The original pump on my -93 945 was leaking at 50k / 3 years.
Replacement is still OK at 290k / 9 years later, also Volvo original.

I'd say the lifetime of an OEM waterpump varies a lot...

HTH,
mila

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. This is one of the 94's.

The pump was leaking thru the hole in the underside. Actually when new water was added to the expansion tank, water would quickly drip out somewhere. After removing the belt, it was obvious the main shaft was not spinning too freely.

I don't know the mileage; the odometer doesn't work, but maybe 40K on the old pump.
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89 240 wagon, 94 940, 215K, 94 940, 141K

Even with the most careful cooling system flushing and installation of new hoses and pump, you still have quite a bit of corroded parts in your cooling system.

If the car was driven a lot, six years is pretty good - if it sat a lot, six years might well have been great!

Age can introduce a lot of issues that would never show up in a car less than 10 years old.

Which car are you talking about?

Installed a new Volvo OEM water pump I bought from Tasca.

These are made in England, now. Can't recall the manufacturer.

A very small coolant loss began to form in about a year or less after install it. A little distilled water in the expansion tank, and some anti-freeze.

The rear seal had failed in such a way as to make any leak not so easy to detect. As the coolant was new (green Prestone, the silicate [not good for you] rich antifreeze) made little smell.

The dripping leak accrued in such a way as to fester in or around the alternator, which was original, save the voltage regulator brushes, on this 1991 Volvo 240.

So, I have a not so much used, yet much lauded as the best after-market, Hepu water pump from a boneyard 1994 or '95 940. Works fine.

I replaced the factory water pump with the new bought from Tasca Volvo water pump as a preventive step. So, there you go.
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The Volvo 164: The Mightiest of All Volvo Automobiles in Perpetuity

Depends on the failure, the quality of the pump, the condition of the coolant and the tightness of the belt.

First question to answer is...what failed exactly. and actual pump failure is normally the front seal (caused by the bushing wearing out sometimes from too much belt tension) or the impeller eroding possibly causing it to actually fall off the shaft (cheap aftermarket pump and/or severely compromised coolant over a very long period of time).

A large majority of the time, the mushroom seal or rubber band seal fail before the pump and folks like me replace the pump while we are in there.

How many miles on the pump? OEM?

On my three Volvo's, the only water pump problem I've had was my 240's pump leaking. That happened at roughly 190k. Car was about 14 years old. Could have been the original. Who knows, I had no previous owner records...