Review on Beck Arnley 131-2391 Water Pump - Premium Quality for Optimal Performance by Derrick Kadam

Bought for a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3L engine. The thermostat housing is supplied with new thermostat housing screws and the thermostat itself. The thermostat and thermostat housing are based on the 2004 5.3 engine and use only a gasket that attaches directly to the thermostat. I say this because there are three variations of this housing and thermostat design: A) One-piece thermostat and hose neck design B) Sealless housing and rubber-sealed thermostat C) The housing is designed to accommodate an outer ring and a single-gasket thermostat. Make sure you tighten the bolts on the thermostat housing to 11 ft/lbs and you shouldn't have any leaks. In my case, I had to replace the included screws with equivalent ARP screws to get the correct torque. The supplied screws were too soft and broke when tightened. Due to the slight erosion of the water pump on the block side of the block I would have preferred the paper/felt gaskets to the supplied o-rings as I find they would make the mating surfaces a bit more forgiving but personally I have not had any sealing issues with the spacers supplied . Overall, I'd say a solid 4.5 stars. If the thermostat housing bolts were any better I would give it a solid 5 stars. As for those trying to figure out which pump and thermostat housing and thermostat to order, I spent hours trying to figure it out when looking for the right setup for a 2001 Silverado, as all new pump manufacturers seem to cite that there are differences and that their pump needs a new thermostat housing, but no one seems to be clear on which housing/thermostat/gasket to order. This setup solves that headache for you. If you search the web closely enough, you may find that AirTex has published instructions suggesting that this style set's thermostat housing and thermostat may require a paper gasket, which is what you would expect in traditional thermostat applications from the turn of the century through the '90s , when seals became more common. As I mentioned, I just used a gasket that fits over the thermostat and is sandwiched between the pump and housing, with no separate outer ring or paper gasket. More than two weeks of daily work for 1.5 hours no leaks. ARP 434-7402 bolts fit the pump and housing and include washers to ensure even tightening. The bolts are significantly shorter compared to the original factory bolts and the bolts included in this kit, but fear not, they are long enough to attach the housing to the pump. You need an 8mm head instead of the 10mm head used on standard screws. The difference in head size and length is in line with ARP's (Automotive Racing Products) design concept of creating extremely strong bindings while saving unnecessary material wherever possible.