Or how some mechanics might make promises of a Laso/OEM but get one of these instead...

 

+1

 

The whole water pump/timing belt thing makes me a little bit crazy, listening to people trying to "save" a few bucks.

I've been doing 928's since they were first introduced....and I never saw a factory water pump or a factory belt failure....never. While I'm sure that there had to be some issues (everything has a failure rate), the percentages had to be tiny.....and many went more than 60,000 miles before they had either changed.

I think the "problems" occurred when the original parts were changed out. I believe that crappy aftermarket belts and cheap aftermarket/rebuilt water pumps cost, in the long run, mountains of more money than people could have ever spent if they would have used the factory parts.

Hell, there's even an aftermarket tensioner assembly to fix....well fix nothing. The factory tensioner is as bullet proof as anything on the entire car. Yes, it needs to be adjusted every 15,000 miles (but you should be looking at any belt every 15,000 miles anyway.) Yes, when a belt is put on every 45,000-60,000 miles, it needs a new rubber boot and clamp. But I've never seen a factory tensioner failure....unless some rookie forgot to put oil in it.

This whole water pump/belt "seek out the cheapest replacement parts you can find" is perhaps the ultimate example of "penny wise and pound foolish."

That being said, I stock both new factory and Laso water pumps (I only stock factory and Goodyear belts) and leave that decision to the individual customer. I do refuse to warranty the Laso pumps (and tell the customers that, right up front.)

It's really simple....if you are going to buy a water pump from the German equivalent of "Pep Boys" or stick on some remanufactured POS, use some crappy aftermarket timing belt, you need to assume the risk on your own.

And then shut up and write the check, when the valves tap dance the pistons.

 

What does the factory water pump cost? For some reason, I thought the only available (good) option was the Laso.

 

$915.25

 

Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You poor 32V guys!!!

 

^^^That's 16v

 

$789.84 if you hunt around.

 

Pretty funny, that must be why I thought it was NA.

 

Yeah, but 16V can use the Laso, no worries.
What is the worst that happens when a Laso pump fails on a 16V?

 

My Laso was $495 from Rog. Greg i'm beginning to agree with you, it's worth it just to spend the extra money knowing it will work. Sometimes it's more work to use the cheapest part than the savings are worth.

 

I agree that the eBay pumps are garbage. But I wonder how many new plastic impeller laso pumps have failed? If there was hard data to prove large number of failures per x number of pumps I would likely spring for a Porsche pump.

Still preventive maintenance is the key here.

 

So if the impeller is a press fit on the drive shaft, wouldn't they have to use epoxy on it with a plastic one?

 

I could have spent a grand on a new Porsche water pump, but decided to go with the Guardian instead, after hearing about impellers eating the block, etc, stripping the teeth from the belt and crashing the valves.

So far it's worked flawlessly! It's furnace hot here in Vegas too. Money was never an issue for me, reliability was my major concern. Time will tell. I can change out a pump like most on this forum, but having to pull the heads because of bent valves, would be a real PITA, besides costing an arm and a leg.

 

Thank goodness I bought mine two years ago for $275 a week before the price hike.