water pumps, power steering pumps, etc

[Paul]

Are water pumps, power steering pumps and starters o.k. to buy at Kragen or Pep Boys? Or are there specific brands to look for or stay away from?
Thanks!

[timmirvin]

Normally, I buy all my parts from O'Reilly, but have used Pep Boys & Advanced Auto, quite a bit. I have recently replaced water pump, fuel pump, and power steering pump. I did not pay attention to brand name(s). I think my power steering pump came from Pep Boyz....have not had any problem with it .....yet....

My 2 cents...for what its worth.....

[Jeepadilly]

The power steering pump is reletively easy to rebuild if you can get the parts and you can get the pully off...the rest I have bought new from auto zone and been fairly happy...in my experience though...NEVER use rebuilt brake parts...Regards
Brian

[ March 29, 2003, 12:35 AM: Message edited by: Jeepadilly ]

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Not really that many rebuilders of these parts. Chances are no matter where you buy it, it comes form the same rebuiler. Return policy and Customer Service would be a big factor in where I deal. Reman brake Parts, I use all the time, with no problem. ;)

[wagontrain]

I don't have Kragen or Pep Boys in my area, but I was in the parts business for 15 years and know that these chains are both reputable.

Keep in mind that every chain will have different grades of reman parts. Not for PS pumps usually, but water pumps, for instance, will offer economy remanufactured, premium remanufactured, and brand new.

The biggest difference between the reman grades is that the premium model will be more quality-controlled; probably one out of 100 will be tested coming off the line, compared to one out of 1000 for the economy version. The premium part will also have a longer warranty period (usually two years as opposed to one).

A brand new part will, of course, be brand new. These will typically have a lifetime warranty. Always check the price of a new part when looking at reman products; sometimes they are cost-prohibitive, but often they are only a couple of bucks higher than the premium reman!

As far as brands go....Crazy is right, most reman parts are done by a few rebuilders, and are packages with a different brand name for different stores. One exception is A1 Cardone. Their parts are always packaged under their own name, and are very high quality. So if the choice is between them and, say, Autoline, go with the Cardone part if the prices are similar.

[ March 29, 2003, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: wagontrain ]

[nograin]

I've had very bad luck with water pumps from parts stores in general. Before you leave the counter, check that the bearing is not too tight, that the impeller is not hitting the housing and that the hose nipples are nice and round with the flairs still on them. Also,when back at the vehicle, if you can dry check that the impeller is clearing the timing cover - thats also a good idea.

In fact, I'm on line now checking to see what other IFSJA memebers have recommended. In my experience, I think Cardone is OK. I also will only use NAPA for alternators and starters - not as familiar with the NAPA lines for water pumps, another thread here says that their premium line is a relabled GMB pump which has a good rep.