Hey guys this is more of an opinion question. When I took my car to an oil change place they replaced my coolant. In the process they got my opti spark wet so right when I drove out it started to back fire.

They are paying for a new one for me and I was just wondering, since I am replacing that should I replace the water pump. As of right now their is no signs of it failing.

Just a quick background of the car bought it from someone for 700. It just sat for a couple of years and all basic maintaince was never done. So i am pretty sure that this water pump is the original, Car has 157k on it.

Thanks

 

IMO if it ain't broke don't fix it. But if you feel as though it's a good idea it wouldn't hurt.

 

I would absolutely change it. A water pump with over 100k on it would be a no brainer.

 

Thanks guys for the input. Ill prob be getting a new one.

 

x's 2 .... if the water pump goes out next month u could risk getting water in the opticrap agin. U going with a factory optispark or are you upgrading it ?

 

From what I have found I am using the accel opti spark.

On the subject of water pumps I have read pros and cons from almost every pump from auto zone, napa, Orielly, etc.. What is a good water pump that I only have to put on once and not have to worry about for a little bit.

 

I would stick with ac delco or delphi on the opti and the gm factory replacement on the waterpump. My pump was still working fine at 150,000 + and have heard of several others .

 

I don't think water pump brand is as important as opti brand. I just went through some issues with my accel opti. I replaced with a Delphi. The accel had only a couple of hundred miles on it. Complete waste of money. Just get a lifetime pump from napa or oreillys.

 

If someone else is footin the bill then tell them to change the water pump. Most parts houses use the same procedure for rebuilding the pumps so it's really a crap shoot; go with whoever has the best warranty. As far as the opti goes use a delco or delphi unit as stated but make sure the whole unit is replaced and not just the cap/rotor.

 

Well.....my '96 Impala has an AC Delco pump.....no problems at all.

My '95 Impala had a reman'ed pump from O'Reilly's and the car ran hot (200*+ ). And since it ran hot, my AC sucked; not a good thing down here in San Antonio. Replaced it with a NIB AC-Delco pump.....now it runs about 170*-180*.....so both me and the car are now a lot cooler .

So yeah.....I am a believer that it's best to go with an OEM pump .

KW

 

Thanks guys for the advice. It was hard enough to get 300 for the opti that they originally said they were going to buy. So I am going to run the Accel and let you know what happens. If I have to change it in the future I may then just pull the entire motor and clean it up. At least after working on this once I know the tricks to get it fixed faster for next time, and it always helps that this a 3rd car so I don't need it done quickly.

 

How did you get a shop to agree to pay for a new opti on a car with that many miles?

 

shop around you want to get a delco or delphi opti and gm water pump. dont waste your money on cheap stuff your only going to spend it twice. and replace the seals on the time cover at the same time, get the felpro timeing cover kit its cheap and good quality parts.