Water pump life not great

I think the Gates water pump I put in when we got this Liberty as part of our getting the maintenance up to our standards is crapping out at 3 years and 8 months. I have had a really small coolant leak for the past couple of months that has really sped up. It is clearly coming from the water pump. I am yet to pull the serpentine belt to check for play, so it could just be the gasket, but from the looks of it I am replacing the water pump again.

Thinking of trying the AC Delco gold.

Had I used a cheap autozone one I would be replacing it for free ---- hmm.

Nothing is free , you still have your time and antifreeze etc
That is why those so called life time warranty's mean nothing to me
Buddy with an 03 KJ had lifetime warranty on a replacement radiator, in just over a year and a half replaced it 11 times , each time his time, more antifreeze etc were needed.
In the end he figured up with his time at only 5 bucks an hour it would of been cheaper to go with a factory Mopar radiator that a cheaper one with life time warranty
As far as how long things last , I have removed rebuilt factory MOPAR P/S pumps after 2 months due to leaks
Customer thought he bought the best when he bought from dealer, but anything can wear out/ go bad before you think it should.
My 04 has had a Gates water pump on it for over 90,000 miles and no issues to date

I have an AC Delco Gold on the 03, first one lasted a year, this one is going on 3 years now, (went back to AC Gold)

Another consideration would be the AC Delco Professional Grade series.
The Mopar would be an excellent choice, can be found for $105.
https://www.moparwholesaleparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-water-pump-53022189ah?c=Zz1jb29saW5nJnM9d2F0ZXItcHVtcC1hbmQtcmVsYXRlZC1wYXJ0cyZsPTEmbj1TZWFyY2ggUmVzdWx0cyZhPWplZXAmbz1saWJlcnR5Jnk9MjAwNCZ0PWxpbWl0ZWQmZT0zLTdsLXY2LWdhcw==

How about that -- the Mopar one looks like it has a plastic impeller. I was thinking of at least upgrading to a metal impeller. I am definitely getting a new Mopar thermostat and replacing it while I have the water pump and idle & tensioner off the front.

I had a rebuilt NAPA one that lasted about 70k and 5 or 6 years. I put a Mopar one on to replace it.

Ya the Mopar do use a plastic impeller and you can damage the plastic impeller if the wrong coolant is used.
Only Hoat or Zerex G-05 to be used in our Jeeps.

I put a metal impeller Gates water pump in my Jeep when I did the cooling system upgrade. So far no issues but its only been a few months, so I cant say much other than no leaks!

Mark what brand did you use? Some may even have a tad larger metal impeller.
As you are in the cold zone I'm curious, if you were to let the jeep idle for 5 minutes, then parked still, rev to 1800 rpm, do you suddenly feel the heat really come on then?

LibertyTC said:

Mark what brand did you use? Some may even have a tad larger metal impeller.
As you are in the cold zone I'm curious, if you were to let the jeep idle for 5 minutes, then parked still, rev to 1800 rpm, do you suddenly feel the heat really come on then?

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I used gates, forgot to add that!

This specific one - https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9653024&cc=1433762&jsn=1534

I have noticed that these jeeps get up to operating temp very fast. WAY faster than my 01 F150.

If I let it idle (As in started it to warm it up), by the time I get down my road its already at half temp for operating range. I've never had an overheating issue. (Yet)

What is your outside air temp there?
Strange at the 5 min mark at 4c, it wasn't even at the quarter mark at 1000rpm.
Only once I revved it to 1800 for another 5 min did it warm up to half way.
I'm going to plug in the OBD2 to see what temps are truly being reported.

LibertyTC said:

What is your outside air temp there?
Strange at the 5 min mark at 4c, it wasn't even at the quarter mark at 1000rpm.
Only once I revved it to 1800 for another 5 min did it warm up to half way.
I'm going to plug in the OBD2 to see what temps are truly being reported.

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Its been in the low 30's to low 40's these past few days.
I should probably use the OBDII to gather temps, never thought of gathering live data.
I just assumed if the gauge doesn't go above half then i dont have an issue. then again I've heard the gauges aren't 100% accurate.

Ive had a new napa unit in my KJ for many years now, no issues so far.

At this point I would go with mopar though. I dont recall being able to get a mopar unit for $100...

I know this high flow water pump is $129 but it may be something to consider ! Quality CNC !
It fits the 02-12 KJ & KK.
https://flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/co...751-1999-2013-jeep-dodge-3-7l-4-7l-water-pump

Others may need a high flow unit but Ive never had even a hint of overheating issues. Maybe if you hold it to the floor towing a big trailer up a hill on a 100F day...

LibertyTC said:

I know this high flow water pump is $129 but it may be something to consider ! Quality CNC !
It fits the 02-12 KJ & KK.
https://flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/co...751-1999-2013-jeep-dodge-3-7l-4-7l-water-pump

Click to expand...

Bookmarked for later use.

Keep a keen eye as far as the water pump guys. My 07 has 218k on it and still has the original water pump. The first time I had a leak I went and bought the water pump like everybody does. But when I got into it, I realized the water pump wasn't leaking. It was the gasket. So I returned it and picked up a gasket. Every time since I have looked first and it's been a gasket leak.

This might be a good selling point for me to get a Mopar gasket next time. Hadn't thought about that until now.

Duster said:

Keep a keen eye as far as the water pump guys. My 07 has 218k on it and still has the original water pump. The first time I had a leak I went and bought the water pump like everybody does. But when I got into it, I realized the water pump wasn't leaking. It was the gasket. So I returned it and picked up a gasket. Every time since I have looked first and it's been a gasket leak.

This might be a good selling point for me to get a Mopar gasket next time. Hadn't thought about that until now.

Click to expand...

Same issue here, mine had 185K when the gasket failed. I took it off and it turned to powder. I already had a metal impeller pump and gasket on hand so I replaced it as a whole. No issues as of now, it’s been 4 months and no issues.

Yeah it got real cold here recently and I noticed a leak. Upon close inspection it was the gasket AGAIN. I took it apart and put a Felpro on to try this time (blue). The one that was on there was OK looking black rubber, but it aparently wasn't rubbery enough anymore to seal in the cold. It seemed fine visually. Maybe it was hardened.

Think I used a felpro gasket when I replaced my water pump. Cant even remember how long its been, maybe 2016 or so?

Water pump woes.... I feel spoiled my wifes jeep has an engine that's got 75k on it BUT it's the original water pump I've been going through the list of random things of why it would keep overheating.... Fan was dead replaced it... relays seem fine upon testing... First time it overheated and i refilled it after replacing the fan was good for about a month now were back to overheating... Drained it... tested the thermostat and the spring failed to recoil properly (new thermostat...) Things look just a tad slugey after sitting for 5 years (with me tinkering with it fixing odds and ends like spark plugs, and a set of injectors for the last two of it) before It was graciously passed down through a family estate sale Now because the engin was replaced and this lovely kj 3.7 is slightly sludgey...., So... After refilling it.... if its not the thermostat (which was stuck slightly open btw just a crack but just wouldn't quite seal all the way not stuck closed (thank gods) So... The fans are workin fine far as i can tell... No towing package So just the 3 wire fan Am thinking next thing on the list of Failed thing is the water pump?!

And i'm totally confused what someone was saying.... about using certian antifreeze... The manual literally states just use ethaline glycol based... that's it?!