Looks like I need a new water pump... what's working for people?

[454cid]

I put a new GATES 44030 pump on my 454 not quite 3 years ago. It's bad. I thought it was the intake gasket finally getting bad, but crawling around my engine today, while it was cold, I've found it's got to be the pump.... all wet on the bottom and the intake area is dry.

I've been happy with the pump, but 2.5 years is too soon for it to be bad... I haven't driven it several months in part to this leak. It's got a warranty, but I'm not sure I want to put another Gates pump on.

Do the AC Professionals last? What about Airtex water pumps? I would try GMB since they're a big Japanese OEM, but there's a review on Amazon where a guy had the flange come off and trash his new radiator.

The other option would be to send off my previous GM pump to get rebuilt by someone like Waterpumpman.... more expensive but hopefully cheaper than AC Delco OEM @ almost $140... I'd also lose my second water port that I've wanted to use for the heater return.

 

[Supercharged111]

I've had my AC Delco pump on my 1500 for longer than 3 years now and it's still going. Looked identical to the original that I removed which is always nice. I put an aftermarket on from O Reilly's on the 3500 the day or 2 before I left for MI, otherwise I would have just waited for an AC Delco from Amazon.

 

[df2x4]

X2 for ACDelco OEM. I'd stay away from their cheaper "Professional" line. I replaced the factory pump in my Suburban with another OEM ACDelco four or five years ago, no issues so far. Red truck is still running the factory pump.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Express van had a GMB pump on it from 2004 until I noticed it leaking when I had the heads off and put the marine cam in it back in 2015. I put a Flowkooler on it then. Flowkooler was still working well when I built the 383 and put a Flowkooler TBI pump on it.

 

[rpoL98]

I put an Edelbrock aluminum WP on my 1997 Vortec L29, in a K3500. installed 2012. no issues. but not a high-miler. definitely a quality pump, probably overkill.

the pump cost less than $200 back in 2012, nowadays $262.

 

[df2x4]

I put an Edelbrock aluminum WP on my 1997 Vortec L29, in a K3500. installed 2012. no issues. but not a high-miler. definitely a quality pump, probably overkill.

the pump cost less than $200 back in 2012, nowadays $262.

Do you happen to know if Edelbrock makes a water pump that will fit a Vortec small block? I've never looked into it but I have an Edelbrock high volume water pump on my '70 Monte Carlo's 400SBC and that thing has been problem free for many years now.

EDIT - Answered my own question by checking out their online catalog, it looks like they do not make a pump for the small block Vortecs unfortunately.

 

[454cid]

I still haven't ordered anything, yet. It rained all day today too, so I haven't removed the Gates pump yet. It looks like the new AC Delco pumps are made in China... I'm not paying that kind of money for a Chinese pump.

I started researching pump brands in general and was getting a lot of hits from import forums from guys buying timing belt kits... it seems they change the pump at the same time and kits are sold for this. Lots of mixed reviews there. I saw a thread on GMTNation where guys were reporting that Gates pumps seem to give out about 3 years, although I'm not sure what engines they were talking about. Given mine has lasted roughly three years, I'm not putting a Gates back on. I considered just doing a warranty exchange.

I sent an email off to waterpumpman.com and have heard nothing back on rebuilding my previous GM pump.

 

[454cid]

I ordered an ASC/Airtex. Since it's still warm-ish here and there, I may even paint it! When I put the Gates on, it was winter, and too cold to think about paint. I guess now I have to decide if I want a black of some sort (flat/satin/etc) or if I want a color like Chevy Orange/Red, GM Blue, or Alpine Green <---- what factory color is that, anyone know??? Shhh Richard.

 

[454cid]

Speaking of paint, has anyone brushed on a "hammered" paint onto cast iron... or sprayed it out of a can? I've got a couple of spray cans, and a quart I could use. I should look at what I've already got on the shelf before buying more paint.

 

[454cid]

Painted the water pump today....46 degrees, can says at least 60F, so it may take awhile to dry! I would do 2 coats, but I don't want a sticky mess for days and days. It's a quart of Rustoleum Hammered Black that I've had for quite some time. I picked up the full can second hand, and have never used it. This is my first experience with this stuff. So far, I think I like it. Hopefully, it'll dry well and be fairly tough.

I think the paint went on pretty well. I just used a Harbor Freight chip brush. It went on thick since it's so cold. It didn't take long for the pattern to form.

Here's some crappy pictures while still tacky.

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