Today, I brought in a '96 Honda Accord EX-R V6 in for service with 77,000km...when I went to pick up the car...the service advisor told me the waterpump was leaking badly, and needed to be replaced...he also said the timing belt, due to its location near the waterpump, is probably saturated by coolant, and should be replaced at the same time...what I found weird was that if the waterpump was leaking "badly", wouldn't I see a big puddle of coolant under the car...or see a rise in temperature on my dash? so anyhow, the cost is $600CAD before taxes...what is the "typical" lifetime of these waterpumps, especially for a Honda? Did it fail a little prematurely? Kinda a stab in the dark question, but any insight would be appreciated...thanx...

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

I think water pump life varies greatly depending on several things. As an example, BMW's are notorious for water pump failure. Mine went at 50K. On the other hand, my wife's Mercedes 190D was 18 years old when we sold it and never had a single problem with the cooling system.

I believe that using tap water is the cause of a lot of failures in cooling systems. Another reason is failure to maintain fresh coolant in the system for lubrication.

BTW, 600CDN seems like a lot of money for that work.

You want " typical " ?
Two examples:
My 1990 Chevy truck...580 k km...3 waterpumps
My 1997 VW Jetta...120 k km....2 waterpumps.
See where this is going?
Pretty hard to put an " average " life on a waterpump.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

DuckMuck,

Waterpumps can fail at anytime. Really it's a hit or miss. Sometimes bearings go bad. My 190e's water pump failed at 45k. They usually last longer if OEM parts are used. I hope this helps.

There is a Honda forum out there somewhere, but I still think this is the best forum.


vu

For some reason, I can't find a decent forum for information on the Accord...I tried honda-tech.com, v6performance.net, and hondasociety.com...but it seems most of the focus is on modifying the cars...the V6 model also doesn't seem to be popular...

hmmm...$600CAD is bad eh? That is for a new OE waterpump, OE timing belt, and labour...oh well...I spent close to $5000CAD fixing problems with the E420...I guess forking out $600CAD for the Honda isn't too much to ask...sigh...

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

My friend bought my beater '83 Delta 88, now has 150k miles with orig. water pump.

If the water pump is leaking you should be able to find water/coolant making it's way out from the timing cover. If you never need to add and you don't find water (take the timing cover inspection cover off) I'd wonder how they diagnosed it.

Most hondas (if not all?) have interference design engines. if the T-belt breaks a piston will slam into a valve causing major engine damage. Timing belts on Hondas should be replaced every 60 or 90k miles. When changing the belt it's commonn practice to also change the pump cause "you're already there" in terms of labor. The opposite is also true since the belt must come off to change the pump.

If they can convince you (or convince yourself) that it is leaking change the belt along with the pump.

I just saw a 1988 560SL with 40K miles and the pump bearing is leaking.

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1972 450SL
1982 300D Turbo

It is recommended to change the timing belt every 60,000 or 90,000 miles for that car (my book wasn't clear which mileage interval should be used). If the timing belt is original on your car, now would be a good time to replace it, while it's in service for the water pump. I'm not familiar with that engine but there may be some significant labor overlap between the two parts.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

I guess $600 Canadian isn't so bad after all. I was thinking in USD and I should have known better since I recently spent a few weeks in BC.

It's recommended to replace the water pump along with the timing belt on Nissans, Hondas, some older and all newer Toyotas, and a few other cars. My parents put down nearly $800 to have the timing belt and water pump done on their Nissan Quest. Like DuckMuck said, when the pump goes south, the belt will get soaked in glycol and water, and the result is not good. The water pump is driven by the timing belt in Hondas and most Toyota V6/V8 engines.

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1984 380SL-driving and service privileges.

On my old 4wd Civic, the water pump bearing started singing on me at the start of a cross-country trip (280,000km on engine, although I had just rebuilt it - water pump looked fine at the time). It got a bit louder one day after I reached my destination, so I pulled into the local shop. It literally failed catastophically (seizure and massive coolant loss) as I parked my car at the shop. $600.00 was what it cost to replace, as the Honda pump is driven by the cam belt, so a lot of things have to come apart. There was no telltale cooland leakage as it was the bearing that let go. Next came a $600.00 failure of the brand new head gasket. Apparently MB is not the only company capable of producing bad gaskets. I now engage in the 'while I'm in there, what else should I replace?' school of preventive maintenance. My MBs have not been cheap to run, but everyone who rides with me comments how nice my car is, and it has never left me (knock wood).

FWIW, my pump seal died at about 110k. The annoying thing was that the mechanic who fitted the replacement didn't check that a blanking bolt was properly tightened. This unscrewed itself over the next few days and finally resulted in a dramatic loss of coolant on the motorway. I was on my way to a very important meeting and there was no way I could make it on time if I had to wait for a recovery vehicle. Amazingly, and I don't know why I bothered to look, the bolt and the copper washer were balancing on the edge of the tray underneath the engine. Five minutes later I was on my way and made the meeting on time. I still have a small burn scar on my right hand to remind me of my good fortune!

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1990 230CE 150k+ UK spec.

DuckMuck

This should answer your question about Honda T-belt replacement intervals and water pump life expectancy (same as belt):
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/us/us70343.htm

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1972 450SL
1982 300D Turbo

When I had my Prelude and Passport, the intervals were at 60K...the Prelude had 30K when sold so I never got that one replaced.

Neither had cooling system problems during my ownership.

Had my W124 water pump fail at around 97K. Water pumps have a "weep hole" that when the seals go, coolant starts dripping out of the hole. Mine just dumped coolant all over the floor when it went!

This was in the days before I joined the forum (although I'm not sure I would tackle that job anyway), and I was out $750 at the dealer for the R&R.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

you just bought a car and they tell you there's something wrong as you pick it up?huh?if that was me i'd tell them to cover it-at the very least they could cover the labour or parts.$600 is fair.my acura needed a new belt and pump and that's what iwas quoted 6 yrs ago.
try this site:
http://www.superhonda.com/forum/index.php?s=

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'95 s500 (bought for wife but can't bear to share!!!) 125kms
'92 legend 180kms
'88 tbirdturbo(fantastic car-only regular maint.)120kms
'87 mustang gt(gone)
'86 tbirdturbo(gone)
'85 mustang gt(gone-but not forgotten)