As a longtime old Triumph car owner, we Triumph owners have seen this experience for sometime. One example is the water pump for the TR7 / Stag. Saab 99’s use the same pump. OEM has been unavailable for decades. Around 15 to 20 years ago the British parts suppliers were able get a place in India manufacture them. It is important to note the water pump is really just the impeller, drive shaft with gear, bearing, and a bearing / seal housing that fits into the top of the short block and is driven by a jack shaft. It is an obnoxious repair job. Id rather replace a clutch twice than replace a water pump. When they fail it is entirely possible for coolant to go right into the crankcase. Long story made short, the India made pumps fit and worked great for a while. However, the driven gear on the pump of the India made pumps is not the correct hardness and it and the jack shaft destroy one another in short order. Then you need to pull the engine, potentially for a lower end rebuild and most certainly a replacement jack shaft which is anything but easy to get.
I hoarded Saab OEM water pump rebuild kits when they were still available. Hopefully the seals don’t rot before I need them.
I will say, while the pump is annoying to replace, the originals in mine made it 30 years before they began to leak.
There are a lot of junk new TR parts out there. Orphan car brands get what they get, however.
When I branched into LR I was hopeful the long production run of LR “Defender” would help guarantee a longer availability of good parts. If it is a critical component or one that could damage other parts as a result of failure, I try to find genuine parts. Sadly, it looks like genuine isn’t enough.
Great idea for a post topic.
