Should I replace the water pump along with the Drive and aux belts?

[sinabd]

Hi, I own a 2003 volvo xc70 with 172,000 km on it, and i believe it is time to get both belts replaced since I don't want my engine to self destruct if they fail! I've been searching volvo xc70 forums and the opinion of the volvo community seems to be very divided on the issue of whether or not to replace the water pump at the same time. My indy mechanic highly recommended it, yet when I called the dealership for their quote on the job the guy on the other end sounded like he thought I was crazy to want the water pump replaced since in his career he has only ever seen two fail and said they were highly reliable. Can anyone give me some advice?

[sinabd]

Also I should say that I am the third owner of the car and do not know the repair history, but I have been driving it for a year now and have done all the maintenance that was necessary, and have never had trouble with coolant leaks or overheating

[giorgio]

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showth...ight=volvo+v40
It's enough ?
Please change the water pump now ! At 160.000 km you have to change belt, water pump and everything is around !
Please change everythig now at a good mechanich ! It is a question of life or death ! Of your engine naturally !

[Astro14]

I would not change the WP - do the timing belt, along with the idler pulley and tensioner. Replace the serpentine drive belt (they wear in the grooves, and it's really hard to tell when they're worn out...since you don't know the history, this makes sense too...)

But, in talking with the Volvo techs at my local dealer, they don't see many WP failures, and they don't replace them at the 105,000 mile service. So, I have a WP on the shelf, waiting for a leak to start. Granted, you have to remove the timing belt to do the pump (and I would just install a new one at that time), but if it ain't broke...

On the other hand, if you're going to worry about this, and you do the work yourself, well, then go ahead and do it...it's another hour of time and $100 (for new coolant and a pump) when the belt is out...

[acools]

When it came to the red-blcok engines, so up to the B230F engines up to 1995 in the US, you replaced the pump with the T-belt, tensioner and roller.
But the seals on the pumps in the last 15 years have gotten much better and you usually change the pump on every other T-belt change.

So with your mileage, replace the T-belt, tensioner, roller and auxiliary belt unless the pump is leaking. However no harm is caused by replacing it.

Andres

[v70+xc70]

AFAIK Volvo only talks miles before replacing TB. Not age. Has anyone come across anything from Volvo saying that the TB should be replaced after X years?

[cattlecar]

Easy guideline: does the part or a wrecker bill cost more? WP is cheaper than all but a tow from less than 5 miles away. Replace pump.

Strange thing about this T belt stuff is Volvo has engines in california running the same belt and tensioners and they go 150K on instead of 105K. Emissions warranty covers the belt on the SULEV+, PZEV emissions class engines and the warranty is 150K.

[sinabd]

thx for all the advice! I decided to do the water pump with the belts since I plan on owning this car for a long time and will therefore probably have to deal with it sooner or later anyways