🔧 Gates 43534 Engine Water Pump with Premium Quality Review

The pump has worked great for a couple of weeks. Began to notice a water leak but thought maybe the hose was loose. When you get to the water pump, note that the factory bolts were loose and two were missing. I removed the pump and found a screw in the engine compartment. I checked the screws and there is no threadlocker on the screws. Very disappointed.

Gates has always been good at making quality parts. This one for the R53 Mini seems good so far. No leaks, noise and other things. The fit of the finish is nice (the molding looks nice). Comes with an O ring which is nice. It has a plastic impeller like the original pump. So if you're fixated on "upgrading" to a metal impeller, keep shopping.

This pump requires a lot of effort to install due to the design of the motor. I installed the pump, put everything back together and found the pump was leaking. Disassembled the pump and found the gasket was pinched between the two halves causing a leak. I had to start work on the replacement completely. This was a quality control issue with the pump manufacturer and was not impacted by the seller in any way. I was outside the return window so I used RTV to repair the seal.

This water pump is a good choice apart from a few problems. The screws holding the case are not tightened. I believe they screw directly into the body with brass screws and not precut. This is not usually a problem if the water pump housing has a gasket between the two parts. After seeing other reviews I ordered anyway because I trust the gate. At least I wanted to tighten the screws, but the heads are so soft that they can't be pulled out. I ended up drilling them out and replacing them with…