2002 V70 2.4T water pump blew

[mouseskowitz]

I believe my water pump blew last night, steam coming out of the right side of the engine and coolant everywhere. I'm almost to 180k, so I figure I might as well do the timing belt while they'er in there. So, a couple of questions. I'm looking at the kits on FCP Euro and wondering how much difference there is in the water pumps Hepu vs Graf? Replacing seals sounds like a good idea, but how often do these seals go?

[precopster]

There have been increasing numbers of Hepu pumps failing prematurely of late. My own preference is the WPV-800 Aisin which is OEM. Amazon have them as well as FCP.

Seals on the front of engine are almost useless unless Cortico brand or genuine and will pop out within 1-2 years or at the first sign of overheat (crankcase pressures increase durring overheat)

The idler and tensioner should be INA and the belt is fine as a Conti.

Of course if you're selling the car a kit can save a lot of money; just choose the best kit if keeping the car.

[mouseskowitz]

So, if the seals are that much of a problem, am I better off not doing them? Or is it that I just have to make sure I get the good ones?

[chrism]

Replacing the the cam seals is a sizable job in itself. You have to deal with getting the cams timed properly upon reassembly which requires a special tool, etc. The whole problem is that the cam sprockets are NOT KEYED to the shafts as they were on the old red block engines. So there are a thousand and one opportunities to get it screwed up - just read some of the posts on this forum. The best way to preserve non-leaking seals is to make sure your crankcase ventilation system is maintained and breathing properly. I think this is one instance where the old adage "If it ain't busted, don't fix it" applies. If, later on, a seal starts to leak it won't be a catastrophic failure - just messy.

[mouseskowitz]

Replacing the the cam seals is a sizable job in itself. You have to deal with getting the cams timed properly upon reassembly which requires a special tool, etc. The whole problem is that the cam sprockets are NOT KEYED to the shafts as they were on the old red block engines. So there are a thousand and one opportunities to get it screwed up - just read some of the posts on this forum. The best way to preserve non-leaking seals is to make sure your crankcase ventilation system is maintained and breathing properly. I think this is one instance where the old adage "If it ain't busted, don't fix it" applies. If, later on, a seal starts to leak it won't be a catastrophic failure - just messy.

Thanks. The shop that's doing the work is also of the mind the if is isn't busted don't fix it. I just did the PCV service for the second time so that shouldn't be an issue.