I'm about to change my water pump - main pump, not IC pump. There have been a few people who experienced a metallic tick sound under load at lower RMP - well water pump is the culprit. The job seems pretty straight forward: I'll remove the fan, put a cardboard behind the radiator as to not damage it. Pick up 2 gallons of coolant from Mercedes and top off with distilled water. I will outline the gasket on a piece of cardboard and insert the bolts in as I take them out as to not mix them up. I have all the necessary tools. I got a new Cardone pump for only $100. It came with a standard nylon gasket but also a rubber gasket of the same shape that's like a rubber band. Not sure what that is for? Those of you who replaced the pump please advise regarding the gasket and if anything tricky/anything I'm missing. Thanks.

 

Good luck, read this thread as it mentions the Cardone part and some holes that may or not be there and some that may need tapping before assembly. So check your new part with the old part to see if they are the same.

I'm not sure about the correct way to do this job but if you are draining all the coolant I would suspect that removal of the radiator would make the job much easier.
They say that you should keep all the bolts laid out in the pattern they came out in as the bolts vary in length.

 

Hi,
I am just at the same point..I removed the metal gasket, and am looking at the paper like and rubber band gasket you describe. What did you do leave the metal gasket off and just use the paper like gasket on the replacement pump?
KJN

 

Good evening,

I have been hearing a grinding + high pitched sound from the engine compartment, and now I have a leak from the front of the water pump. Has anyone tried the Needswings SRT6 water pump they have listed on their website? Does it have all the right size holes, threading, etc? Somewhere I read that the pulley kit won't fit on the Cardone water pump. Water Pump .

Assuming Needswings is 100% identical to the OEM and requires no modifications to fit the pulley kit, what else justifies the $300 difference vs the Cardone one available at parts geek (55-83333)? | Partsgeek.com

Thanks!
-Mike

 

Hi Mike,
The pump that needswings has listed is correct in that it has the correct casting to work with the various belt wrap kits. As far as the price that Rob (needswings) has listed for this pump he is offering, while I can't tell you whether this part is $300 better than a Cardone, I (and most others on this forum) can vouch for the quality and integrity of needswings AND their generally small margin (low mark-up) on parts. So needswings is likely offering the best quality .... and the price listed is probably about the best price you will find for this version of this part.

here are a couple of pics that will better illustrate the difference between 2 replacement pumps that will work .... while only 1 will support the belt wrap kit(s)

Chris