So here's my experience replacing my original (I think) water pump 50 miles before I put the truck on the lift to drop the engine.
Here's the OEM on the left and the "OEM Quality" one on the right. Notice the 2 red lines and how they don't line up between the OEM and the non OEM one?
Here's the distance from the flange to the start of the groove:
Same distance transferred to the non OEM pump
Of course I did not discover this until after the pump had been fully installed, so I had to modify my brand new upper radiator hose like this to make it lock in place
It held up fine for the 50 miles I drove it with no leaks, but I knew I had to do something about it.
So watch out for this brand of "OEM quality" pump.
But wait, there's more. Here's the "OEM quality" thermostat that I got (on right)
Well, it allowed coolant to pass through it at all times, so the engine never got to operating temp. Here's the vendor of this one.
Between that and the continuously worsening oil leaks, that is what finally broke the camel's back to so speak and I made the decision to take everything apart.
So based on those experiences, I'm paying the few extra bucks (or a lot in the case of the water pump) to get the real deal.
So my timing kit tool set showed up today:
Got the tensioner in place:
I inserted the flywheel locating pin and chained to the lift to keep the engine from falling off the table
But alas, on the first whack with the small 3 lbs hammer, the locating pin snapped. I know you guys warned me about this...
So I ordered this tool from Pelican along with the CV boot kits and the front drive shaft flex disc (which they had for $76.25 vs. the $116.60 from getbmwparts).
So back to waiting on tools again. I suppose I'll also order another locating pin, but that little guy is pricey by itself at over $30.
So one step forward and two steps backwards.