - I use them all the time - just as good as a Saab one if you assemble correctly and replace all the needed seals along the way. It's prob. better in fact.

I have to order one for my dad's 9-5 - his is making some funny sounds right now. I think I replaced his a few years back with an OEM Saab one too..... HEPU this time around.

 

I've heard both ways, and went with oem when I replaced mine this past fall. Up to you - either one could probably last 15k or 150k.

 

Well, after some internet sleuthing it turns out the GMBs are oem on Mitsubishi's so I guess they can't be THAT bad. They're probably all made in the same factory anyway... For $32.00 I suppose it's worth a shot. Too bad the seller doesn't seem to know if it comes with gasket and seals...I'll be irritated if I have to wait another 3 or 4 days for eeuro to ship that crap.

 

Might be worth it to get the o rings and gasket from the local dealer or indy, depending on price.

I'll be irritated if I have to wait another 3 or 4 days for eeuro to ship that crap.

 

Per my mechanic with lots of experience changing these things. He recommends OEM. Why? Failure. It's not when it fails, but how it fails. With many aftermarkets you'll have a blowout when you least expect or want it to happen. THen, your stuck on a highway leaking radiator fluid everywhere. With OEM, there is usually a slow failure that gives you more time to respond and repair instead of a blowout that leaves you stranded on a highway.

Is this supplier providing OEM parts? Including all gaskets and rings?

I have a very slow leak in my OEM pump that goes away after warmup. It only leaks a small amount of fluid when parked for many days. My mechanic says don't replace it until it gets worse. But, when it does go, he's going to recommend OEM. I don't have the time or equipment to replace this myself, so I'll have my mechanic change this.

If figure for the few extra dollars, the OEM should last me at least 100K miles more.

 

Most of the time OEM is of "good enough" quality - and lots of good aftermarket companies are engineering their parts to be BETTER then the OEM specs. Your mechanics reasoning sounds nice - but it's nothing I would spread far. All parts fail - period. Installation quality is just as important as a good part. The rebuild kits replaces ONLY the wear part of the OEM pump anyways - and it has nicer quality metal it seems too. I have never had a HEPU kit fail me yet. They come with 90% of the o-rings too, and they tell you which other ring you must purchase separate - not a big deal.

Never "figure" or assume anything. Why spend more when you can get more for less sometimes. However - if you are not doing the repair yourself, there will be more labor involved and less parts expense. Sometimes it's a wash in cost. I would say it comes down to which part has a better warranty - coverage of labor or just part, and for how long is it covered? OEM Saab is 12,000 miles or 1 year from purchase. Not bad - but anything which fails that soon should be covered.

 

The OEM pumps really aren't OEM any more, Havn't been for several years now, The New pump kits from saab are some "Spanish" made junk. I have a sales rep that has gotten 25k on her last 3 "OEM" Spanish made pump kits. She says she could care less about the Parts warranty at this point. She does 30k a year on the car so 2 of the last 3 were warranty but She's done with the failures. She has requested the GMB every body eltse gets the next time the pump starts gringing.

 

Just to update this for anyone else that might need the info...I picked up the GMB pump from ebay...total was about $32.50 shipped. I ordered it on the 14th and it arrived today...to Pittsburgh from California. That's some fast shipping. The ebay username of the company is 3guysautoparts, and the Manufacturer # was 158-2010. Checked the box on arrival today and it did indeed come with gasket and 3 o-rings, so looks like everything I need to get the job done.

I'll be installing tomorrow and will update after the install. Question to those who have replaced this...couple of the how-to's I read mentioned they used some silicone RTV gasket maker in addition to the regular gasket...Yes/No to this? Should I put a thin bead on one side of the gasket or both?

 

What's the best way to separate this pipe from the waterpump? I've got the pump loose, and I've disconnected this pipe's bracket back of the thermostat so I've got some wiggle room, but I can't seem to get it to separate from the pump. Anyone?

 

GMB (the maker of the eBay pump you pointed to) is a manufacturer of many EOM parts for various brands, GM and Scania included. Your factory pump could be made by GMB for all you care. It is a Japanese company with factories in China, Thailand and Korea. I can't speak for the quality of the pump itself but seem to be a reputable company. Took me 5 minutes at Google to figure all that out.

 

Did you remove the 10mm bolt that connects that water pipe to the pump? if so just pull hard, its surely corroded if its original and its sticking

 

Supergreen sol did you get that water pump off ebay?

 

update?

 

Yes, water pump is from ebay, check a few replies up, I listed the seller and part number. It was $32.50 shipped, came with all the gaskets and o-rings, and shipped from Cali to Pittsburgh in 2 days. Pretty good if you ask me.

I'm still stuck at the moment. One of the three lovely Torx t-40 bolts holding the bracket in place decided to strip itself out...Thankfully it wasn't the totally invisible one below the pump. Other than that I'm having trouble separating that one waterpipe from the pump. I removed the 10mm holding the other pipe bracket in place but haven't been able to get the other to budge. Will have to recheck for another 10mm bolt.

Found this on instructables. Might be helpful for anyone looking:link

 

Cool just ordered one off ebay. How hard is this to install?

 

Barring the issue with the stupid stuck torx bolt (t40) I had no problems with this. I ended up grinding off the offending head and the entire bracket popped right off. Awesomely enough, saab decided to use regular hex heads a few years later, so I just popped down to the local Autozone and picked up a couple new bolts. I believe they there M8 1.25 length, fine pitch. After I got the pump out and disassembled the housing, I cleaned everything up and resealed the new gasket with high temp RTV, both sides. Let it sit over night to cure, reinstalled. Put everything back together, refilled coollant, and I was on my way. Overall probably a 2-4 hour job depending on everything going well/your familiarity tearing all that shit apart. Worst thing was waiting for the rtv to dry, and I only did that cause I'm a stickler for not screwing myself over.

In the meantime I found time to soak my new valve cover with degreaser and easy bake...just a little more and it will finally be clean and ready to strip the paint.