hey guys,

My water pump has been making some nasty noices and I think the bearings are gone.....so I think it's about time to put a new one in.

I just called autozone, and they said they have one for 28.99 and a "high performance" one for 45.99.

What's the difference between normal and high performance? Is it worth it?

Thanks!

 

High performance usually means better bearings and higher flow, but I wouldnt buy one form them. There are other parts stores that have better pumps. You can get a high flow pump from summit racing for about 60 bucks.

 

Nothing wrong with autozone parts. They are all I have ever put on any of my cars.

If you have ever had a problem with a part from autozone its because you were trying to cut corners and got a 1yr warranty instead of a lifetime warranty. I cant tell you how many people come in bitching that a part broke and they just got it a year and a half ago. I look it up on the computer and it was a 1yr warranty. Thats why the things have a 1 year warranty folks because they are cheap. If you want something that will last a while open your damn wallet and get the lifetime warranty. If it does break then just take it off and get a new one for free which will also carry the lifetime warranty. We only carry those parts because there are so many cheap *** people out there who wont do anything more than they have to in order to get the car going. Many car lots come in and buy 1yr warranty batteries or used batteries if we have them in stock and 1yr brake pads, 1year water pumps, 1yr alternators.... and so on. They do this to increase their profits they arent thinking about customer satisfaction or anything else. There is a demand for cheap parts. Hell I sold an alternator the other day for 19.99. It was a cheap one and if it lasts them a year I will be amazed.

I have people that come in there and want some good brakes that wont put brake dust everywhere but instead of going with the performance friction with a lifetime warranty or the duralast gold semi-metallic with a lifetime warranty they get the valucraft with a 1yr warranty for 9.99. Then they dont want to use the disc brake quite or any caliper lube or at the very least brake parts cleaner. They want to get new brakes as cheap as they can and then they get what they pay for.

Yes there are problems with mechanical parts no matter what warranty it carries. There is always someone with a horror story about some part that was "the best" going out on them. I have put alternators and waterpumps and power steering pumps and a ton of other parts from autozone on many many cars without problems. I always get the lifetime warranty because I want to put good parts on my cars. If you get the asc/gmb aluminum water pump I can promise you that it will be a good water pump and will do everything one from summit or jegs will do, and if for some reason it does go out all you have to do is walk in and swap it for a new one. You dont have to mail it in and pay shipping both ways for a new one from a parts catalog (if it even carries a decent warranty).


3 stages of autozone parts.

1. Cheap. REmanufactured no new parts =---- 1 year warranty. Valucraft

2. Decent. Reman with some new parts ===Lifetime warranty- Duralast

3. Best. All new from top to bottom --- lifetime warranty-- Duralast Gold... (what I get every time)

Now if you buy number 1 you wont be happy down the road. It will fail eventually and probably out of the warranty period.

If you buy 2 you will be happy but they will fail eventually but its a free replacement so who cares. Just put on a new one. It is built to last but some things cant be helped when you talk about reman parts

If you buy number 3 you will be happy and it should last you a very long time. You may not have the car long enough to wear it out. It is built to last.

Just get an all new aluminum water pump. ASC/GMB box is the brand my store carries and they are great. You can get the valucraft water pump but why risk it to save a few bucks.

Wesdog

 

In case you were wondering I just want to say. I dont push the valucraft parts. When someone comes in I try and get them what they need in order to do the job right. If I sell a thermostat I always get them the gasket and a small package of rtv sealant to finish the job. I want them to have a good experience with the parts that they buy from us. I dont want them pissed if it breaks but they buy the valucraft parts and its nobodys fault but their own. They come bitch to me and I tell them that they should have done it right in the first place instead of trying to cut corners and save money on something as important as their transportation to work/church/wherever.

I try to atleast get them to buy the duralast brand with a lifetime warranty because its a better part. I dont get paid more if I sell more expensive parts. We could sell nothing but gold plated parts and I wouldnt get any more money so its not like Im trying to make money off of someone by selling them a better part. I just want them to be able to put it on the car and not worry about it 2 years later. I try to help them by asking if they have the other parts/products they need to finish the job. If they get spark plugs I remind them that its a good idea to use anti-sieze on the threads and dielectric grease on the boots, if they dont want it because its another lousy 2 dollars on their 20,000 dollar car then thats fine with me. I did my job by trying to make sure they did the job right and had what they needed.

