are these cheap water pumps for real?
#16
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Without wasting too much time looking at all the permutations - all boils down to about 3 makes. Laso, GEBA & Crap!!
All that are less than circa $150 are Crap.
Laso is well known as is GEBA. GEBA has a metal impeller but on the positive side is New.
Laso and Porsche have plastic impellers.
If you have an 87 to 95 car and do not use a PKT you have two choices GEBA $295 and Porsche $1000+.
If you use a PKT then you have a Laso with plastic impeller $435.
Never use a rebuild even a Porsche rebuild.
Just my 5 cents worth.
All that are less than circa $150 are Crap.
Laso is well known as is GEBA. GEBA has a metal impeller but on the positive side is New.
Laso and Porsche have plastic impellers.
If you have an 87 to 95 car and do not use a PKT you have two choices GEBA $295 and Porsche $1000+.
If you use a PKT then you have a Laso with plastic impeller $435.
Never use a rebuild even a Porsche rebuild.
Just my 5 cents worth.
__________________
Does it have the "Do It Yourself" manual transmission, or the superior "Fully Equipped by Porsche" Automatic Transmission? George Layton March 2014
928 Owners are ".....a secret sect of quietly assured Porsche pragmatists who in near anonymity appreciate the prodigious, easy going prowess of the 928."
Does it have the "Do It Yourself" manual transmission, or the superior "Fully Equipped by Porsche" Automatic Transmission? George Layton March 2014
928 Owners are ".....a secret sect of quietly assured Porsche pragmatists who in near anonymity appreciate the prodigious, easy going prowess of the 928."
#18
Nordschleife Master
I prefer "eccentric."
People with truly non-interference engines are safe.
It does highlight the issue with 928 parts. There isn't hundreds of dollars more work or quality put into the good pumps it's just what the market will bear. The car won't run without it. Squeal at your preference.
People with truly non-interference engines are safe.
It does highlight the issue with 928 parts. There isn't hundreds of dollars more work or quality put into the good pumps it's just what the market will bear. The car won't run without it. Squeal at your preference.
#19
Rennlist Member
The interesting bit is that one of these vendors gets a top rating and seems to sell other stuff that is "OK". One might think that if he has flogged 30 chumps utter crap then he might have had some poor feedback by now.
Of course I have no idea how or to what extent folks manipulate these feedback ratings but the one I took a look at had thousands of positive feedback.
Just makes one wonder- sooner or later the Chinese may well make a decent 928 water pump despite what we actually think. They made my new laptop and it is super- they also made my recent tgrolly jack acquisition - failed first time I used it! Win some lose some I guess.
Rgds
Fred
Of course I have no idea how or to what extent folks manipulate these feedback ratings but the one I took a look at had thousands of positive feedback.
Just makes one wonder- sooner or later the Chinese may well make a decent 928 water pump despite what we actually think. They made my new laptop and it is super- they also made my recent tgrolly jack acquisition - failed first time I used it! Win some lose some I guess.
Rgds
Fred
#20
Chronic Tool Dropper
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I often wonder if the approval rating is for the vendor's delivery service and unrelated to the part itself. Most parts vendors limit their liability on failures of the parts themselves to replacement of said part with another of the same. When you are staring at a buggered block after a pump failure, you probably don't want to take advantage of their warranty solution.
#21
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It not just that the Chinese "reverse engineer" so many things but that they ALSO copy each other's copies...each striving to make it for less to sell it for less to undercut the market. So Fred's trolley jack is just one example of an item which just LOOKS like something...
One can be pretty sure that these water pump makers have never even seen a 928 let alone tested those pumps on a real engine.
One can be pretty sure that these water pump makers have never even seen a 928 let alone tested those pumps on a real engine.
#22
Vegas, Baby!
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FWIW, there's another choice, Ed's "Guardian Water Pump." Around $450.00, each are custom made, and tested for 2 hours @ 6000 rpm, before Ed ships it to you. No one else does this.
#23
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I suspect Ed's pump is going to be the de-facto standard for this list now that Laso have "bugged out"
#24
Nordschleife Master
#25
Vegas, Baby!
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It just makes sense to use his pump on a interference engine.
BTW, mine is subjected to the furnace heat of Las Vegas summers. Where we get months of over 100 degree temps.
