Just got a message from my mechanic friend that the water pump on my parent's 2003 Sprinter is leaking. The two of us just replaced it last summer with a Graf unit. It's only done 15K miles since then. I chose Graf as Graf and Laso are often recommended for Mercedes but I think it may be time that Graf is removed from the recommended list. I'd say that one bad pump could be that we just received a dud but this is the second Graf pump I've had that failed well before it should have. The first was a water pump for a 240D, the shaft bearing died within 800 miles so I replaced it with a Chinese-made Duralast pump that some forum members recommended and that has lasted at least a few thousand miles. The Sprinter is getting a genuine Mopar replacement.

It is possible we received two lemons but that tells me their QC could use some work.

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

I go Bosch or bust on water pumps. Seriously if it moves or spins it's gotta be OEM. Duralast? No,hoooohoohohohohoho

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About a year ago I installed a made in India stop valve in my 1981 300SD; the original lasted for 36 years. About a month ago it went out.

So I am wondering if we all need to bite the bullet and stop buying these third country knock offs. Maybe we should go back to OEM regardless of the cost.

Just a thought.

The Auot parts stores have liftime warranties if you keep your paper work. The ones from Mercedes have a 1 year warranty I think.

The School District I worked for used NAPA stuff and NAPA is what lots of auto repair shops use. Parts cost more then at someplace like AutoZone and I am not sure what their warranty is on their stuff. I have not bought recently but if you have the AAA Autoclub you get a discount.

Autozone is supposed to give a 10% veterns discount but they gave me a hard time as I only have the Veterens Hospital ID.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Graf is made in Europe. Not sure why the conversation is switching towards bashing Duralast or China because their quality control is seemingly better than Graf's European operation. Going OEM is great but I'll readily try a water pump others have recommended that costs $40 vs $220. It's worked great so far but if it does have issues, it's really not hard to change.

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

Bosch are good for most things, but not water pumps! No Bosch OE water pumps on our cars that I have ever heard of.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Hi All,

I found this old Thread and felt the need to chime in. I replaced my water pump earlier this year with a Graf. Less than 100 miles and I am getting drips from the lower weep hole. Now I have to drain the new coolant, remove the fan, fan shroud, remove 4 belts, remove the lower pulley, the vibration absorber, and then the water pump. Not real happy about this.

It appears I am not the only one with a bad experience with Graf. I know others have had good success but I will not buy another. It's not the price of the pump, it's the hours of time to R&R.

MM

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Gute Fahrt

I'm quite happy with the GMB water pumps I installed on my diesels. Both made in Japan. Just installed a 3rd on my M112.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Is there any debris in your cooling system by any chance - I faced a severe issue of failing pumps within 1000 miles (camry) and found some really nasty debris in the radiator and in the block - once I flushed everything out - the pumps stopped failing.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I've only had to replace a few MB water pumps in the past 15+ years but its always been a Laso pump when I did.....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

The radiator is an MB, with less than 1000 miles on it. That being said, I change my coolant about every 3 years, regardless of mileage, same as brake fluid. The drained fluid is always clean and with minimal debris. Radiator cap and thermostat also have 'low mileage' on them. They are Mercedes.

The weeping GRAF water pump is out. The bearings feel tight and smooth. No play. The seal is leaking. What makes me suspicious is when I received the GRAF, I noticed some surface rust up in the bore of the weep hole, which is bare metal. I rationalized it as storage rust from sitting on a shelf in a humid climate. Now, I am wondering.

Of course when I put this pump in, several months back, my old pump was fine and not leaking. Since I was doing a front main seal, I thought I would be proactive and get at the pump, while I was 'in there'. My mistake. I really wish I could have found a LASO, but I came up short handed. I can't find one that fits, if my 'weep hole' depended on it! Like others here, I thought I'd spend $45 in lieu of $200+ for a 'factory' unit. And the 'factory unit' is not even available new for my 280CE. Only reman'ed. I wonder who MB farms out the rebuild to???

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Gute Fahrt

That is a very small leak I see, infact I have seen a bunch of toyotas leak about this much on new cars - Toyota claim that its normal as the pump seal requires a "leak" so it can lubricate itself and not burn off.

They are also a pretty good manufacturer..

Is this leak a very bad leak as in you can see the green coolant making a drip trail on the engine? Or just these crusties?

OTOH, I lived in other countries where pump rebuilds are still normal businesses - One of the shops showed me the seals of new available pumps of lower cost - which the shop said that they dont play well with old silicated coolants and work perfect with the new ones. (they used to do a lot of heavy truck stuff)

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Hi Z,

Appreciate your thoughts. I took the picture about 24 hours after the engine was running, so the image is not going to capture a video of how fast it is leaking while running. The fluid travels down the water pump, the water pump housing, the vibration absorber, the counterweight, the pulley (and onto the drive belts), the EGR pipe,and the oil pan. Granted it is only a drip now, but IMHO, there should be NO drip. A seal means it should seal.

I am under the impression that the weep hole is there to tell the vehicle owner that the seal has begun to fail. It's the equivalent of a red warning light in the instrument cluster. Of course it will be a small leak initially, but it is not going to 'heal' itself. It will get worse. Left long enough, the coolant will eventually cause that bearing to fail and maybe even seize up, or have a catastrophic leak. Also, I believe that the coolant system is a closed system, and needs to maintain pressure, so it can function properly. I can't speak for Toyota, but I have never heard a Mercedes owner or mechanic saying that a water pump seal leaking is normal.

In the last year, I have replaced the differential pinion seal, the transmission output shaft seal, 2 primary pump seal rings, and a steering box output shaft seal ring. Most recently, I did the R&R of the water pump and thermostat housing, which involved sealing the gaskets and bolt threads. I try to work slow and thorough, following the steps as outlined in the FSM. Nothing has leaked after replacement, with the exception of the WP seal.

All that said, I'm a shade tree mechanic, so just my thoughts!

MM

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Gute Fahrt