Preemptive Water Pump Replacement a Good Idea? (1 Viewer)

[kenscs]

Hi fellow IH8Mudders,

I am looking for advice for my 1994 FZJ80. I am original owner and it has 142,000 miles on it. As far as I can remember, I have not replaced the water pump on it yet (I have all my receipts since purchase at dealer). I kind of feel like it’s a ticking time bomb. I remember replacing water pumps on my teenage year cars every 30 to 40k. But I have also learned the age old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s pretty inexpensive part, looks east to work on, and was thinking of just replacing it.

BUT, curious if this is overkill and I should just run it until it starts leaking? I don’t know if there is a “usual” lifetime mileage expectancy for the 6 cylinder petrol engine. I do get pretty far into woods and mountains with it. I would rather be wrenching in my garage than on the trail with no parts.

 

[White Stripe]

I would say it's not a bad idea to replace. Make sure you use a high quality one and replace the radiator cap too if it's old.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Either go all out and replace the water pump, radiator, hoses, thermostat, and fan clutch.

Or do a coolant flush, pressurize the system, and check for leaks. If no leaks than leave it alone and run it unless it's overhearing.

 

[BILT4ME]

Hi fellow IH8Mudders,

I am looking for advice for my 1994 FZJ80. I am original owner and it has 142,000 miles on it. As far as I can remember, I have not replaced the water pump on it yet (I have all my receipts since purchase at dealer). I kind of feel like it’s a ticking time bomb. I remember replacing water pumps on my teenage year cars every 30 to 40k. But I have also learned the age old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s pretty inexpensive part, looks east to work on, and was thinking of just replacing it.

BUT, curious if this is overkill and I should just run it until it starts leaking? I don’t know if there is a “usual” lifetime mileage expectancy for the 6 cylinder petrol engine. I do get pretty far into woods and mountains with it. I would rather be wrenching in my garage than on the trail with no parts.

Personally, I would not replace it until it shows signs of weeping. Typically water pumps are not "catastrophic" failures and they can run for a while even when weeping as long as you stay on top of the coolant levels.

These are NOT the Fords, GM, Studebakers, and Dodge of yesteryear on the OEM water pumps. Yes, the old cars needed the WP replaced as regular maintenance.

On these, as long as you have regularly changed your coolant to keep acid levels to a minimum and you REGULARLY drive it (at least once/week) then it should be good. If you let it sits for months at a time, then you may want to think about changing it because sitting is harder on parts than driving.

All the rubber parts of the engine compartment will harden and fail before the WP.

 

[Malleus]

Original owner AND 142k miles? WOW! LMK when you want to sell it!

I doubt anything on your truck is worn enough to replace, except maybe the tires. However, I agree with @BILT4ME, if you don't drive it at least weekly to keep the seals wet, they will dry rot.

 

[AgentOrange]

I'm in the midst of giving my 94 a lot of love. On that list is an OEM water pump. Gearing up for some bigger trips this year and so a new fan clutch is going in at the same time. It's not a bad idea if you're already there

 

[bhsdriller]

They're cheap and super easy to replace, if it makes you feel better change it

 

[kenscs]

Thanks all for the advice. I kind of thought it would not be catastrophic failure, but was not sure and this helped.

I’ve had it almost 30 years now and brought all three kids home the hospital in it, taught them all to drive in it and skied, fished and camped with it. I will post a photo tomorrow. Still looks like new. My only issue now is I changed the gas tank last summer and can’t get the float to always go down. That was a “fun” job. I think I posted photos from it. Had to do a partial body lift to replace the tank straps.

 

[kenscs]

Original owner AND 142k miles? WOW! LMK when you want to sell it!

I doubt anything on your truck is worn enough to replace, except maybe the tires. However, I agree with @BILT4ME, if you don't drive it at least weekly to keep the seals wet, they will dry rot.

I have done the usual mileage related items. Birfs and whee bearings, brakes. I have the Pesky Heater hose kit standing by…

 

[Malleus]

I have done the usual mileage related items. Birfs and whee bearings, brakes. I have the Pesky Heater hose kit standing by…

That's probably the one hose related repair I'd recommend proactively. It's hard to reach, you can't inspect it (easily) and if if fails, it'll really screw up the engine-tranmission harness connectors. FWIW, I'd replace the hose and clamps with OEM parts. You'll find installing them much easier than aftermarket parts, and they'll last longer. It's also waaaay easier to pull the tube off the head, install the hose on it and then put it back in, starting from the bottom end.

 

[kenscs]

That's probably the one hose related repair I'd recommend proactively. It's hard to reach, you can't inspect it (easily) and if if fails, it'll really screw up the engine-tranmission harness connectors. FWIW, I'd replace the hose and clamps with OEM parts. You'll find installing them much easier than aftermarket parts, and they'll last longer. It's also waaaay easier to pull the tube off the head, install the hose on it and then put it back in, starting from the bottom end.

I saw the 94 was graduation present for Number 1. So cool. Same for me. Number One got the “If you help keep it running, you can drive it. “. I have trained smart kids from top colleges that cannot “debug” a problem. I realized auto maintenance is an amazing training ground. “Engine not running?” “Fuel, spark, etc”.

 

[ajax1]

On my 94 original pump went 320k started to weep, drove on it weeping a little bit, replaced with a used one I had laying around with about 175k on it. Use Asian water pump if you want to save some coin they make the oem one.