Gates 41181 Premium Engine Water Pump

When my less than 2 year old 2003 cummins water pump died, I had a couple choices. I could try to track down where I bought it from, figure out the manufacturer, deal with sending it back for an exchange or refund. I could go to the local parts store, and pay $20-$30 more for an equally sketchy pump because they had it right then and there. I could order a cheap pump on amazon or ebay. I chose this option, spending a little extra, way less than OEM, and waiting a couple days for this quality gates water pump. . The only bad thing I read about it, is that it rusts. What people don't understand, is when you build a diesel engine, you usually paint it with many of the accessories installed, including, the water pump. Unless you have a show vehicle, why worry about the color, just grab whatever can of paint you have laying around and give it a couple coats. Any paint that will survive over 250 degrees will work fine. I wiped mine down with some accetone, gave it two coats of rusto high temp, and installed it. . This pump features an updated caged impeller design. My last water pump did not. What this means, is both sides of the impeller blade, have a piece of metal binding them all together. This prevents catastrophic failure of the blade, and prevents metal from falling down into the lower depths of your engine's cooling passages, which is what happened to my previous pump. . If you are thinking about doing this yourself, it's an easy installation. Re-installing the belt is harder than putting this pump on. It is an easy DIY. No special tools are needed, just a 1/2" ratchet with handle extension or long handle, and a 10mm ratchet with a short extension or a deep-well 10mm socket. . The build quality of this pump is great, and it is stamped with the p/n from gates, so feel confident you are getting an authentic part.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Perfect fit not cheap plastic all Metal quality Parts

When it comes to buying replacement parts for Cummins engines the general rule is- if you don't want to fix it again- buy Cummins parts the first time. I typically stand by this rule but when the original pump on my '91 Dodge D250 bit the dust and the only local source for genuine Cummins replacement was a Chrysler dealership who had to special order it (at a marked up cost none the less) I turned to the aftermarket to get my truck running again. Upon researching online I found the consensus amongst Dodge diesel owners was that the only aftermarket water pump that parallels (and according to some surpasses) the performance and quality of the OEM unit was the Gates model 41181. I was happy to see it offered from Amazon as that meant I could receive it in time to have my truck ready for the upcoming work week. The part I received was dimensionally identical to the original (with the exception of a slightly revised impeller) and included the o-ring needed for installation. Replacing the pump was as easy as you'd expect for these engines and after a few weeks of use it's holding up great. Based on the quality I observed and the numerous positive experiences from the Cummins enthusiast community, I'd consider this to be the best aftermarket alternative to the genuine Cummins water pump. Update as of April, 2021: the pump is still performing excellently. The only issue I've observed after 2+ years is some minor surface rust since the main casting of the part is uncoated, though this is purely superficial and could be easily remedied. I highly recommend this water pump if you're looking for an aftermarket alternative.

Beats the parts store units, and is cheaper than most “in stock” ones. It has an impeller guard that aligns with the block flow when installed, my old unit was a cheap parts store generic, it was fine, but started weeping and the impeller had cavitation on the blades rights where the new one has the improved guard. Bottom line: buy this or the Cummins oem.

It's a Gate product and shows their quality. Easy to install and direct fit.

It’s been about 6 months and 1000 miles since I installed this on my 12v 6bt. Water pump works and doesn’t leak, but the bare metal finish corrodes very quickly. I wish I had painted it prior to install. It looks worse than anything else in my 200k mile engine bay

I replaced the water pump when the 12 valve was down for an overhaul and works great. Perfect fit for the cummins 12 valve.

good value and fast shipping

I don't like reviewing water pumps but after 10,000km this one is a keeper! Still going strong in my 2007 Ram 3500 with a 5.9 Cummins. Read that a 2nd gen water pump can be used on 3rd gen applications so I figured I'd give it a go, and at over $600 for an OEM pump with a PLASTIC IMPELLER, I was willing to take the risk. I'm very glad I did so far. The impeller is metal and has a ring around the impeller for more water flow or something along those lines, (I did all this research months ago). So far the heat output is better than it was before I rebuilt the engine and used this water pump and I've had good temperatures all summer long. Still soon to tell for only 10,000km but so far so good! Would recommend!

seems to be decent quality works great so far

Same casting and weep hole location and correct pully diam for the first gen Dodge Cummins : )

Perfect fit...one of the few automotive parts you can change in a 1/2 hour.

Part works as it should and was about 1/3 of the price of the same part at are local parts store