#26
Rennlist Member
Three or four years ago I first saw these kind of lower price pumps for sale on eBay, and I recall the listing(s) saying things like 50 or 60 sold. So far, however, I have seen no data which would indicate that there ought to be a recall of these for early failure. In fact I don't recall ever seeing an actual report on this forum about one of these having been put into service and having failed in any time period or mileage use.
#28
FYI, I purchased one of the cheap pumps on eBay. My '83 is non-interference.
The seller claims that he has sold many 928 pumps online with no problems, and that the bearing configuration is exactly the same as the OEM product. The pump certainly looks good, with good machined surfaces and no casting flaws even using dye penetrant. But I'm not yet confident that it will function properly.
Next week I hope to slice that pump open to validate the seller's bearing claim, and to further examine construction. I'll be grateful for your ideas, questions, guidance when I undertake that. If the product looks good, I'll buy another one...
The seller claims that he has sold many 928 pumps online with no problems, and that the bearing configuration is exactly the same as the OEM product. The pump certainly looks good, with good machined surfaces and no casting flaws even using dye penetrant. But I'm not yet confident that it will function properly.
Next week I hope to slice that pump open to validate the seller's bearing claim, and to further examine construction. I'll be grateful for your ideas, questions, guidance when I undertake that. If the product looks good, I'll buy another one...
#29
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#30
Former Vendor
I realize that I'm completely different than the vast majority of people on this list. I've known it from the first day I made my first post.
I'm fixing cars for the "long haul"...making them as perfect as I can make them....for the people that intend on keeping their cars forever. That's my market. That's the description of the vast majority of my clientele.
Reading this list, it's pretty obvious that there a a couple of distinct groups of people that make up the huge majority of this list's population. One group of the people on this list are interested in keeping their investment in these cars as low as possible....so that they can maximize their profit when it comes time to sell their cars.....they consider their cars to be an investment. Another group is proud that they own one of the most expensive production cars ever built for a tiny amount of money.
I've said this several times....and I'll state it again.
I "redo" more timing belt and water pump jobs than I have ever started from old age/high mileage. Inferior parts, crappy timing belts, worn pieces, poor workmanship. Pick one and it requires a "redo".
I'm completely serious when I say that if I added up every single non factory water pump I've ever replaced and added up the costs to "redo" the job and repair the damage caused by these "cheap" water pumps, the end result would be that tens of thousands more dollars were spent than if none of these aftermarket alternatives were ever available and everyone had only been able to buy factory water pumps.
Just realize that there is a difference between "cheap" and "the best".
If you are one of those people that love these cars and intend on keeping it forever, if you are one of those people that want to jump into this car and drive it anywhere that suits your fancy, do yourself a favor and buy a factory water pump.
The factory pump is the best. Its will last the longest. It's the most reliable one.
It's also the most expensive.
However, it is important to realize that you are not working on a 30 year old Pinto.....it is, after all is said and done, a 30 year old 928 Porsche......and it wasn't the German air that they put in the tires that made it expensive when it was built.
I'm fixing cars for the "long haul"...making them as perfect as I can make them....for the people that intend on keeping their cars forever. That's my market. That's the description of the vast majority of my clientele.
Reading this list, it's pretty obvious that there a a couple of distinct groups of people that make up the huge majority of this list's population. One group of the people on this list are interested in keeping their investment in these cars as low as possible....so that they can maximize their profit when it comes time to sell their cars.....they consider their cars to be an investment. Another group is proud that they own one of the most expensive production cars ever built for a tiny amount of money.
I've said this several times....and I'll state it again.
I "redo" more timing belt and water pump jobs than I have ever started from old age/high mileage. Inferior parts, crappy timing belts, worn pieces, poor workmanship. Pick one and it requires a "redo".
I'm completely serious when I say that if I added up every single non factory water pump I've ever replaced and added up the costs to "redo" the job and repair the damage caused by these "cheap" water pumps, the end result would be that tens of thousands more dollars were spent than if none of these aftermarket alternatives were ever available and everyone had only been able to buy factory water pumps.
Just realize that there is a difference between "cheap" and "the best".
If you are one of those people that love these cars and intend on keeping it forever, if you are one of those people that want to jump into this car and drive it anywhere that suits your fancy, do yourself a favor and buy a factory water pump.
The factory pump is the best. Its will last the longest. It's the most reliable one.
It's also the most expensive.
However, it is important to realize that you are not working on a 30 year old Pinto.....it is, after all is said and done, a 30 year old 928 Porsche......and it wasn't the German air that they put in the tires that made it expensive when it was built.