97 5.7 water pump
 

Well the water pump on my 97 with the 5.7 is leaking again. This will be the third one since new. Looking at the Rockauto site and there are a lot of options.
ACDELCO 252711 Gold / Professional is $39 and ACDELCO 251719 GM Original Equipment is $150

Is one really $110 better? Any recommendations on water pumps?

Thanks

Paul

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

I'm a Gates man when it comes to cooling system parts. In 30 years of doing it professionally and semi professionally I can't remember a time they've been a disappointment.

Throw a fan clutch at it too to make sure your pump lives a nice long life.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Thanks Kevin

Rock shows fan clutches from $29 SKP brand to $100 Genuine GM. Any thoughts there? Other brands are Hayden and Four Seasons. Nothing listed for ACDelco for trucks with AC.

Paul

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Hayden is good.

I went over to Rockauto and ran your truck through the lookup. If it were me I'd choose the Hayden 2786 for 37 dollars. Be sure and use a discount code any time you order from Rockauto !

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Thanks!

This is why I love this forum.

Paul

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Let us know how the $40 water pump goes. I have the original cast iron water pump that came with my truck in 1998. I'm not going to buy a cheap ass water pump. Sorry.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

I use the lifetime warranty Auto Zone water pumps. No problems as long as I don't let the coolant run low.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

I always laugh at people that bring up a lifetime warranty. First even if I pay 5 times more. If I am prevented from changing parts often, I have won.

Second, I will tell you having been on both sides of the counter at auto parts stores. They will only give a person a set number of free parts and then turn the customer away. Now I nor anyone else can tell you what that number is. It will depend on many factors. But no one will get unlimited free replacements.

When I had a mower shop, the worst competitive crap made, had the best warranty. A good warranty does not mean you are getting good product.

Last what good is a lifetime warranty if you are either constantly changing the part or worse, stranded?

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Warranty means nothing to me on most auto parts.

If a water pump fails it's liable to puke 20 dollars worth of antifreeze onto the ground, possibly cause an overheat and ensuing engine damage, possibly damage my fan shroud and/or radiator. It also causes me stress and inconvenience. I ain't got time for that.

The Gates pump I recommended is a good one. I just put one on my own truck a few weeks ago. I try to stick to Gates for most all of my cooling system parts including hoses and thermostats. I've been using Gates, Dayco, Hayden, etc for many years. They've proven themselves reliable.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Not sure why you're laughing, I told you the lifetime warranty pump is the pump I buy as they also sell ones without the lifetime warranty. I also said I don't have any problems with the lifetime warranty pumps which means I don't have to change pumps often so I also win. Yes I get unlimited free replacements because that's what a lifetime warranty means. I have never been denied a warranty part so maybe it has something to do with you. I didn't say it was a good part because of the warranty I said I have good luck with the lifetime warranty pumps. That means they haven't left me stranded.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

At which point they must refund your money, and you go buy another one at a different location or company.

OP, how is this your 3rd pump? I'm on the original with over 200k on my 98. I say spend the extra, get the good stuff, and don't worry about it again most likely.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

.....and, seriously, check or replace that fan clutch. A bad fan clutch will knock out a water pump.

A few weeks ago I was under my own truck doing some suspension work. I like to lay there with my flashlight and just look around. I do this periodically. This time I look up and notice a drip hanging off my lower radiator hose. Closer look reveals the water pump is leaking out the weep hole.

No big deal, I go in the house and Rockauto a new pump and a new lower hose for good measure.

Ain't no big deal. I do love catching issues before they become a problem anyway. This is a new-to-me truck so I'm still catching up on stuff that needs attention.

The new pump gets here and I install it and the hose. No issues whatsoever. I'm actually humming and enjoying the process. I do love fixing trucks. Then I reach over and grab the fan to install it and something sticky gets on my fingers. What the hell ? Fan clutch leaking. I hadn't noticed that before. Then i really look close and when I rock it forcefully, there is a lot of play in the clutch. A lot !

What's the point ? I nearly missed it and the fan clutch was guaranteed the reason the water pump failed to start with. That's a lot of mass mounted on the snout of that water pump and when it spins wobbly, the bearings stand no chance of enduring it for very long.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

I remember when water pumps weren't a fail item. First original pump on my '89 didn't last long at all. In '94 on my third engine that I installed myself at the curb outside my apt. at the time I went with an Edelbrock water pump that was still going strong when I replaced that engine twenty years later at 190K with a fresher engine. I'll stick with the Edelbrock pumps since I feel the ACDelco parts don't have the dependability they once had.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

It's the third because I've replaced it twice already. No idea why if failed back 17 years ago. I remember doing it back then because I got in big trouble when I did the job. It was August 2003 and I had just come back from colon cancer surgery. Three months shy of my 43rd birthday. Have you guys had your colononoscopy lately? I'm pretty sure I did it again since then. We just got hammered with snow here in NJ and it will be a while before it's warm enough to do the job. Gives me time to order up new upper and lower hoses.

Are the heater hoses formed or are they just standard? Bout time those got done too.

Paul

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

And a 17yr run is a pretty decent service life!

Mechanical items fail. I'm w/Tx Firefighter on the clutch-fan inspection if someone has a failure they think 'should not' have happened.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Thoughts on a fan that is slightly bent? Could that be the reason I've gone through 3 water pumps on my truck?

I'm looking for a replacement already. I didn't notice the bend when until after I sandblasted and painted the old one!

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Sounds like you found the root of the problem.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Well now the problem is matching up the fan with a replacement. NAPA shows two different fans. A metal 5 blade for trucks without AC and a plastic 11 blade fan for with AC. My truck has AC and it has a 5 blade metal fan that is about 19.5" across. The metal replacement fan says it is 18" across.

The listings on Rockauto and Advance show similar results.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/search...onEnabled=true

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Plastic if it's the same size is how I would go (NAPA says it's 19").

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

That's what I was thinking but why the heck does my truck have this 19" metal fan in it? I bought this truck new so I know it hasn't been replaced!

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

Might have been what was available from suppliers @ that time. My buddy told me they'll have different parts suppliers sometimes for the L/R versions of some parts strictly because one supplier beats another on costs for that particular item.

Re: 97 5.7 water pump
 

i got the ac delco heavy duty water pump and fan clutch, think it was 140 if i recall,
never had a issue works a treat. on my v6.