Need a Water Pump for my 1991 190E 2.3. Looks like I have a choice of Graf or Laso brand. The Laso is more expensive.

Anyone have any experience with either brand?

TIA

Just got off the phone with my rep at Worldpac. Graf. No sense in spending the extra money, she says. She's been doing this for close to 30 years, so she has a pretty good handle on value for the buck ......... HTH, The Cap'n

According to our waterpump man (35+ years experience), both the Graf & Laso are junk. This is also true for the Porsche pumps they make. You are better off getting a rebuilt OE casting for longivity. If you want a source, PM me.

The OEM one comes with a little pencil brush mustache....sweeps the water of debris.... <_<

The OEM stuff has only been previously touched by Titans, men of steel, 50 feet tall.


M

my brother is a benz mechanic and says never buy anything but OEM.

well first off, having sold these pumps for a long time i will give you guys a bit of a lesson. I worked as a saleman for a company like world pac. Laso is oem on most mercedes, graf is a VERY good replacement part, and the happen to be one of vw's oem suppliers. i always loved the guys who say it would have to be from the dealer to be oem....far from the truth. infact most parts that you get in the aftermarket ARE the real factory part, they are made at the same time on the same machines by the same people, just boxed differently and usually have the oe numbers on them or grind marks where they were removed. i would personally use either and have. as far as 944 pumps, i alway get rebuilts, for several reasons. 1 they are made better generally, have larger bearings and better seals (more modern seals that are able to handle more pressure and different coolants)

Laso worked well for me, but I did notice a difference in the casting with the original pump. I will PM SLITS because it appeared to be rebuildable but I could not find a kit and the retailer did not take the core. There was an adjacent belt pulley that was only sold as an assembly. There must be a less expensive way of replacing the bearing. Benz's engines are reliable but when you do need to replace parts, it can take a good bite out of the wallet...
Felix

Thanks to all that replied both on and off list.

Some of the MB guys also advised to go with OEM only on the Mercedes. I
took a deep breath and ordered one from the local Benz dealer today. This is
Em's car and with me being gone so often, I just can't take a chance on it. I can tell that it has been previously replaced (but don't know what brand) so
hopefully this one is better than what is on it.