I changed my daughter's water pump today...

[gapost]

So my daughter said the shop told her the water pump in her 05 Tahoe was leaking. They wanted $800 to replace it but she said I would do it, haha.

 

So I took it off and it seemed that it was leaking on the passenger side gasket and I did not see any sign of leakage around the shaft seal. I bet the pump was still good. If it had been my truck, I would have just replaced the gaskets and put the pump back on. Since she lives out of town, and has about 137,000, I went ahead and replaced the pump.

 

So, just a heads up, that a leak may be only bad gaskets.

[Doug_Scott]

It is sort of like changing the timing chain and gears when you have the timing cover off for a leak. Sometimes it is wise to replace serviceable items while you have it apart for something else.

[Patch6713]

My Fire Department's '07 Tahoe also started leaking at the water pump. It was believed to only be the gaskets but it was covered under warranty so they replaced it entirely. Also being that it is an emergency vehicle, limited down time and reliability is a must so when something goes wrong it is best just to fix it right the first time instead of having to take it apart again if it is still leaking.

[Ape0r]

Surprisingly common problem actually. Mine went at 85k. Original gaskets were red orange silicone (high temperature resistant but a bitch to bond to anything). Replacements were some sort of black rubber. Redesign much?