I have a 2000 dodge dakota pick up 2WD with 78K miles... i was wondering if i should replace it??? I have heard that its only a matter of time that they go and can cause damage to the engine if it does. I have to switch out the serpentine belt anyway so i figured that while i'm in there i might as well do it. I don't hear any noise coming from the water pump should I wait longer? does anyone know the life expectancy of this pump? thanks

 

Welcome to DF coralcrazed! I am gonna move this over to the 2nd Gen Dakota Section for better advice for ya. You got the right section, just not alot of guys check this main section but more of the sub section Good luck!

 

I just replaced mine due to it leaking and the mileage was about 77,600. If it were me I would wait till you have to replace it. it will start to leak when its on its way out but i paid 64 for mine from autozone brand new and life time warranty. There is a lot more time invested in it than you think my bracket that holds the the alt and a/c on has to come off plus the fan took the shop 4hrs to do mine even tho i dont like a shop touching my truck i happen to trust the guy and he knows he way around a vehicle plus 60 wasn't a bad price. As far as new belt that will take you a max of 10min if you take your time. I just did mine and I timed myself and i got the old one off and new one on in 3min its very very easy to do.

 

I replaced mine at 235,000 believe it or not,the bearing was starting to squeel on cold start ups.The "O" ring gasket was always sweating under my water pump since i bought it new in 2000 after about 15.000 miles and the dealer said that they wouldnt replace it because it hadn't failed totaly(under the 36.000 mile waranty)The alternator was replaced at the same time by my mechanic,realy weird he said that they would both go at the same time,but i still have the original battery too! But i still smell antifreeze slightly when i shut it off, and he said its the old antifreeze that is still heating up on the block from before.

 

I forgot to write down when I changed mine but I think 80K sounds about right. I also got my replacement part at Autozone and I did it myself. I had to rent a certain tool from autozone to help get the fan off the pump. It is a tight little area and more hard with how tight the screws are and getting then loose. Not that hard to do. But yeah when the pump is going it will start to leak. When it goes just make sure you check the water level enough and keep adding water. You can do damage to the engine when the water gets to low or down to empty and then the engine with run hot and that's when you can hurt it.

 

Try checking directly beneath the pump for seepage stains. If there are stains or evidence of leaking you'd be better off changing it out. Usually they give some warning with seepage before completely failing. But if your bored and just need something to do ........... about 4 hours with air conditioning.