Trying to find the water pump - Cars & Trucks

On cars that have a timing chain, the water pump is usually mounted on the front of the engine block and is driven by the drive belt. On most cars that have timing belts, the water pump is mounted on the front of the engine as well, but driven by the timing belt and is concealed under the timing belt cover. It is always recommended that the water pump be replaced whenever the timing belt is done because due to variations in timing belt tension, if you reuse the old water pump on a new timing belt, the average life span of the water pump can be measured in weeks. Some folks think that the repair shop is just trying to milk more money out of them, but this is one case where they are right. If you go cheap (and really, the difference in parts is usually after 40-50 USD with about the same amount in additional labor), you will wind up spending the full labor cost of a timing belt job again in a few weeks to replace the pump.