If people didnt buy cheap parts nobody would sell them. Its supply and demand and people want cheap parts. You arent going to get any better parts at orielly or napa or wherever else. Well you might because some of them dont offer cheap parts so you have to buy something decent there. You cant go into some stores and buy a 20 dollar water pump. They have parts that are the same as autozone only usually they charge more and dont have a lifetime warranty.

Wesdog

 

One more thing. Anything you can buy like say from edelbrock or holley or almost any other parts supplier we can order. We have the catalogs in our stores and can pull them and sell you whatever you want usually at a lower price than online because we can get it without shipping if you like. I ordered a guy a 750 holley race carb that was made for running alcohol for 639.99 the other day which was about 15 cheaper than it was available at the performance parts houses online plus he would have had to pay shipping from them and with us no shipping for regular ground shipment.

So please dont bash something you know nothing about. Everyone has a bad experience with something that they buy. No matter where it comes from not everything is perfect and lasts forever. I have had an alternator that was 3 months old go out on me but I just took it off and swapped it out and it ran for 3 more years before the car gave up the ghost and died. I work at autozone and I work there because I like the place. I could have worked at napa or orielly but I didnt want to because 9/10 times they dont go the extra mile to help someone. I have changed batteries for people and even helped someone swap out an alternator. I dont tell people no on a part because we dont carry it. I get out my books and look through and try to find the right part so I can order it for them and get their tractor/lawnmower/whatever going again.

so please if you want to bash a parts house stay off of autozone because they are the best when it comes to customer service and a little helpful information. I cant tell you how many people come over to us pissed at orielly because they werent helpful but a friend at orielly has never had anyone say the same about us.

Wesdog

 

wesdog,

yeah I totally agree with you. if you're going to do something, may as well do it the right way. here in michigan, we have autozone's and murray's. I always choose autozone over murray's because, like you said, the employee's are generally smarter and more helpfull. I give you a sh*tload of credit for bein such a good worker, because unfortunately, a lot aren't.

Keep at it dude

 

I wish I knew half as much as the other people I work with. They can look at something and dont even have to look it up in the computer. Someone can come in and tell them what they need and they know the exact part number without having to look it up (they look it up anyway just to be 100% sure). I really enjoy working there. More than any other job I have had. I guess I could go work at a garage and do repair work but I dont think it would feel as rewarding because what I do now is help people to be able to do basic maintainence on their own cars. They are paying good money for a car and they need to know how to check the oil or put in a new battery and my job allows me to help them learn how to keep their car running good so they dont have to take it to a mechanic. It saves them money and keeps them coming back to us to get the parts they need.

Today I helped a Dr. (yes a medical doctor a surgeon in fact) with an electrical problem. He was amazed that I understood the symptoms and could help to diagnose the problem and get it taken care of. He blew a couple of fuses and a relay along with his brake light switch (trailer wiring harness hooked up wrong). I got him what he needed and found a diagram of how the harness should be installed. He couldnt quit thanking me and saying how great it was and that he would have never been able to fix it in a million years. He even tried to tip me for my time and effort. I told him that it wasnt nescessary and thanked him and told him to have a good day.

As far as water pumps go I would get one from autozone with a lifetime warranty.

This is a good one: ASC
STANDARD CWP-715 LLT $28.99

Go to www.autozone.com and shop online. You can even see if a part is a normal stock item or if it has to be ordered at your local store.

or the aluminum "high performance" is also a good choice. I would not recommend the 1yr warranty.

If they dont have one in stock that you like have them check the "hub store" or check on ordering it VDP it only takes a couple of days and express shipping is pretty cheap.

The parts available to you may have a different name than ASC but they are the same quality parts and carry the same lifetime warranty.

If you dont want to change it again in a year or 2 then dont get the cheap 1yr pump.



