Aluminium Water Pump Gear

[oldjapanesebikes]

I bought two last August here in Calgary from a regular dealer, and I think the cost last time was something like $46 CDN each, or about $40 USD. I see there is a distributor in the UK selling them right now for £ 28.25 - the stock seems new as it has the bar code stock tag - that's about $42 USD.

If I remember to check, I can ask if they are back in stock here also if anyone is interested. I find it curious that they are not offered in the US.

Update - I checked this morning at one of the Calgary Suzuki dealers, and this part (17522-31031) is still available for order in Canada. The cost would be just under $50 CDN plus a 5% sales tax and any shipping charges.

[kekems]

Hi ,
is there any aluminium gear still available or are they all sold?
I would buy one if still possible for my TR project
regards
Marc

[Buffalo-guy]

Marc.
I still have them. I'd almost forgotten about these beauties. PM me, and we'll talk.
Fred

[Jughead]

Hey Fred I'll be gettin in touch with you before long about one of those gears if you have any left.

[h2okettle]

....how long do these last .....

Just based on the engine tear downs I've done, I would say the nylon gears are good for a minimum of 30,000 miles - in some cases much more.

When I rebuilt my motor at 84K miles, the original waterpump gear was still working fine.. It did have a few small stress cracks near the center, but I did put in a new one while it was apart..

[H2RICK]

IIRC, a nylon gear is usually specified for noise reduction or, sometimes, for use in an area with marginal/no lubrication.

Sometimes, though, a manufacturer can go a little too far with the noise reduction thing......witness the nylon oil pump drive gear on the 1500 Vulcans up to 1995 or so. This would NOT be a place that I, personally, would EVER dream of using a nylon drive gear. However, Kawasaki's engineers thought differently....until the warranty claims from fried motors started to pile up. Even at that, they went for 7 or 8 years before admitting they might be wrong. Apparently in Japan it's better to lose money than to lose face.....
And all in an effort to meet various governments noise standards. How dumb is THAT !!! Well I guess the Vulcans with the fried motors certainly met the noise specs..... .....and maybe that's what the governments were aiming for in the first place.