Week vacation ruined before I could even get out of state ! Water pump blew 52K miles

[Bug Out]

My trip was to be to Alligator Lake at Ft.Polk to see my Son and grand kids for a couple days, then return home for my one week vacation....

This is my first time in 20 years any of my Cummins powered Dodge or RAM trucks has left me on the side of the road unable to limp ANYWHERE!

1997 Dodge 3500. 5th gear went out= no problem, drove home at 50 mph in 4th...

2005 Dodge 3500,@ 100k throw-out bearing went out AFTER i got to a rally in Idaho.= local dealer changed it out, left on time etc.

2013 RAM 3500 water pump gave out at 52k MILES in "Bowie,Az".... Never heard of it..Know where it is now..LOL

At the same time, inside dual tire went flat..Go figure. After battling with Good sam ERS,(first time ever using them for a tow in 20 years as a member) being told my 5th and truck would get towed, then NOT, only the truck, left me split between two towns 40 miles apart with my RV and wife,armed , in a abandoned RV park, and truck at a dealership in Safford,Az.

The dealership service gal said the repair would be under warranty, but a local guy(resident) said they will try and screw you etc etc.. Who to listen too..LOL none the less, the dealer, Hatch brothers said parts come from LOS ANGELES and they are backed up 2 weeks....Maybe they could look at it by friday....

That ended my vacation to Ft.Polk to see my son and grand kids, plus now trying to figure out how to get the RV back home 250 miles away.

Anyway, no one is hurt except my pocket book.....On my way to get the trailer now and return the $60.00 a day rental car... Happy travels !!!

PS: Friend is gonna tow RV home with his 7.3 ford......I'll never hear the end of it !!!

 

[Deleted member 995608]

What a bummer. Unfortunately, these things happen and they always occur at the worst possible times.

We were stuck in Wy with our 36 TH backing 2011, waiting for crappy reman injectors to be overnighted. I had to pay an arm and a leg for junk injectors and it killed me having to pay for labor for something I could to myself. We lost two days, and completely blew out our RV park reservations. We ended up having to stay in some shady parks on the way home.

 

[NIsaacs]

Do I understand that the truck is still at the dealer with no pump in stock? That they might look at it on Friday? That is unacceptable, I would have a new aftermarket in there and continue on my way.

Nick

 

[Regcabguy]

Expensive as all get out but Sinister Diesel offers these for Fords.

http://www.xtremediesel.com/bulletp...B4cHh7b_N7WSOgT9XZv4icnRAFaXQK76sIBoCbw3w_wcB

 

[TFucili]

I'd forget the warranty. If there is an independent in town, have them put a pump on. It's an easy job(ON EDIT: At least it was on my 3rd Gen '05).

 

[2013megacab]

Lost mine at 40,000 miles. At least I was lucky - it happened in the intermediate destination RV park where we were planning to spend the weekend. Tow covered by extended warranty, repair covered by basic warranty. I think the pump started leaking somewhere around 50 miles earlier because I smelled coolant at a fuel stop, but no visible leaks. I assumed it was from an adjacent vehicle. When we got to the RV park it was a seep and turned into a full-fledged leak in about 30 minutes. When I started the truck to move it for the tow, the pump was frozen and threw the serpentine belt. No power steering, no power brakes. If that had happened on the highway at 60 mph towing 9000#.....

Al

 

[Minnow101]

Seems to be a prudent move to carry a spare as these pumps don't seem to have a long life.

 

[gsbrockman]

My trip was to be to Alligator Lake at Ft.Polk to see my Son and grand kids for a couple days, then return home for my one week vacation....

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2013-general-discussion/1676401-water-pump-failure-94-914-miles-my-2014-ram-3500-a.html

Round up a Murray Temperature Control CP6222 pump and have the dealership install it. Pay for the water pump, labor and coolant out of pocket, and seek reimbursement through FCA. I did. Be sure to verify that the dealer has the correct OAT coolant in stock.

 

[Bob4x4]

We've had a few discussions here on shorter water pump life ,The most sensible thing would have been to have an aftermarket pump installed and continue on your trip.Many credit card companies and auto clubs also have trip inturuption coverage.

