The original water pump failed on my '09 Cummins at ~370,000 miles.

I was on the road out of town when it failed so I limped it to an O'Reillys and installed one in the parking lot. Not that difficult or expensive. The pump itself is tiny and about the size of a balled up fist. Two bolts to change it!

Fast forward 30,000 miles and pump fails. No problem, lifetime warranty so I take it back to O'Reillys and got a replacement. 30,000 miles later it's failed again!

I decided enough was enough of the O'Reillys garbage so I went to the Mopar parts department at our local dealer. $400.00 for a pump!

I've been loyal to Mopar over the years but this is incredibly ridiculous!

But if you do the math and figure that you got 375,000 miles out of a $400 OEM water pump and the non OEM pumps fail every 30,000 miles and you are on your fourth $100 water pump that seems to me to work out to about the same or three times better. Then add in the number of time you had the labor to change four water pumps and number of trips to the auto parts store and risks of being stranded. I did an internet search for OEM Cummins water pumps made in USA and they are also around $100 or so and probably the same part you will probably get from the RAM dealers. I would go to the RAM dealer and check out what they have or providing and see if it matches a Cummins water pump like this $106 one

Buying OEM vs. getting one from Auto Zone, Rock Auto, etc. you will always pay 3x as much--regardless if it's mopar, subaru, or whatever.

Walking up to the dealership parts counter you will pay even more due to the markup.

Only you can decide if the better OEM quality (theoretically) is worth it to you.

On another note, OEM's by law only have to maintain and provide OEM parts for around 7-9 years and that water pump fits models 2007-2012. Eleven going on twelve years past the legal "bean counting" years. It's a cold, cruel bean counting world we live in. BTW were those O'Reily's water pumps made in, dare I say China or a Pacific rim country?

I was helping my son change the u joints in his 06 Ram. I beat up the part that bolts to the pinion. I went to our local Ram dealer and they wanted $200 for it. It had a Spicer number on it. There happened to be a mechanic at the counter. He told me to take it to a Spicer dealer and ask them. That was very good advice. They had it in stock for $40. They sold me 2 Spicer u joints and put the whole thing together for $125 out the door.

Crazy!

I'm trying my luck with an AC Delco unit for 1/2 the price.

3 x the amount?! Try 8x!

Hmmm...the only replacement water pump I can recall ever failing on me was a Mopar pump the dealer I worked at put on my Breeze as part of a timing belt job.
I think I've bought replacement water pumps from every parts store that's existed in the last 50 years, plus several high-performance pumps.

Dealer selling pump pump

Price a thermostat from the dealership for a 6.7 Cummins, it was $210 a couple of years ago

I just tried looking this up on Rockauto - why don't they have water pumps for a 5.9 Cummins?

I would think a GOOD (new, not rebuilt) aftermarket pump would be as good as OE??? Did you try NAPA?

Not sure where you looked but I looked for an 09 2500 with a 5.9 and there must have been 20 choices to choose from.

When the starter died in my '85 Daytona 2.2 Turbo I had the usual selection of choices for replacement. Rebuilds, third parties, OEM. That starter was such a pain to replace I gulped hard and bought a new one from the Dodge dealer. Never had to change it again. Now contrast this with the NAPA reman alternator on my Dodge minivan, when the first one failed and NAPA replaced it under warranty, and the second one failed, and NAPA replaced it under warranty, and the the third one failed and NAPA replaced it under warranty, I was lucky we got rid of the van.

I feel your pain.

Most of the time either Rock Auto, or Amazon, informs who is the OEM manufacturer of a part.

On Amazon try searching the reviews for “OEM”, or “original” or “factory part”

Sadly,
just like the Mitsu Zero contained a large number of US or UK invented aero ideas,
Denso,
partially owned by Toyota,
but building many parts for Stellantis,
is the maker of replacement auto parts to default to if Denso builds a version of the part.

When I have to buy parts for my Cummins I go directly to Cummins to get them. My current 98 Ram has a tick over 200K on it , something is making a noise when it's running ... water pump , or one of the idlers , I'm going to swap the pump just because of the miles and the age , my last Cummins the pump took a dump at 230k/11 yrs. ... this one is 25yrs old .

They also mix the terminology with matching OEM vs aftermarket parts with quality or performance differences.

Last time I bought a aftermarket part for my ram from Advance auto they said they only would warranty the part one time. The warranty doesnt renew for the full time period after replacement only what left on the original part warranty.

The water pump for my 12v cummins was 350ish from Cummins NW. I have witnessed way too many aftermarket Cummins water pumps die in 10-30k miles.

