Question on Aisin water pump

Post by **oragex** » 21 Sep 2018, 16:28

I had a customer bringing a timing belt kit, a Gates kit. The belt was stamped gates, but the water pump had no brand on it. Could the water pump be an Aisin? Are Aisin pumps marked 'Aisin' somewhere?

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 21 Sep 2018, 19:07

If there is a grind mark on the pump, it is a Genuine Volvo pump. Aisin grinds of the Volvo logo so they can sell them as Aisin pumps without trademark infringement.

Pumps manufactured to be sold as Aisin pumps are marked Aisin.

If it has a plastic impeller, that is a dead give away that the part is a cheap no name pump that will not last long.

Post by **cn90** » 21 Sep 2018, 20:30

- Gates radiator hoses are generally good.

- Gates TB is known to walk around, search youtube for that video.
The Gates TB kit does not contain WP made by Aisin.

- Stick to Conti TB kit and Aisin WP.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 21 Sep 2018, 21:01

The Gates TB kit does not contain WP made by Aisin.

The Gates timing belt kit I got had a water pump by Asin, it was one of the Genuine Volvo pumps with the Volvo name ground off.

- Gates TB is known to walk around, search youtube for that video.

Beware of blameoholics that take a short cut because they cannot diagnosis a problem.
Poor belt tracking can be caused by a number of things, it can happen with any timing belt. Most of the time it is not the timing belt, it is worn tensioners, idlers or misalignment.

The Gates belt I used on my S90 tracks correctly, of course the other components are in good condition and everything is aligned.

Post by **cn90** » 21 Sep 2018, 21:42

- Maybe you were lucky and had Aisin water pump. Gates is known to change supplier in their kits w/o warning.

- People buy Gates b/c they think they save a couple (maybe $20 or $30). But they don't if the engine seizes!

- The good stuff is not that expensive:
1. TB Kit from Volvo dealer: $110 (provide dealer with VIN to get correct kit).
2. Aisin Water Pump is about $55 on ebay or FCPEuro.

- Well, read on. Amazon has the reviews both good and bad. Nothing worse than the WP seizing:

https://www.amazon.com/Gates-TCKWP331-E ... merReviews

PS: For those reading this thread, consider replacing the serpentine belt and its pulley too.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 21 Sep 2018, 22:53

You speak of Gates as if it is some fly by night operation. Gates has been around for 107 years and is known for quality parts.

Amazon reviews for mission critical decisions ...

Post by **precopster** » 22 Sep 2018, 04:13

Gates make great belts. On MVS we've had more than our fair share of Gates kit disasters.

FROM AMAZON REVUES:
Craig: "DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! It cost me $500 to have this kit installed in 2013. The pump started leaking after less than 20,000 miles. Now, two years later I am out another $698 for the EXACT same service. Needless to say, I am one unhappy customer. New parts from the garage have a 3 year warranty. I guess I learned my lesson trying to save a buck"

Robert R Kardly: "Tension, Idler and belt are good quality. Water pump no so much.. The water pump impeller in this kit was scraping on the rear pump housing on the engine.. nothing like doing a water pump two times with 1" of clearance.."

If it isn't an Aisin water pump it doesn't go on any of my Volvos. If the Volvo mark is ground off the Aisin mark remains........this is how Aisin box their pumps as they were pumps intended for the dealer.

You don't even need to change the Aisin pump on every timing kit change; they are THAT good.
For most Volvo enthusiasts it's an every second timing kit change. When Aisin water pumps fail they leak...and slowly at that.

For the timing components I used the INA kit directly from Germany for my 2001 T5. I bought them 3 years ago from Rexbo Car Parts who seem to have disappeared.

With this kit you get the original INA idler and the timing belt tensioner made in Slovakia just as they did from the factory. They are also cost effective and are the same as blue-boxed parts.

Post by **oragex** » 22 Sep 2018, 05:53

TYA this is what I was afraid. I know these companies can change at any moment. The water pump had no area grinded off, no sticker, nothing indicating some name (be it Hepu, Aisin or Volvo)

The tensioner was surprisingly branded Gates stamped on it. The roller was a no name part. The belt was surprisingly soft rubber for a tb belt sompared to a Contitech.

The 2.5T engine had 185000 miles on it so it was time for a water pump

All in all, for that specific kit I have my doubts, in particular for the water pump. As mentioned above these no name parts are known to give up all of a sudden after a few years, with catastrophic results

Post by **precopster** » 22 Sep 2018, 05:59

There are basically ONLY 3 brands of water pumps for Volvo from companies that are proud enough to stamp their product: Hepu, Aisin and GMB