Since my Sportage just turned 180,000 miles I'm going to have a little maintenance done. I'm planning to have the belts and hoses and the timing belt replaced. One place I got a quote from said they'd do the job for 250.00 plus parts, but he suggested that I consider doing the water pump at the same time.

The other guy said 342.00, including parts. He didn't say anything about the waterpump.

Would members suggest replacing the waterpump now, or waiting until there is something wrong with it?

Thanks.

I would change it

If you are going to do the timing belt you might as well go for the water pump too. Especially since it has 180K miles on it. I changed mine when I did the timing belt at 93K miles.

But I would strongly suggest you purchase the water pump from a Kia Dealer to insure you get the right pump. The water pumps for the SOHC and DOHC look nearly identical and will fit each engine. The difference is in the timing belt gear. There have been alot of instances where someone purchased an aftermarket pump and it was the wrong one and chewed up the timing belt. This can be deadly on the SOHC engine because it is an interference engine. So save yourself the potential aggravation and buy it from the dealer and make absolutely certain it's the pump for the SOHC engine. Check http://www.kiausaparts.com for the right part number.

I am preparing to do my 120k mile service, timing belt, drive belts, water pump, spark plugs, cam cover gasket if needed, I have a set of spark coils on the way in case I need them, I am also changing the oil in the transfer case front and rear diffs with Redline oils.

I said all that to say that I purchased a new water pump off ebay which was advertised as a dual overhead cam, I had it for some time before I purchased my new timing belt, it was obvious that the sprocket was incorrect when you compare it to the timing belt. I went to O'Reilly's Auto Parts and purchased a new water pump for the dual overhead cam for $85.00 and when you compare the two pumps side by side there is quite a bit of difference in the two pumps.

Please post pictures of each pump if you havn't installed them yet. I'll need to do mine later this year, and it would be nice to have a picture to go off of.

Logansportage

I know that it is probably unbleivable but I don't have a digital camera. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Purchase your timing belt first, and if the teeth ont the timing belt fit it is the correct pump.

The teeth on the DOHC are finer (more teeth) than the SHOC.

Haoe this helps.

So, Airedale, you still have the sohc pump? Wanna sell it?

Yes I will sell it for $25.00 plus shipping. It is a new not reman pump and includes gaskets and "O" ring.

email me at: roy@onelinkwireless.com if you are interested.

Roy Pitts

Thanks, man, but as I emailed you I had already had a mechanic jump on it.

Before I ever got it to him it completely lost power, and then wouldn't even start. I was afraid that the timing belt had broken, but it turned out the catalytic converter was completely clogged. The mechanic replaced it with a hi-flow converter. I figure this to be an expensive month in the KIA department, but I'd rather put a little money in this one once in a while than get involved in payments for something I don't like as much anyway.

No problem, happy your up and running. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />