# Water Pump Repeatedly Fails



## thomashooper1993 (Jul 18, 2014)

I have an 00 Nissan Maxima. It's a V6, so the water pump is driven off the timing chain. When I first bought the car, I started noticing a grinding noise in the timing area of the engine. Soon it was followed by coolant leaks above the oil pan, so I knew it was the pump bearing. 

I replaced it, and it ran perfectly. The bearing on the old pump was so bad there was between half an inch and an inch of play in the shaft. What do you know, a week later, the exact same grinding noises start. I'm expecting leaks to start sometime soon. 

So, what would cause this? I have a really bad feeling I might need to replace all the timing components. Is it possible it could just be a faulty tensioner? It would be nice if that was all I had to replace. 

Also, what's the chances of it going bad because I bought an "OEM quality" pump for 50.00 from Pepboys instead of an actual OEM pump? I could see this being an issue, but the thing is it went bad again after a week, which seems soon even for a cheaper, generic part.

The previous owner told me he had replaced the timing chain. I don't know if he replaced all other involved components. I also don't know if he did a good job (judging by the breaks that he said he did, and the wiring of the subwoofer, it wouldn't surprise me if he screwed up something).

Anyways, hoping I can get input from someone who has had the exact same problem. I've heard a lot of different suggestions, from just replacing the tensioner to replacing the whole timing system. Obviously hoping it's the first choice.


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## Outkast (Jan 29, 2006)

cheap parts for a reason, The OEM one are rare to go bad.


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