When to replace water pump on Series 60?

[belfert]

I can't get a good answer on when to replace the water pump on a Series 60, even from a Detroit dealer.  My main concern is the potential of losing the water pump on a trip.  The only answer of any sort I have received is to replace when it starts weeping coolant.  MY bus has somewhere over 300,000 miles and no indication the water pump has ever been replaced.

If I wait until it starts weeping will I risk it going out shortly after that?

My Series 60 started losing coolant over the winter and it appeared like it was coming from the water pump.  The local Detroit dealer has a flat rate to replace the pump so I took it there.  The leak was actually from a bad radiator cap instead.

The thermostats and radiator cap have been replaced now, but I don't know if that will fix my overheating issues that occur any time the engine is under high load.  I'll have to pull the radiator next if the problems continue.

[H3Jim]

I think the advice on wait until it weeps is good advice. They last so long you may never have to replace it.  Sometimes its not good to fix it if it isn't broken.

Its smart to look at maintenance and be aware of what needs to be fixed, but its not worth stressing about all the things that could happen.

[Dallas]

Brian,
Jim makes a good point.

You have so many other things to worry about, why start on this one. With that kind of thinking your gonna give yourself a heart attack or a stroke from worry.

If you want to worry, how about worrying about the brake shoe return springs? Maybe one is broken! Or will break.
How about air tanks? Is one of them gonna get a hole in it causing you to lose all your air?
What about the axle shaft bolts? have you checked them for proper torque, and if so, did you check them 'Wet' or 'Dry'
You know, the pinion bearing could be going out.
I think the left front taillight is leaking a little bit of bearing grease.

In other words,
Lighten up and enjoy your bus, or sell it if all your gonna be able to do is worry about all the what if's.

There are lot's of what if's in this world, What if you cross the street and an airplane decides to land on you?
How about if someone left a piece of glass in your hamburger that came from the light bulb that broke over the feed bin that the cow was eating from before it became hamburger?

If it happens, it happens.

[belfert]

If the water pump is not a routine maintenance item I'm not going to worry about it.

I am trying to make sure all routine maintenance items are taken care of this summer before I do a 4,000 mile trip.  The previous owner went out of business and it appears they neglected the bus pretty bad.  There is no way it would have passed a DOT inspection if the inspector was doing their job.  The brakes were totally shot as were the wheel bearings.

I spent over $9,000 getting the brakes and wheel bearings replaced along with everything else on the chassis inspected.  I am fairly confident in the everything except the engine.

I've driven over 4,000 miles to date without a roadside breakdown other than having to pull off for overheating once.  Those 4,000 miles included over 1,600 miles with bad brakes.  I would like to keep up my record of no breakdowns by making sure all maintenanve items are taken care of.

[Sojourner]

Take your pick.....either replace it now and you know it safe for many miles with proper cleaning & proper coolant put back in. Or have enough cash available with you when you need to replace it on the road. I know a friend who has a large Cat in truck with slow dripping water & oil coming out of pump's drain hole (gear driven) and keep driving a few week till notice engine oil level increasing higher. He brought the truck used.
It cost him weeks of lost hauling & about $2000 for replacing bearing & gaskets.

DD will say don't worry because DD are always ready whenever & wherever you need them at a PRICE & road service. You and I are not on company's expense account.

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Jerry

[Busted Knuckle]

Brian,
After speaking to you on the phone I got to thinking the last water pump I replaced on a 60 series. Was for a friend/competitor from MO who had one go out on a bus that was 40 miles from me so we did a service call to Dyersburg, and changed the pump for him. Well come to find out it was a brand new rebuilt (from DD less than 3 wks old) pump that had failed! So I had to pay a core charge to my supplier, and send the old/"new" pump back with him so he could make them pay it. I then billed him for the job + core. He payed me right away for the service call, pump, & labor. But sent the core bill to the Detroit Dealer because the core fee was higher than the pump cost (+ the rest of my bill for that matter!). It took me over 6 months and many phone calls to finally get the DD to take care of their responsability. Then to beat it all they sent me the same (it'd been marked by customer) core instead of a check, so I had to take the core back to my supplier and get credited for it! Royal PIA! But the moral of the story is just because it's been replaced does not guarantee it is fail safe! I've called several of my friends and asked your question, and the response from all of them was the same! If ain't broke don't fix it! As we all agree these days the quality of the one you have is probably better than what you'll get! A water pump is not that difficult to change! If you are that concerned about it go buy one and carry it as a spare. That way you'll never need it, and I can buy it from you in the future for pennies on the $! LOL! Seriously relax, and if you must have a piece of mind carry a spare! I'm quite confident that you can change it yourself if ya had too! Especially if ya got yer buddies with ya!  FWIW BK 

[belfert]

never need it, and I can buy it from you in the future for pennies on the $! LOL! Seriously relax, and if you must have a piece of mind carry a spare! I'm quite confident that you can change it yourself if ya had too! Especially if ya got yer buddies with ya!  FWIW BK 

I've already decided not to worry about it as long as it is not a routine maintenance item. 

If I started carrying spares for everything mechanical on the engine that might break I would be out hundreds or thousands of dollars:  Alternator, compressor, starter, and water pump would be a lot to carry.  I will carry spare belts and a spare tire, but that is about it.

[Busted Knuckle]

never need it, and I can buy it from you in the future for pennies on the $! LOL! Seriously relax, and if you must have a piece of mind carry a spare! I'm quite confident that you can change it yourself if ya had too! Especially if ya got yer buddies with ya!  FWIW BK 

I've already decided not to worry about it as long as it is not a routine maintenance item. 

If I started carrying spares for everything mechanical on the engine that might break I would be out hundreds or thousands of dollars:  Alternator, compressor, starter, and water pump would be a lot to carry.  I will carry spare belts and a spare tire, but that is about it.

Now yer think'n! LOL!  BK

[NJT 5573]

Well, its a million mile engine. It is designed to keep the coolant very clean with a water filter and additive package. My NJT 20 sat on the sales yard almost 5 years before I bought it. It was the last one sold because it had some DDEC issues no one could figure out. It shuts down when its 2 quarts low on 710. It took me a while to get past that one, but I got a great deal! It sat for so long that I think some rust got to the water pump impeller and it fell off before it went 200 miles. If you have put a couple thousand miles on it without a problem, I think you should be good to go. Service the filter and keep up with the additive package and forget it.


I carry exactly what Busted Knuckle carrys.  Last trip I had my tires throw a broken belt off the roadway into my fan drive belt and cut it off the pulleys. Everything worked perfect. (My shutdown feature is disabled). First I got a yellow check engine lite, then a red check engine lite, then a major drop in power although the DDEC still allowed me to decide where to pull off the road and stop instead of just killing me in the middle of the freeway. I love it! It worked perfect! I was ready to dump this rig as unreliable until DD killed the auto shutdown.

It took about 5 minutes to replace the belt and we were gone. I called my local auto parts and was told another belt was 9 days out on special order because it is an irregular size, (true). One of my truck suppliers has a very good relationship with Gates. I called Gerrish Bearing in Tacoma, 206-762-7070,  put the belt on a credit card and the new one was in my office the next day from Gates, Salt Lake City, Via UPS. If you run belts you might want that phone number.