Which is much of the reason I quit buying from them. I've been in way too many arguments with the so called manager there. Even a couple of times where that "remainder of original warranty" was supposedly "lifetime". I don't have that problem with any other parts store brand.
And when talking about the stealership I hate it when every nut, bolt, clip, o ring has to be gotten separately.
I just did an ac compressor on a Ford van chassis/ "cutaway" bus and in the box was just a compressor. No o rings even. I wasn't happy I had to wait until the next day for one flat gasket with rubber insert since it was the only part I couldn't scrounge up around the shop leftover from a previous job. C'mon now, they should be required to include such basic associated parts in such a case

I learned years ago my LOCAL dealers prices are extremely high. I order OEM parts online from other dealers. I found this for an 09 Cummins 5.9l. Says genuine Mopar.
https://www.factorymopardirect.com/oem-parts/mopar-water-pump-68461455aa

https://www.dodgeparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-water-pump-68461455aa

Still absolutely ridiculous for the size of this thing! Especially when you consider how many of these were engines were made. It's not like it's a small, limited run.

I agree. Its good the unit is easy to replace. Have you considered a different aftermarket brand? Not all chinese parts wre created Equally. Rock Auto has a good variety:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2009,ram+2500+pickup,5.9l+l6+diesel+turbocharged,1443618,cooling+system,water+pump,2208

I bought an AC-Delco for $200 from a local supply house.

Every DIYer should try RockAuto.com. They are a drop shipper that has negotiated fantastic prices on real name brand aftermarket and often OEM parts. An AC Delco water pump thru them for the 5.9 diesel Part number 252318 is $53.00. Shipping is probably $12-$15. No bootleg illegal counterfeit versions like what is often purchased off Amazon.

That exact Mopar part is still cheaper at Rock Auto.

It’s been about 4 years when my 06 Ram 4x4 shifting rod fell off (the whole thing gone) so off to dealer l, rod (about 14” long) was $130, the 2 bushing-connectors were $31 apiece. Almost $200 but I bought them. On a whim I looked on line ,yep there it was same thing $12 bushings $3.50 l, wholly crap! So I went back under the truck to remove the high dollar stuff, drop the plyers and lo and behold there lay the original ROD. Those stupid bushings had failed! Anyway the $ parts went back to dealer! I fixed the bushings with special clips instead! But $18 compared to $200 from dealer, same pieces!

I'm sure most guys know that the majority of these kind of parts are not manufactured by the O.E. Heck, sometimes they are not even designed by the O.E. So, SOME (absolutely not all) aftermarket parts are as good (and a few even better) than the manufacturer's labeled parts.

The challenge is discovering which is and which is not at least as good as the O.E. labeled parts.

For the most part I agree with the overpricing of OEM parts at the dealerships BUT I have to say it's not always a bad situation with a Mopar OEM part. I need both side front strut tower rust repair caps for the wife's Chrysler Town & Country and did the usual internet search and found lots of made in China crap stampings for an average of around $125 - $160 but they were all too short to fix where the rust line was. I went to the local D,J,R,Chrysler dealer where we purchase the vehicle knowing I would probably not be able to explain the part I needed to repair it. After talking to Matt he locates the OEM full strut tower and orders it. He said being a 2001 he had to go to Chrysler's archive parts or something like that to get it. Of course I'm expecting a made in China part to come in but NO it's a MADE IN USA part and it cost me $94, yes ninety-four dollars! MADE IN USA. So it's not always a bad deal(ership) to go to a dealership for an OEM part. Okay back to OEM versus aftermarket pricing.


(the first image is a $158.00 made in China ebag rust repair cap, and the second and third images are the Chrysler OEM MADE IN USA full strut towers)

Have to agree somewhat on the factory prices, I had an 07 GT 500 Mustang that had aftermarket springs, it literally was sitting on the frame bumpers. So went to local Ford dealer to order new springs, they said I had to have the Vin number of car!? I had just looked at a King of the Road mustang in the showroom so I used that vin, thinking they would be expensive. Turns out each spring (4) were $31 each. Surprise Surprise, sometimes there is a deal.
They did sit lower than stock but well off the bumpers.

For $31 bucks you could have ordered and put an extra one on each side

Who knows what the prior own might have done. I have put many aftermarket lowering springs in many cars over the years and none of them put the car on the bump stop. Someone heating coils with a torch to get it lower though....

Just springs no heat spots, I first made steel cup-spacers to raise off bumpers but front tires still laid in at top, no way to line up the front end correct. The springs were a good 8” in diameter. I think the dude wanted the NASCAR on the ground look. After buying car I was coming up 95 when I ran over a bad joint in road surface, the car literally changed lanes, glad nothing was beside me. It WAS fast, 525 hp to the wheels. Sweet sound from the supercharger!