Water pump question

df2x4 said:

This here is the answer. Although I've also seen an ACDelco "Advantage" line which I believe is in the same lower tier category as the "Silver."

IMO good call going with the OEM part, I do so whenever possible. While it's true that a good chunk of the OEM GM/ACDelco parts are now coming from China, I strongly believe that you're more likely to get a better part going with OEM over any of the other lines. Reason being someone at GM chose those Chinese suppliers for their top tier OEM parts. I can't imagine they'd let quality control slip too badly without switching suppliers.

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I completely agree with that statement. Plus, we’re talking about a water pump, not an easy to get to and replace sensor that worst case gives a bad indication and is quickly swapped. I’ve spent too much $ on this engine that to cheap out on the cooling.

I’m sure that this will be the best of the Chinese water pumps!! Lol

clgodwin79 said:

I completely agree with that statement. Plus, we’re talking about a water pump, not an easy to get to and replace sensor that worst case gives a bad indication and is quickly swapped. I’ve spent too much $ on this engine that to cheap out on the cooling.

I’m sure that this will be the best of the Chinese water pumps!! Lol

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Was gonna send you this but you already purchased one. These are Made in Canada and OEM. I installed one last summer with zero issues.

Stringer said:

Probably both will fit, just different levels of quality.

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Caman96 said:

No offense to Stringer but there’s probably at least some reason why one is $100 more.

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1998_K1500_Sub said:

I usually get the more expensive part.

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Expense does not equal quality. It affords the manufacturer the opportunity to build in more quality, but in my experience the CEOs usually run off with that money. The perception that expense means more quality is why branding is a thing. If others tell you of their good experience with a certain brand, you're more willing to spend more money on that brand, and then the CEOs start to think their brand is worth more than their actual product. With the amount of off-shoring we've seen, AC Delco is definitely guilty of this. You cannot trust their cost to be an indicator of their quality.

If someone could speak with solid evidence that one water pump is a new manufacture with quality seals, and the other is a relabeled off-brand with crappy seals, then we'd be somewhere. As it stands right now, I see no reason to trust the $150 pump more than the $50 pump.

Caman96 said:

Was gonna send you this but you already purchased one. These are Made in Canada and OEM. I installed one last summer with zero issues.

1996 - 2008 General Motors NOS Water Pump GM # 12532528 - Oldsmobile Obsolete

This new old stock water pump was manufactured by General Motors for use on the following models: Cadillac 1999 – 2000 Escalade. Chevrolet 1996 – 2008 Application Unknown See Parts Books. Chevrolet and GMC Pickup 1996 – 2008 CKG-15-25-35, Sierra, Suburban,Van, Blazer, Jimmy, Safari, Yukon...

www.oldsobsolete.com

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I appreciate the info and you putting in the effort!

As I have gotten older I tend to purchase more name brand parts and GM OEM when possible. Probably placebo but it gives me piece of mind. Honestly time is what I am always missing. I figure that if I by more expensive parts I have a better chance of only doing the job one time.

When I was younger, I had plenty of time, I would buy whatever Autozone had on the shelf. I bought my first two door with a leaking water pump. I slapped a "new" not reman Duralast water pump on it. I daily drove it for 8+ years and 100K+ miles. Never had an issue.

Kchevys said:

As I have gotten older I tend to purchase more name brand parts and GM OEM when possible. Probably placebo but it gives me piece of mind. Honestly time is what I am always missing. I figure that if I by more expensive parts I have a better chance of only doing the job one time.

When I was younger, I had plenty of time, I would buy whatever Autozone had on the shelf. I bought my first two door with a leaking water pump. I slapped a "new" not reman Duralast water pump on it. I daily drove it for 8+ years and 100K+ miles. Never had an issue.

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I'm the same way. It makes me feel better to buy the, "higher end" parts. But as with anything, you could get a dud high end part, or an amazing off brand part. You have no way of knowing. Only time will tell. But like you said, my time and not having the potential to redo a job or replace a part is well worth the extra money, within reason. I get it, I could be paying extra for nothing, but if it makes me feel better and sleep better to do it then that's what's best for me. If it makes you feel better to feel like you saved money or scammed the system and that makes you sleep better, then you should do that. There's no right or wrong in my opinion.

Erik the Awful said:

Expense does not equal quality. It affords the manufacturer the opportunity to build in more quality, but in my experience the CEOs usually run off with that money. The perception that expense means more quality is why branding is a thing. If others tell you of their good experience with a certain brand, you're more willing to spend more money on that brand, and then the CEOs start to think their brand is worth more than their actual product. With the amount of off-shoring we've seen, AC Delco is definitely guilty of this. You cannot trust their cost to be an indicator of their quality.

If someone could speak with solid evidence that one water pump is a new manufacture with quality seals, and the other is a relabeled off-brand with crappy seals, then we'd be somewhere. As it stands right now, I see no reason to trust the $150 pump more than the $50 pump.

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I agree that expense doesn't necessarily equate to quality. BUT, if a manufacturer has silver/gold/OEM or whatever naming convention of the different tiers of parts, I have to trust that.

I get that it doesn't, in a vacuum, mean that more expensive is more better, but for a company as big as GM, I'd like to believe in them. Or else I wouldn't own or drive their vehicles at all, however new or old they are.

So if by me paying 3 times as much I get and even twice as good part, and the other third of my money goes into some CEOs pocket, so be it.

So again, maybe the part will be better, maybe worse, or maybe even the same thing in a different box. It doesn't seem like anyone even knows the current country of manufacture, much less done the leg work to buy the different ones and do a comparison.

So if it makes you feel better to save money on the cheaper, or even non GM brand part, go for it. And I think that you should if that's how you feel.

But for me, it makes me feel better to spend the extra and trust that GM's tiers of parts quality has at least SOME merit to it.

Again, I've seen brand new cheap parts last forever and brand new high quality parts be failed right out of the box. No matter what it's a crap shot. And no matter what, there's a customer base to buy the higher and lower tiers of the parts. And I'd be willing to bet that they make more income and profit overall from the lower tier than the higher tier, just based on the quantity of sales on the lower tiers alone.

Anyway, like I said before, I'll be sure top post pics of the box and the part when I get them and let each individual person be the judge of quality and which part they would chose.

Some people also think that it's stupid to get a COVID vaccination and some that it's stupid not to. Some people can't afford to pay for insurance, while others have the mindset that they can't afford not to. To each their own. And the great part is that we don't have to agree.

My original question was why the price difference at all on GM branded parts. Which, come to find out, was based on GM's tiers of parts. So I made my decision based on that vs what I personally could afford.

Generally speaking you get what you pay for.

Caman96 said:

Generally speaking you get what you pay for.

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Agreed

Caman96 said:

Generally speaking you get what you pay for.

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Stating it another way...

If you don't pay for it, you won't get it.

You may not get it if you pay for it, either

Inexpensive part --> lesser quality part

Expensive part --> possibly higher quality part

As I said earlier, I'll typically spend more for the possibly higher quality part.