Oh I'm not afraid of getting dirty. I like your style; bring something to eat or something to help you catch something to eat!

 

So now that I have my mind made up that I'll be replacing the water pump, any one have suggestions as to which brand to use? Is this an opportunity to upgrade the pump from OEM?

 

Local auto parts stores have re manufactured pumps for $35 and new ones for $50 with a lifetime warranty. I'm going new when I replace mine.

The factory gallons per minute is more than enough for the v-6. Most of them are the same pumps for a v-8. I look more towards radiator upgrades for increased cooling.

 

Thanks. Your advice is pretty much what my thinking was but since I was at it I didn't want to miss out on a useful upgrade or avoid installing a bad part.

I hadn't heard of any horror stories with water pumps and I had wondered if the ones on our 4.3l were the same as on the v8s. It's good to have that confirmed.

 

So I found a water pump that is for severe duty if not higher flow rates. It is the Cardone 55-11311H. This is the description of the differences between the two models of the new pumps Cardone sells from the email I received from them:

"The 55-11311H has a ball/roller style bearing which is more durable, the 55-11311 has ball/ball bearings which is an OE design."

FYI, the part numbers for the remanufactured units are 58-521H and 58-521, the "H" referring to severe duty. I would assume the severe duty/service rebuilt one has the same upgraded bearings as the new one.