89, 245
non turbo
152,000


Can I get a thorough going over on all the issues surrounding water pumps for the B230F engine?

... How to know for sure if it has gone south?

... what brand is the best value? The $20 more OEM (by Scantek), or the German Water Pump manufacturer Hepu? or GMB? Cold the cheaper German ones even be better and cost less?

... Anyone try em all or ever take'm all apart? ... Need opinions on any quality aspects of the pumps?

... Any to avoid?

... And why do all the various brands have a different assortment of associated but needed parts that go with the pump - no standardization on what you need, except for the two? big gaskets; the big thick O-ring seal, and the smaller o-ring seal. The rest of the parts vary from 7 small rings, or 6 small rings, or 2 small rings that come with the pump; 3 bolts with some pumps or no bolts with others; four studs with some pumps or none; This is most confusing and impossible to know what to do beforehand. Anyone been there and done that?

I will look at the FAQS for the install if I need to get a pump.

Till then -- Diyer

Opinion 1. The coolant pump on a 240 fails when the bearing wears and the seal fails - leaking out the weep hole. It does this because the alternator belts are too tight, not because the pump was inferior.

Opinion 2. A stamped impeller may be even better than a cast impeller. Who among you all have replaced a 240 pump because of impeller failure or wear? A cast impeller may move less coolant at idle, when it is needed, sitting at that long stop light in 95 degree weather. See the impeller on the left compared to the HEPU on the right. I don't know if it was a GMB, but it was not Volvo, and I'm not sure who else makes them. It pumped next to nothing at idle. No pic of a stamped impeller, but they look even better at stirring the juice.

Opinion 3. I like the pump Volvo sells, mainly for its well machined sealing surfaces even though it has a stamped steel impeller. But getting two HEPUs for the price of one overcomes my praise.

Opinion 4. Watch for pitting of the head under the donut seal. A leak here is often confused with a water pump leak.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Better to change than worry about.

I've had outstanding success with HEPU over 6 Bricks...solid brass impeller...VERY well made...and cheap (around $40)...be sure you check the archives as there's a little voodoo involved in changing the WP..good time to add an all-metal radiator too..120 bucks and NO MORE WATER WORRIES!

Good Luck...Dee Jay

Another big fan of the Hepu pumps here. The manufacturing quality and fit is simply better than the others.
--
-------Robert, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel , '80 245 diesel

I went with Hepu from Groton. Buy an extra gasket kit if you want, just in case you wreck an o-ring on first try. It can happen. The extra kit is about $2.50. Bad ones can leak, or make noise and/or have shaft wobble.
--
Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, M46; 86 240, 130K

Doug C., there is no way I can agree with you on that one any better than "yes"! It happened to me... and I don't know why they don't just include one more in the kit while they're at it (only cost them a penny anyways) :-) Take Care, Michael

I'm in the "replace the whole front of the motor while it's apart" camp. My rule of thumb is that if you are doing a timing belt, then you are doing a water pump too. So when I buy a water pump, I buy one that I can be sure will last 60k miles, and I may spend a few extra bucks to get a better pump, but I don't worry too much about it.

I will say that the pump I installed on my car has a cheap stamped impeller, and I would prefer a cast iron one. My car cools fine, though, so whatever.

-Steve

Stephen Webb, it would help to know which brand you are referring to as stamped and which brand you preferred with cst iron?


Thanks -- diyer

Replaced mine with a GMB. Runs fine and stays cool. Michael

In my opinion, Hepu is the only way to go. A water pump is no place to save a couple of dollars. The GMB pumps are fine; the Hepu pumps are better. Hard to quantify with pinpoint accuracy, but the overall construction of the Hepu pump is very good. I particularly like the cast impeller.

Also the Volvo pump is twice the money, but from what I've seen, it does not last twice as long. Therefore: the value stands on the Hepu pump.

All bets are off if the cam seal leaks on the gaskets or if the pump is run dry, or if the belts are overtightened. At that point, they'll all have problems sooner than later.

--
Chris Herbst, Chicagoland

I think most of the ones I've installed have been GMB pumps and they seem to work fine. Most of the time, from what I've seen, the top seal (to the head)leaks after oil attacks it. In general, the pumps are so cheap, that doing the typical front-engine service is simply more cost-effective to change everything:
timing belt, 3 oil seals, water pump, and all the v-belts. If there is any evidence of oil on the existing pump, that usually means a cam seal is bad, and that means tearing it down to get at the cam sprocket at the bare minimum, so it's only a step further to get the water pump out.
If JUST the top seal is leaking I might consider just pulling the pump, replacing the seals and gaskets and stick it back in. But that would only be if I had some idea of the age of the pump. As I said, they're cheap enough through online suppliers that there's not much economy in expending the effort to pull it out, just to put an old one back in. For DIY projects, I tend to buy more parts with the labor $$ I'm saving. Not saying you'd have to do it this way, but it definitely brings peace-of-mind.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 'Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!'

They go south when they leak, either at the shaft seal or at the head o-ring. Don't even consider trying to rebuild one.

I have had great experience with Hepu pumps, which come with all the hardware and gaskets/seals.