Confused. Help with thermostat housing

[Diesel6point6]

Hey guys! My water pump sprung a leak so it's that time. I'm about to order a gates WP part # 45005 but I've ran into some confusion when looking at the thermostat housing to mate up to it. Basically I'm getting two different part #'s from different sources. Some sources say to use gates p/n 34702, while others say to use gates p/n 33910. I'm hoping you guys can clarify which I need to get. I can't seem to clearly find what the difference is between the two, other than some slightly different outlet/inlet measurements and 1 degree difference in the thermostat. Please help!

Vehicle is an 03 Yukon Denali with the six oh.

 

[OR VietVet]

I looked at RA for the thermostat housing info and found the Gates #34702 you talked about but no Gated #33910. Why not use GM parts? Anyway, it boils down to which pump you have because there has been an updated water pump thrown in the mix. One of the GM applications asks if the GM pump on the rig is a casting #12562459 and then that tells you what housing to order and why. Gates does not share that. If the pump has already been replaced with an aftermarket pump, then the casting number will not be there or if is a GM pump will be the casting number I speak of or another casting number.

 

[Diesel6point6]

I looked at RA for the thermostat housing info and found the Gates #34702 you talked about but no Gated #33910. Why not use GM parts? Anyway, it boils down to which pump you have because there has been an updated water pump thrown in the mix. One of the GM applications asks if the GM pump on the rig is a casting #12562459 and then that tells you what housing to order and why. Gates does not share that. If the pump has already been replaced with an aftermarket pump, then the casting number will not be there or if is a GM pump will be the casting number I speak of or another casting number.

Thank you for taking the time to research into that for me.

RA is actually the place I'm going to order from and I too noticed they listed 34702, but not 33910. I actually got 33910 from a post on this forum, the guy purchased the exact pump I'm getting and he got 33910 to mate to it. I had to search RA by product # instead of by vehicle to find it, but they do have it on there.

The reason for gates vs GM. I'm 9/10 the type of guy that goes Acdelco even if it's more expensive because I've had horrible luck with aftermarket stuff, however after reading several posts on here and other forums as well, it seems the gates water pump is highly regarded and there is a pretty substantial price difference so I took that into consideration and decided to go away from Acdelco this time. Since I'm going with a gates pump I figured for the sake of fitment, it's probably best to go with the same brand for the thermo housing.

I actually contacted Gates themselves and the guy I spoke with was just as confused as me so it wasn't much help unfortunately. However we muddled through it and he ultimately came to the conclusion that 33910 is for "OE and most aftermarket pumps" and the 34702 is for a specific "updated GM pump" so he said 33910 is the one I needed to get. Albeit he didn't sound very sure lol.

 

[OR VietVet]

He was just giving you an answer after he flipped a coin. He is not paid to NOT give an answer. If I was him, I would not have come up with a guess but would have asked to call you back after getting help with research for the application problem.

 

[SnowDrifter]

OEM pumps vs some aftermarket pumps use different housings. Couldn't tell you why, only that it is.

Match the housing to your pump. If you're not sure, just get both and return the other

 

[Diesel6point6]

He was just giving you an answer after he flipped a coin. He is not paid to NOT give an answer. If I was him, I would not have come up with a guess but would have asked to call you back after getting help with research for the application problem.

Completely agree with you. I actually work in a similar role (different industry) and I regularly ask to call a customer back if I don't know the answer. I'd rather that than pretend like I know what I'm talking about and screw somebody over.

Anyway, I've been in overdrive researching this and I think 33109 is in fact the one I need. Reason I say that is I've seen a lot of reviews, forum posts, even youtube videos with that going on the same pump and am having trouble finding 34702 mentioned anywhere in a similar fashion. And if I understood you correctly, you also mentioned that one is for when the updated GM pump gets put into the mix, which the gates does not follow that design. That updated GM pump must not be very popular or something? I'm just curious why I'm not finding much mention on the 34702 housing.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Completely agree with you. I actually work in a similar role (different industry) and I regularly ask to call a customer back if I don't know the answer. I'd rather that than pretend like I know what I'm talking about and screw somebody over.

At risk of adding a fluffer post: Thank you for that. Underrated, under-practiced bit there. Just *******.... Don't pull an answer out of your ass because you feel the need to give *something* then and there. Hell, even your doctor does it. You go to the office, nurse takes down your info, then there's a wait period between when the nurse leaves, and you're seen by the physician. Aside from getting paperwork going, you know what they're doing? They're brushing up on their notes based on the info you've provided. That's why if you come in with something wonky, you have to wait a few mins longer. Cause the doc is cross checking everything before they walk in the door.

 

[OR VietVet]

The most popular housing will be used most of course. Lots of times an OE design change creates problems but aftermarket companies design a way around that and just sell a one size fits all set up.

 

[OR VietVet]

At risk of adding a fluffer post: Thank you for that. Underrated, under-practiced bit there. Just *******.... Don't pull an answer out of your ass because you feel the need to give *something* then and there. Hell, even your doctor does it. You go to the office, nurse takes down your info, then there's a wait period between when the nurse leaves, and you're seen by the physician. Aside from getting paperwork going, you know what they're doing? They're brushing up on their notes based on the info you've provided. That's why if you come in with something wonky, you have to wait a few mins longer. Cause the doc is cross checking everything before they walk in the door.

Which is why when I ran shops and a vehicle came in I would ask the customer a lot of questions about their perceived problem. Sometimes it was very obvious what was happening but other times I could get what I needed as long as I asked enough questions. Sometimes the customer asks why I ask so many questions. My stock answer was, "So I can save you money on the diagnostic side of your problem". It was the truth and not just a fill in answer. I liked talking to female owners because they paid close attention to my questions and typically answered honestly. Guys sometimes did not do that.

The biggest problems I ran in to was when they say the rig will not start. I then ask, "Do you mean you turn the key and nothing happens or you turn the key and engine spins but will not fire off?" For some reason, a lot of people would say they were sure it was a bad battery even though the engine spun over fine. That was ok. I then got a chance to educate that customer and earn their trust.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Which is why when I ran shops and a vehicle came in I would ask the customer a lot of questions about their perceived problem. Sometimes it was very obvious what was happening but other times I could get what I needed as long as I asked enough questions. Sometimes the customer asks why I ask so many questions. My stock answer was, "So I can save you money on the diagnostic side of your problem". It was the truth and not just a fill in answer. I liked talking to female owners because they paid close attention to my questions and typically answered honestly. Guys sometimes did not do that.

The biggest problems I ran in to was when they say the rig will not start. I then ask, "Do you mean you turn the key and nothing happens or you turn the key and engine spins but will not fire off?" For some reason, a lot of people would say they were sure it was a bad battery even though the engine spun over fine. That was ok. I then got a chance to educate that customer and earn their trust.

Preaching to the choir here dude.

I had a CSA who liked to do his own 'diagnosis' and write up work orders with 'replace part' and provide no more info. Then get offended when I pried for details. Then get upset when he was wrong (about 40% of the time) and start blaming me or the replacement parts.

Too many steps to lose info. Customers give their interpretation of what's wrong. CSA re-words that. By the time I get it... What started off as a 'brake noise in the morning' has morphed into a vague 'brake inspection' where everything shows up fine. Test drive and a tear down later, all I found are warped rotors. Come to find out later that the customer only drives their vehicle a couple times a month and parks the thing in front of a sprinkler, which soaks and rusts the rotors