Question about those cheap universal washer pump kits

I tried one of those $25 universal pump kits on a Whirlpool washer last month. The part looked okay, but the plastic housing cracked after just two cycles. Had to go back, get the real OEM pump for $85, and do the whole job again. Lost about three hours of my day and $60 on the bad part. Why do they even sell this stuff if it fails that fast? Has anyone found a decent middle ground brand that holds up, or is it just OEM all the way?

3 comments

3 Comments

ericfox2mo ago

It's the same cheap plastic junk they put in everything now, just in a different box.

robin_wright2mo ago

My own home repair skills are so bad, I could probably break an OEM pump just by looking at it. Those universal kits seem to be made from the same brittle plastic as my last phone case. Do you ever wonder if the real cost is just in the wasted time?

rowan_butler931mo ago

oh I gotta disagree with you there robin... I've been running a universal kit on my sump pump for like two years now with zero issues. @ericfox might be right about some stuff being cheap but these kits are pretty solid if you take your time with the install. the real cost is just people giving up too fast on repairs that actually aren't that hard.