Gates 42207 Water Pump Review

I knew it looked like a factory fitted cast iron impeller (as opposed to a stamped fan) but I didn't expect the seal to be thin sheet metal. I was hoping for a thin cardboard pad. What a pleasant surprise. Gates really listens to its customers.

This Gates water pump is a true OEM replacement. The impeller blade is cast, not cheap "open" stamped steel. This achieves better circulation and cooling. However, the seal is very cheap. The original seal is metal and the new one is paper. I reused the original metal gasket with copper sealant. No leaks! Thank you Rewin!

This pump is factory quality but the way it is packaged means the machined surface next to the engine is scratched, this can easily be remedied. when installing with a liquid caulking product to ensure no leaks. However, it would be nice if the gate used styrofoam or bubble wrap instead of just putting it in a plastic bag in a box.

Gates components are the best when it comes to timing belts and the overall quality of this water pump was just as great. The water pump fitted/replaced my 2000 Subaru Outback 2.5L EJ25 engine exactly and installation was a simple task (as I already had the motor for the headgaskets, timing belt etc). One area of frustration was that the gasket (for me) was of lower quality (i.e. cardboard, not metal composite) than the original OEM factory gasket, but if you know what you're doing and in the…

When I replaced the timing belt on my car I also decided to replace the water pump so I wouldn't have to do it later on the road when it inevitably failed. I ordered this one as it turned out to be the most popular for my car. The pump appears to be of the same quality as the OEM. However, the poetry is nonsense. I bought a Fel-Pro 35747 gasket which is a bit stronger than the Gates gasket. Installed both with no problems. I will edit this review if the pump fails for any reason. I had to…