Is it just me, or does this sound like a stupid idea?

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
10/20/2018 at 21:07 • Filed to: None

Mitsubishi water pump, driven by the timing belt in an interference engine. That just seems like a recipe for disaster, or at the very least a rather expensive replacement for a fairly simple, easily worn part.

I don’t like it, but when doing the timing belt on the M20 in the 525i I always replace the water pump since I have the engine apart already. But if that relatively inexpensive pump should fail it wouldn’t cause pistons to meet valves, unlike the Mitsu.

DISCUSSION (15)

random001 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 21:21

Depends on what failure means. I haven't had a water pump fail that wasn't sprung a leak or stop pumping water, but never had one that failed to the stop spinning and size up stage.

Gerry197 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 21:26

I can definitely see your point should the water pump some how cause the primary belt to stop working. B ut it’s usually the pump that’s damaged by the belt/tensioner rather than the other way around.

I don’t remember the water pump being a major issue with the M20 including how its connected. The timing belt on the M20 isn’t that hard to replace. Most folks who have the M20 in their cars will replace their time belt and water pump every 4-5 years.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 21:30

Same goes for the Chrysler 2.7 ... Sure they fixed the sludge issue but if the timing tensioners fail (at 120k) everything gets grenaded. Good news is if you need to service your timing system you can install a new water pump at the same time. Hell let's do some cams while we're at it!

for Michigan > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 21:34

The D16 in my Civic was designed the same way.

MM54 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 21:43

I’ve always looked down on timing belt driven water pumps in general, so yeah. That said, I’m also not particularly keen on timing belts in the first place.

Urambo Tauro > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
10/20/2018 at 21:53

if you need to service your timing system you can install a new water pump at the same time

And if all you needed was to replace a water pump... you get to spend all day messing a round with that other crap as well !

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > Urambo Tauro
10/20/2018 at 21:58

So many things are open and exposed! What else can we get into?!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > MM54
10/20/2018 at 22:06

I don’t have too many issues with timing belts on non-interference engines, but I get a little worried with interference engines. Like you, it's just a risk I'd prefer not to take.

Urambo Tauro > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
10/20/2018 at 22:11

Let’ s see, there was... the m otor mount... drive belts... harmonic damper... timing cover gasket... geez what a PITA

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > for Michigan
10/20/2018 at 22:46

The D17 is the same.

atfsgeoff > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/20/2018 at 23:16

pretty common setup for engines with timing belts. My Volvo S70 has the same thing, interference engine too. Fortunately they’re not known for seizing.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/21/2018 at 00:30

This is a common setup for Japanese engines. Honda and Mazda also made plenty of interference engines with timing belt driven water pumps. It is a non-issue, because the water pump is replaced as a matter of course every 60k (or whatever the called for interval was, sometimes 90 or 100k on later stuff) with the timing belt. On the $600-$1000 timing belt job, t he cost of the water pump and the .5 billable to bolt on a new one is de minimis. Any mechanic or shop worth their salt shouldn’t even offer to do a timing belt job without replacing the water pump on such an engine .

pip bip - choose Corrour > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/21/2018 at 06:22

normal, i replace my water pump every 200k km as by then it’s leaking

timing belt every 100k as per service book, car is now just shy o f 700k

jimz > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
10/21/2018 at 09:36

The one thing I don’t like about the Ford Cyclone (3.5) V6 is that the water pump is inside the timing cover, driven by the chain. That better be one robust pump design, ‘cos if it starts leaking it’s going to be dribbling coolant into the crankcase.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > atfsgeoff
10/21/2018 at 09:55

Hmm, did not know this. My experience with belts is limited to VW and BMW; I didn’t have the Benz or Porsche long enough for timing belts or chains to be an issue, and on the Ford, well, I just didn't care...