vs
Water pump Gates or GMB
I put a gates on my 2005 in August. No issues so far.
Pros: no issues so far
Currently running a fvp, which is just a gmb, and it works great.
Pros: works great
I got a metal impeller gates and I’ve been beating on it for five years or more without any hiccups.
Pros: no hiccups, metal impeller
Vehicle:
BMW
I've been running the aluminum GMB pump (1301280AL on Rockauto) on the 455 in my '72 Bonneville for about 5 years now with no problems.
Pros: no problems, 5 years reliable
Part number: 1301280AL
I went with a gates.
I only use gates kits on any HDI I work on. Out around 30 fitted to friends and family cars I had one water pump bearing fail after 4 months they changed it with no issues but as it was a home fit not garage no labour cost offered no other issues.
Did hear Gates did have a bad batch of 2.0 Blue HDI OEM water pumps with impellers coming loose
Pros: warranty honored, no other issues
Cons: bearing fail, bad batch
During COVID, that water pump was on backorder from Ford so I used one from Gates. I guess Gates had a bad batch and 2 of their's failed in the span of less than a year.
Cons: bad batch, failed quickly
The only one to really avoid out of the 5 choices on Rockauto is the Gates, because of the cheap stamped impeller. Personally, I would not go with an aluminum pump body in this application, but that's just my opinion after working on vehicles for a living for 45+ years.
Cons: cheap stamped impeller
I used a Gates pump the first time and it leaked. I uninstalled it, cleaned everything up, regreased all the seals, and reinstalled it it... still leaked. Turns out the Gates water pumps for the ecodiesel are just garbage.
Cons: leaked repeatedly, poor quality
I have Gates start leaking within 10k of installation.
Cons: leaking, short lifespan
Mileage: 10000 km
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Comparisons
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Which water pump to choose — Gates or GMB?
If choosing water pump across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare water pump across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which water pump are better — GMB or Gates?
In March 2026 on PartReview, water pump GMB were overall better than Gates.
- Gates received a PR Score of 32 out of 100, and GMB scored 85 points.
- Gates ranked 12 in the overall ranking, and GMB ranked 6.
- The average rating is higher for GMB (4.2) than for Gates (2.1).
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Water pump GMB have better feature ratings than Gates:
- Noise - owners believe, that this property for GMB is better than Gates.
- Leaks - drivers claim, that this property for GMB is outperforms Gates.
- Overheating - reviews suggest, that this property for GMB is preferred to Gates.
Which water pump are more popular — Gates or GMB?
Water pump Gates and GMB were equally popular according to data in March 2026.
By vote balance, water pump GMB surpassed Gates:
- For Gates, the ratio of positive (62) to negative (128) votes is -66 votes.
- For GMB, the ratio of positive (40) to negative (7) votes is 33 votes.
By number of reviews, water pump Gates surpassed GMB:
- For water pump Gates there are 61 review: 16 positive, 7 neutral, 38 negative.
- For water pump GMB there are 15 reviews: 12 positive, 2 neutral, 1 negative.
Which water pump do car owners prefer — Gates or GMB?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, water pump Gates and GMB have not taken top places in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding your review about these manufacturers.
Other comparisons of water pump
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of water pump Gates with: OEM Volkswagen, OEM Audi, GRAF, AISIN, Hepu, Pierburg, OEM FORD, OEM BMW, OEM Toyota, Saleri.
Also available: comparisons of water pump GMB with: OEM Volkswagen, OEM Audi, GRAF, AISIN, Hepu, Pierburg, OEM FORD, OEM BMW, OEM Toyota, Saleri.
You can also see who is better among other water pump manufacturers: OEM Audi or OEM Volkswagen, GRAF or OEM Volkswagen, AISIN or OEM Volkswagen, Gates or OEM Volkswagen, Hepu or OEM Volkswagen.