 

[moparnut72]

I worked as a counterman at a NAPA for a couple of years. Water pumps for Cummins' were a common item that we sold. But there seems to be no rhyme or reason for replacements. Some were for lower mileage and some were for higher mileage trucks. We only carried new pumps made in China, no rebuilts, so I couldn't compare the two. The Chinese ones were pretty cheap with a stamped impeller as opposed to the OEM machined one. The cost was a lot less than what an OEM original from Dodge costs. I myself would spend the extra for an OEM pump. We did not see a lot of parts failures for Dodges/Rams as opposed to Fords except for the usual track bars.

Off subject. Good Sam didn't tow your RV? I also have Good Sam primarily because they say they cover your RV too. This worries me.
kk

 

[Bug Out]

The first lady on the phone said they would tow both. I explained that I had a flat inner dual too, and needed it changed before they could tow the two together. She agreed and sent the first truck to swap the spare, and the second truck was to tow the pair. the ETA for the tire guy was 2hrs.......After 30 minutes, I did it myself, as its no big deal, had a 20ton jack etc. I called goodsam back to cancel the tire guy and got a different lady who said , "oh no. we will tow the truck, but not the trailer as the truck is broke".....I started to get ******, then she said, "and we will only tow the truck to the NEAREST repair facility"....

Then I lost it and explained that I had been lead to believe for the last 15-20 years of buying coverage that both would be towed, now I'm told the FIRST time I use the tow service,NO?????? Now it goes to Billy Bob McBugers for repairs out of pocket and the dealer said its covered under warranty!!!!?????? She put me on hold...She came back on and said they would tow the truck to Safford,az=40 miles away......

In the meantime, the Shell station (exit 366) said I could leave my RV in their lot (out if the middle of BFE) which was nice. Moments later, the tire repair guy arrived and I explained the situation to him. It just so happens he's the one man band in town. Both tire and tow guy. He has a RV park across the highway. Nice guy driving a 06 Dodge cummins 6speed. RV went to the RV park, no power and Off I was with the truck..

I rented a car from the dealer, Hatch Brothers Chrysler ect in Safford,Az and was told maybe by weeks end. The parts were coming from Los Angeles etc So I expect to get it back next week... Vacation over !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Back to work!!!!

 

[kthaxton]

That really sucks......I live for my vacations!

 

[JDean]

If you have an extended warranty, ram will pay $35 a day to cover car rental fees for up to 5 days ($175 total) for each repair covered under warranty. I collected on this when the R46 track bar recall took 5 days last spring. It took several weeks, but they sent me a check for $175. - John D

 

[The patriot]

Man, I feel bad. I used to LIVE for the vaca.
OTOH, wife will be on the warpath when she gets this months CC, so I'll need to read this post to her.
Recently ordered $250++ worth of throttle linkage stuff (they wont have these parts forever so....) springs ball sockets, etc etc throttle cable, new belt & tensioner, bunch of nickle & dime things that add up very fast.
All told close to $400.
Sux being on a fixed income.....

 

[cyrus]

seems odd that a dealership wouldn't have a common replacement part on the shelf....

either way, my '12's WP went out at 62k. but, lucky for me it failed in the parking at the RV park, Sunday morning after returning from a 1 day there and back trip from Reno NV to Lake Havasu AZ. after a trip to Orielly auto (US built NEW wp on the shelf) on the mountain bike for 2g of G-5, and accessory belt, and the WP. I had it changed out in about and hour. grand total of 225 bucks. sure an glad she didnt s the bed on the way home in the middle of nowhere.

 

[moparnut72]

"seems odd that a dealership wouldn't have a common replacement part on the shelf...."

I agree. We stocked two of these even though we could get one overnight.

 

[cyrus]

even still, the fact that the pump locked up after a long drive like that concerned me enough to purchase a second pump, belt, and a gallon of g5 from O'Rielly. they ride around in my tool box, but i wont be stranded because of the WP.....

 

[Bug Out]

As it stands now, I called the young lady who is SERVICE thursday and they declared it was the water pump and ordered from LOS ANGELES. They are closed sat-sunday so most likely the part wont arrive till monday, one week later..I hope its done by Thursday so maybe friday I can drive the 450mile R/T and pick up my trip killer.. I'm gonna get rid of it if at all possible..The previous owner had it in in the early 20k's for running hot. The selling dealer replaced everything but nothing worked. It has always run 20 degree's hotter then both my earlier 2012 and 2013 RAMS did. Looks good, but gotta go.. Back to the basic st and no frills.