Is an OEM water pump worth the price?

JeepMama

JeepMama

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First road trip in our '06 L6 6-spd last week. It ran at 210 most of the time, but started creeping up a little bit if we went over 55mph. It never got anywhere near the red, just a little past 210. But... it blew out coolant twice. Both times we had been going 70mph and it was 95° outside. Other than what sprayed up under the hood, there were no leaks/drips. It may or may not fix the issue, but we want to replace thermostat, hoses, water pump, etc since we have no idea if/when it has ever been done. I know OEM is the way to go as much as possible. But the price difference on water pumps is huge - MOPAR is $210, the next options from Rock Auto or Advance are $70-80. Is there an acceptable off-brand or is the water pump one of those things to bite the bullet and pay for OEM?

Also would also like to add - Jeep people can be pretty awesome. I was with my 16yo son the first time we had the coolant issue. We had stopped for gas and I noticed fluid on the fender. A man at another gas pump saw our hood up and asked if we needed help. Said he was a "Jeep guy" - even showed us pics of his Jeeps😊. It was refreshing to be offered help and not treated like an idiot. And he took 20-30 minutes out of his day to help us in the scorching heat.
 
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Lots and lots of forum posts on this. Search Google - wranglertjforum Mopar water pump.

My ten cents...nope. I bought a Napa, got lucky and it's working fine.

I think it comes down to this...if you're doing the work and want to roll the dice go for it.

If you're paying someone to do the work then a known quality part is probably worth it.

Lots of things to consider replacing along the way...crank pulley rubber after 18 years is probably done for...fan clutch, timing chain.

-Mac
 
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macleanflood said:
Lots and lots of forum posts on this. Search Google - wranglertjforum Mopar water pump.

My ten cents...nope. I bought a Napa, got lucky and it's working fine.

I think it comes down to this...if you're doing the work and want to roll the dice go for it.

If you're paying someone to do the work then a known quality part is probably worth it.

Lots of things to consider replacing along the way...crank pulley rubber after 18 years is probably done for...fan clutch, timing chain.

-Mac
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I'll second this, one benefit to doing your own work is that you can take a calculated risk on using a cheaper replacement part cuz you're only invested for the $75 of the non OEM part. But if you're paying a mechanic the markup on the parts plus the labor, you're probably talking several hundred bucks, and it's not as affordable to have to redo the job if the non OEM part craps out on you in short order.
 
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macleanflood said:
Lots and lots of forum posts on this. Search Google - wranglertjforum Mopar water pump.

My ten cents...nope. I bought a Napa, got lucky and it's working fine.

I think it comes down to this...if you're doing the work and want to roll the dice go for it.

If you're paying someone to do the work then a known quality part is probably worth it.

Lots of things to consider replacing along the way...crank pulley rubber after 18 years is probably done for...fan clutch, timing chain.

-Mac
Click to expand...

I did find a lot of info in the "might be related" list after I posted this and have been reading thru the comments. Also looked at the How to Guide and parts list. We're planning to do the work ourselves. Trying to balance budget and parts quality. (Teenager paying for some of this.) But I don't want to redo it in a year bc we bought cheap parts.
 
JeepMama said:
But I don't want to redo it in a year bc we bought cheap parts.
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Good luck with that. Most of not all new parts these days post COVID are just shit. Poor quality control...who knows.

I will say I did my Napa water pump once. I did my thermostat three times, my rear main four...three alternators, one starter... it's all just a crap shoot.

Luckily the TJ is super easy to work on.

I did a frame and tub swap in eight days.

-Mac
 
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macleanflood said:
You're assuming new Mopar parts are made to 20 year old standards. Most Mopar is made in China these days. Completely different company too.

-Mac
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yep, I'm pretty well convinced that nearly everything is made in the same place by the same people. You can pay more, but it's like u-joints... If you don't use a Spicer and it fails everybody is like "you shoulda bought a spicer." But when the Spicer fails everybody is like "well, what are you gonna do?" And you're out additional money on top of the premium part and you still have a repair to do.

ps. I totally use spicer u-joints and wouldn't consider using anything else. So maybe I'm just a hypocrite.
 
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macleanflood said:
I think it comes down to this...if you're doing the work and want to roll the dice go for it.

If you're paying someone to do the work then a known quality part is probably worth it.
Click to expand...

I do the opposite. The money I save by doing the work myself allows me to buy premium parts.
Who wants to do things twice even if the part's free.
 
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210 isn't hot. I wouldn't replace a water pump that isn't leaking on this engine.

Where did the coolant spray from? That shouldn't happen like that. Do you have the overflow tank?
 
srimes said:
210 isn't hot. I wouldn't replace a water pump that isn't leaking on this engine.

Where did the coolant spray from? That shouldn't happen like that. Do you have the overflow tank?
Click to expand...

We think it overflowed out of the overflow tank. Hard to tell - the fan/belt/whatever blew it everywhere up under the hood. I saw it bc it dripped on the fender from under the hood. Only happened twice and wasn't a huge amount.
 
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