Just for another point of comparison, this weekend I will be replacing a
water pump on a Chevy 305 with a little over 70K on it.

Cya,
Robert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Old Volks Home" <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 6:27 PM
Subject: Re: yet another water pump

>I got 65K out the German pump I installed in 1997, replaced with a Graf in
> 2000.  Put a new one on when I reman'd the engine over 2 years ago as a
> precautionary procedure.  Frankly, I think the quality of a German HEPU
> and
> Italian GRAF are about the same, regardless of the coolant used.  As I
> have
> conversed with Vanagon owners over the past 15 years, the average life
> reported is around 60K.  Pretty dismal compared to other makes.  The 89
> H*nda Accord I traded in 2 years ago had over 260K on the engine with the
> original water pump (verified by the original owner and his great records
> he
> kept on it when I bought the car).  Owner had replaced the hoses,
> thermostat, radiator and other related stuff over the years, but the water
> pump was just fine.
> --
> Jim Thompson
> 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> 73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
> 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> **********************************
> On 11/2/06, gary hradek <hradek@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dennis,
>>          30k in five years in California.   I try to use it mostly for
>> camping and short weekend trips at least once every two weeks.
>> Perhaps just sitting like you said.   I have the old pump so perhaps I
>> will dig a bit deeper.   I am
>> Just wondering if it could be the dexcool(orange stuff) that is detergent
>> based?   thanks gary
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@optonline.net>
>> To: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2006 5:21:18 PM
>> Subject: RE: yet another water pump
>>
>>
>> Why would you think the re-packaged, (Bosch is now a re-seller of many
>> parts), maybe Graf pump will outlast a German pump? How long should a
>> pump
>> last? How was it used?
>>
>> I am among the few on the list that has owned the FUN BUS since new. The
>> first water pump failed at three years and 49,000 miles. A leaker! It was
>> replaced by a dealer in Florida under warranty. The next one got a
>> squeaky
>> bearing on the way to Alaska at 96,000 miles. I changed that one in a
>> campground in Michigan.
>>
>> Anyway, I have seen water pumps go from the low 50K's to well over 100K.
>> No
>> obvious consistency by brand. Usage, speeds, seem to have an impact. The
>> higher speed and long distance drivers tend to eat up seals and bearings.
>> Also, engines that sit frequently loose pumps also. A loose belt can be
>> as
>> bad for the bearings as an overly tight one due to all that bouncing and
>> whipping.
>>
>> So how many miles were on it in 5 years. 60K, got your use. No mileage,
>> shaft probably corroded from sitting and seal assembly could no longer
>> slide
>> to compensate for wear or thermal expansion and died that way.
>>
>> Dennis
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
>> Of
>> gary hradek
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:53 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: yet another waterpump
>>
>> After five years the waterpump(german made) from
>> busdepot began to leak out of the weep hole.
>> I had taken care not to over tighten the belt as I
>> could just barely hear a belt squeal when I first
>> started the van.   I had changed the coolant using
>> dexcol.   The up side was I had replaced the hoses
>> when I replaced the waterpump so this time around I
>> only needed to change the pump.   I bought a bosch
>> made in Italy from my flaps for about 20 dollars more
>> than the from busdepot.   I had removed the pushrod
>> cover and the other sheetmetal on the left side.
>> This time I remove one clamp on the oil cooler and
>> detached the oil cooler from the waterpump and engine
>> sliding the oil cooler off with the metal pipe to the
>> waterpump still attached.   When you get the oil
>> cooler gasket make sure you get the one that attached
>> to the cooler and not just the oil ring that busdepot
>> sells.
>> Thepartsbin has a good picture of this difference.
>> Having the oil cooler out gives a bit more space and
>> seems to make the job go easier.
>> It will be interesting to see how long this pump
>> lasts.   I am happy to pay more for a pump that would
>> last a bit longer.  Gary