Gates water pump lifetime?

[Ayune]

I inherited a Gates water pump from the previous owner, installed about 60k miles ago along with a NAPA timing belt and generic tensioner/pulleys.

Recently I've noticed a new RPM-dependent 'whirring' noise from my engine bay and I've seen peak coolant temps around 230 when stuck in traffic. Temp stays around 205 when driving.

New thermostat & hoses are already on order to start tracking down the problem. Unfortunately the noise isn't loud enough to hear in the engine bay, but I can hear it in the cabin.

Question: Has anyone else ran a Gates 44085 water pump and if so, how long did it last? Should I plan on diving into my engine before my timing belt is due again?

Thanks. Here's a pic of the water pump and some other parts:

 

[nissanh]

Here is my input about aftermarket componenets in timing belt job. Aisin water pump, nsk or nachi bearings and Mitsuboshi timing belt will sure take you more than 100K miles. Any other brands such as gates, gmb, etc will start showing cracks on the timing belt even before 50K miles. My corolla is at 50K miles and the gates timing belt shows tiny cracks already.

 

[SHIfTHEAD]

Yeah, those temps are a bit on the high side. Around 220 is as high as you really want to see, as I understand it. I would also recommend you double check coolant level in the radiator. Mine seeps a little and needs a top off every couple months.

 

[Ayune]

Update: I checked & coolant was low. Filled and temp is now a rock-steady 184.

Bearing noise is still there, though. Could be anything at this point...

 

[Whiskerz]

If the bearing noise is the water pump a small amount of brake fluid added to the coolant will stop the noise. Use the cap of the brake fluid and add 1 or 2 at the most caps full of fluid to the coolant and water pump noises will usually quick. (disclaimer) (this is an old school car lot trick to make the car quieter and no warranty is expressed or implied.) I have seen it work firsthand. YMMV