Waterpump: wait or swap preventatively

[alvocado]

I'm looking for input on a water pump replacement. I have quite a bit of long highway trips coming up and my Yukon has the original factory water pump with 222k miles on it. It is operating with no issues and I've changed coolant per the maintenance schedule since the truck was new.

I have only experienced one water pump failure on a GM truck many years ago and the pump had a slow leak develop. I swapped an Audi pump a couple of weeks ago and that unit started leaking profusely in one day; it would have never made it home on a long trip.

Question for the group: do these GM pumps tend to show signs of failure with enough warning that it's reasonably reliable for long trips or is it common for them to leave you stranded? I'm looking at 1000 miles round trip for both runs.

I hate changing parts unnecessarily but it continues to amaze me how long the factory pump is hanging in there.

 

[bill1013]

I’ve never had to replace water pumps on the three GMC trucks I’ve owned. Radiators…Oh Yeah. The plastic on the return port always cracks after around 140K. But if you have doubts about the pump then to eliminate your doubts replace it. It will make your trip less stressful and you can get your mind focused on more important things. Hope that helps. Aloha!

 

[Geotrash]

I'm looking for input on a water pump replacement. I have quite a bit of long highway trips coming up and my Yukon has the original factory water pump with 222k miles on it. It is operating with no issues and I've changed coolant per the maintenance schedule since the truck was new.

I have only experienced one water pump failure on a GM truck many years ago and the pump had a slow leak develop. I swapped an Audi pump a couple of weeks ago and that unit started leaking profusely in one day; it would have never made it home on a long trip.

Question for the group: do these GM pumps tend to show signs of failure with enough warning that it's reasonably reliable for long trips or is it common for them to leave you stranded? I'm looking at 1000 miles round trip for both runs.

I hate changing parts unnecessarily but it continues to amaze me how long the factory pump is hanging in there.

These usually start weeping before they fail but we've seen a few instances of the back cover getting blown out and a few impellers coming loose over the years.

It's an easy job and the parts are cheap. It would bring you peace of mind, so my vote is to replace with either OEM or Gates. I did the same on both of my Yukon XL Denali's when I was in there doing other work. Be sure to replace the thermostat with OEM, too. And you might as well replace the belt tensioner(s) and idler pulleys, too. Again, OEM or Gates would be the best choices, in my view.

Then at that mileage you might as well do the radiator, all hoses, and coolant tees by the firewall, too. You'd have a whole new cooling system for not that much money. For reference, I got about 220K out of the original radiator in my 2007 before a crack in an end tank appeared and started weeping on a road trip. Nursed it home and replaced the radiator with a new Denso (OEM manufacturer) from Rock Auto.

Come back here any time and we'll help you spend your money.

 

[alvocado]

It's becoming far to easy to spend money as the mileage creeps up @Geotrash , despite the truck being incredibly reliable since new. I experienced some trauma over the holidays when the torque converter imploded 5 hours from home so let's say I'm a little more focused on high wear items that have outlasted their typical service life.

 

[PPV_2018]

Replace it. Both my water pumps failed within a week of each other. One truck with 130k and the other with 40k (but also 23 years on it)

agree with @Geo with OEM or Gates.

 

[donjetman]

be proactive, change it now.

 

[alvocado]

Consensus wins. Parts are ordered for a swap this weekend including new hoses. I might even do @rdezs rear heater core rubber line retrofit if I'm feeling ambitious.

Does anyone recall how much coolant drains out with the water pump off and rad drained? I'll use a coolant vacuum fill tool but I know it won't require anywhere near all 18.3 qts.

 

[Doubeleive]

lik

I'm looking for input on a water pump replacement. I have quite a bit of long highway trips coming up and my Yukon has the original factory water pump with 222k miles on it. It is operating with no issues and I've changed coolant per the maintenance schedule since the truck was new.

I have only experienced one water pump failure on a GM truck many years ago and the pump had a slow leak develop. I swapped an Audi pump a couple of weeks ago and that unit started leaking profusely in one day; it would have never made it home on a long trip.

Question for the group: do these GM pumps tend to show signs of failure with enough warning that it's reasonably reliable for long trips or is it common for them to leave you stranded? I'm looking at 1000 miles round trip for both runs.

I hate changing parts unnecessarily but it continues to amaze me how long the factory pump is hanging in there.

like a few other things I would say the typical life of a GM waterpump is 160k, but...... that's a "average"
they can either start to weep out the main bearing seal OR just flat out blow out the main seal
I have seen them do both
for peace of mind if it were me I would go ahead and do it @222k IF I was anticipating traveling such as you are just to be on the safe side.
yes it's a little investment for OEM one but then you are good to go, I would not use aftermarket for the waterpump.
like already mentioned I would also do the heater hoses and T's also with OEM those T's if original are past there expected life and are 100% prone to just snapping right off at the worst possible moment because they get brittle from heating and cooling for years and years.
Radiator on these also can "crack" on the plastic end tanks and start to leak, typically though that's not a "emergency situation" and they generally will give you time to replace it and still make it down the road by topping the coolant off.
the only good thing is if a heater hose snaps off at the T you can pinch the hoses off, fill up the coolant and get down the road still you just won't have any heat

 

[Doubeleive]

Consensus wins. Parts are ordered for a swap this weekend including new hoses. I might even do @rdezs rear heater core rubber line retrofit if I'm feeling ambitious.

Does anyone recall how much coolant drains out with the water pump off and rad drained? I'll use a coolant vacuum fill tool but I know it won't require anywhere near all 18.3 qts.

if you are just swapping parts out and not flushing the whole system 2-3 gallons max, I usually just grab 2 of the concentrate and am good to go, I don't leave the coolant in there long enough to require using distilled water so I just use the hose and concentrate

 

[petethepug]

Just had mine done @ 185k on my 6.2L. Not a wise idea to prolong the repair. I thought these trucks had a low coolant sensor. NOPE.

By the time you had an idiot light show or see the engine temp creeping up, your engine is 60+\- seconds from needing to be shut down or damage.