Water Pump Issues

[ctopp]

My 2003 Dodge RAM 2500 HO Cummins Diesel with A/C requires a new water pump approximately every 60,000 miles. I have 245,000 miles on the truck and the first three water pumps had leaking seals and the latest one, the bearing was completely gone.

Does anyone have any idea what may be causing this?

Ike

 

[MichaelOverfield]

I'd take a wild guess... bad coolant? The coolant is the lubricant for the water pump seal and bearings. 60000 is a really short interval for a water pump on any vehicle... one other thing to look at.. balance of the fan.. if that is off, the vibration will harm the water pump too (assuming it is mounted there on your engine.. as is typical).

 

[p-Bar]

This seems to be the life of these pumps. Factory / aftermarket all seem to get the same results. I think it is poor engineering .

 

[cerberusiam]

Fan is not mounted to the water pump on these trucks so that is a non-factor. Two biggest contributors to WP life are belt\accessory alignment and WP source. Probably the biggest one is WP source, keep putting cheap pumps on and they will keep dying. Coolant and flushing are going to play into the life expectancy also. At 245k you should have changed coolant and flushed the system twice. Usage will be a contributor also and part of the answer.

 

[K5IP]

The good thing is that they are really easy to replace, and cheaper than a tank of fuel.
Rog

 

[Tuesdak]

They are easy to replace and a known lower life item on the 5.9 engine. So I would just write it off as "normal".

 

[mfurrh55]

145,000 on mine and it is original one,Monte

 

[CVR222NV]

148,078 on original. I'm going to purchase a Cummins as a spare as my luck the original will go in the middle of nowhere (i.e., Central Nevada)!

 

[Billy]

182000 on mine, I hope I haven't spoken to soon.........

 

[ctopp]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm using OEM replacements. They appear well built, heavy.
What about leaving an air cushion in the top of the radiator to help with pressure on the seals. I replaced the radiator cap.

 

[cerberusiam]

What do you mean OEM replacements? Cummins or the dealer?

 

[EBolgiano]

Still have the original water pump on my 2005, 130k miles. Original belt as well. Truck has been maintained as required. I have been thinking about changing it out along with the belt and hoses, just for preventative maintenance. Ed B