I'm coming up on the second serpentine belt abd timing belt change soon. 140,000 mi. Is it good preventive maintenance to change the water pump while everything is torn apart, or is the waterpump pretty much bulletproof?

I had the T-belt and hydraulic tensioner changed @ 140k miles. No WP leakage, so no need to change. Volvo WP is fairly robust, so no leak, no change. If you want peace of mind, then change it.

Ching-Ho Cheng
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1995 855 NA, Bilstein Strut & Shocks, Volvo Protective Grill, K&N Filter, E-Code Lens, ClearCorner Light, Alpine CD-Changer, AutoDim RearView Mirror, 6000K HID

Change the hydraulic tensioner and the idler pulley, the tensioner is likely to fail before the 210,000 mile change. The $10 serpentine belt, too, while it's off. The WP if it's leaking.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 156k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, V-1, Mobil-1 since new, Michelin Arctic Alpins

Rarely WP lasts more than 150-200 K miles in any car.
It is actually a necessary item to be changed.
Not that expensive.

cn

I've seen less than 5 bad pumps in 5 years. At Honda, we'd do is automatically with the tbelt. Not that they'd leak, just more $$ for parts and labor. Some of the other dealers do it or sell it to the cust as an option. The 960 pumps go more frequently than the 850 one. Also, you risk gettin a bad pump or not getting a good seal on the gasket, and you're worse off than before. When people ask if it should be done, I tell them only if it's leaking. It's a can of worms not worth opening.

some of the mileage on cars where the waterpumps were still going? Also 140,000 miles almost sounds like you couldn't ask for more!

Mine had 236,000 when water pump started leaking... had it replaced when timin belt was done.