Water pump gone bad.

[adventurenali92]

So my 2006 yukon XL Denali started leaking yesterday. Just it was clear So I thought power steering fluid. Took it to my buddy who is a genius mechanic. Turns out it was water. Took him like less than 30 seconds to find my water pump was leaking. So I have to have him replace it. Car is 85,845 miles on the clock right now. Seems like it's way too soon to have to replace a water pump?! Am I correct in assuming that? I'm starting to think I bought a lemon with The issues Ive Had so far. Anybody's opinion Would be helpful.

 

[David Paul]

Replaced mine around the same mileage. Not hard or expensive to do, especially if your buddy can help you out. Not all that uncommon.

 

[adventurenali92]

Yeah he will get it done for me in the next few days. My durango I had before the Denali had just over 200k on the clock when I sold it and it never needed a water pump. Just makes me curious why the Denali pump went bad @ such low mileage. I'm finding my denali wasn't as well maintained as I thought it was by its previous owner. I'm noticing I need to have him also look @ the air ride system and figure out why the compressor doesn't kick on @ startup. Just hoping I didn't get stuck with another lemon.

 

[clandr1]

85,000 miles isn't much at all for a 2006. My guess is the lack of use/lubrication caused the seals in the water pump to dry up, and lead to an early (in terms of miles) failure. The WP on my 2005 failed at 120k in June of 2014. I now have 148k.

FWIW, replacing my water pump took me an hour, and it was my first time. I also did the upper and lower hoses and thermostat. It is super easy, especially if you have electric fans.

 

[adventurenali92]

My buddy is a close family friend and he is a genius mechanic so the water pump for him will be super easy he's also doing hoses and the thermostat. So that part im not worried about. I'm just wondering why it went so early. It had only 74,600 on the clock when I bought it in the end of February 2015. I've put just over 10,000 on it since I had it but it sat from November to April basically while I went through a major battle to get a new transmission put init. I use my car every day for my business so it got a ton use but then sat for those six months through the winter. So maybe it's like you said @clandr1 , lack of use. That's good input thank you! I hadn't thought of that!

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

80k is a tad bit early for a water pump but not terribly early there usually good till about the 100k mark

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

85,000 miles isn't much at all for a 2006. My guess is the lack of use/lubrication caused the seals in the water pump to dry up, and lead to an early (in terms of miles) failure. The WP on my 2005 failed at 120k in June of 2014. I now have 148k.

FWIW, replacing my water pump took me an hour, and it was my first time. I also did the upper and lower hoses and thermostat. It is super easy, especially if you have electric fans.

if i spent an hour swapping out a water pump im really really taking my time and you should always at least replace the thermostat anyways if your changing out the water pump
its just as easy with a fan clutch all you need is a small sledge and a large adjustable wrench

 

[clandr1]

if i spent an hour swapping out a water pump im really really taking my time and you should always at least replace the thermostat anyways if your changing out the water pump
its just as easy with a fan clutch all you need is a small sledge and a large adjustable wrench

Useless post is useless.

There is no point in bragging about how quickly you can do a repair when you compare yourself to someone (me) who did it for the first time, and was more worried about getting it perfect than doing it fast.

You don't always have to replace the thermostat. It is a good idea, but if the existing thermostat is functional, there is no requirement to replace.

It is not just as easy with a fan clutch - there are additional steps which means, by definition, it is more difficult.

 

[adventurenali92]

My buddy swapped the thermostat with the water pump since it was right there. Start to finish it took him a little over 2 hours which wasn't bad. He knows his way around an engine so for him it was easy. My car is back into commission after only 2 days so that's pretty good.