Sorry if I got a little pissy in my above posts I just dont like people talking down about where I work. Just like everywhere else there is always going to be some jerk that makes people have a bad expierience. They will get fired and replaced with someone who wants to help. So if you had problems with AZ before give it another chance. The same philosophy and company rules apply nationwide so a bad time was nothing but a fluke. I just swapped out an alternator a guy bought in arizona. He was passing through and it started giving out. He was driving from pheonix to atlanta and it was 100+ with the heat index so alternators and batteries tend to die in that kind of weather no matter what the brand.

Later guys,
Wesdog

 

I agree wesdog, I've always had good experiences at the Autozone near my house.

Except lately they hired this new guy.. he's an idiot, to put it mildly.

I went in to look at prices for rebuild kits for my carburator (a stock q-jet) and he keeps trying to sell me one that is gonna flow at about 850 cfm because he says it's alot better and will make my car run alot better, even after I told him it was an '85 LG4, and he claimed to know about these camaros.

Now I know it won't make a sh*t of difference on my car, so obviously I didn't buy it, but still it was rather funny.

He also tried to tell me that the K&N extreme filter lids don't do jack sh*t. I know from personal experience that they do lol.

But other than that the employees are helpful and knowledgable.

But yeah I agree with you wesdog, always get the lifetime warranty!

 

Im the new guy where I work and there are a lot of customers who come in all the time and they dont want to talk to me. They have their "guy" that they deal with when they come in. I dont blame them, I have had things come up where I just went 'uh... Im not sure let me ask someone who might'. If I dont know Im not going to act like I do. Ill just hang around close and maybe learn something from somebody who does know something.

Im thinking of getting one of the Recon engines that we sell and putting it in my car. Dyno tested at 325hp and 310tq at the crank at a reasonable rpm. Its 1599.99 and has I think a 3 yr warranty. I am probably going to get that and an edelbrock intake and some headers so I will be set and I can get the body work done. Im going to drive my other car (94 regal P.O.S.) until I get the money for the engine. I dont want to spend a ton on the block I have right now because its already .040 over and I dont know if its cracked or if the heads are cracked and its not cheap to get a magnaflux test done around here (about 500 for block and heads). I think it will be cheaper just to buy a motor with a warranty and then build my stroker in a few years.

Did you ever decide on a water pump camaroRS? I dont have a problem with parts from other parts stores. They all have good parts as long as you buy the decent ones from them with the lifetime warranty. Dont forget that AZ has a price matching policy. If you find a cheaper water pump with a lifetime warranty but you want one from autozone just go in and tell them where you found the better price and they will call and verify it and match it. Just keep that in mind when you are shopping.

I call the guys next door at orielly all the time and send customers over there if we dont have a part. They send them to us. We dont have a big rivalry. We just want people to get the parts they need to get their cars running. I have sent people to crow burlingame and napa and bumper to bumper for parts that we didnt have. I even called the other store myself to verify that they had it and even got the price to give to the customer to let them decide if they wanted to go get it from them.

Get a good water pump and change over to the new prestone or peak extended life coolant. They both have new formulas that mix with any kind of antifreeze green or red. I know a lot of people complain about it and say its no good but they just dont know. Its better for the water pump and the rest of the cooling system especially if you have an aluminum radiator (less buildup and clogging). Wont hurt anything to give it a try.

 

Yeah I installed it a few days ago. I ended up going with the ASC high performance water pump for around $50. I was going to put extended life coolant in it, but the employee told me not to because you'd have to get the system COMPLETELY flushed which takes a long time to get all the 'pockets' out?? hmm anyways.....I put regular green coolant in....and the install went fine. So I start up my car and what happens? THERE'S THAT DAMN RATTLING AGAIN!!!! whenever I idle, it sounds like a bunch of marbles being rolled around in a metal pan..... I thought it was the water pump bearing, and the shop told me the same thing. My girl has the exact same noice and so do a couple of my other friends' with thirdgens. Anyone got any experience with this?!

Thanks!

 

Use a mechanic's stethoscope and you should be able to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

 

i have the same noice in my car from time to time

i dont know what the hell it is