Can we talk about those new universal washer pumps versus the OEM ones?

Had a customer in Springfield bring in a three year old front loader with a bad drain pump. I put in a cheap universal one from the supply house (like, $35). It lasted maybe four months before it started making that awful grinding noise. Swapped it for the actual OEM part, which cost $110. That was two years ago and it's still running quiet. The universal ones just don't have the same quality bearings, in my opinion. Anyone else had a universal pump fail super fast on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_knight514mo ago

Honestly, what did you expect for that price? The cheap ones are basically built to fail. Tbh I've seen the same thing happen with those universal pumps more times than I can count. They save you money up front but they just don't last. It's always the bearings or the seal that goes first. You're totally right to just go OEM from the start.

kelly_ramirez964mo ago

Yeah, it's always the bearings or the seal, isn't it?

emerymoore2mo ago

Always the bearings or the seal" hits the nail on the head for sure. I've swapped out maybe six of those cheap pumps over the last few years for friends and neighbors. Every single time it was the bearing that started grinding first, then the seal would start leaking a week later. You end up paying twice for parts and wasting a whole Saturday. Just not worth it.