'94 B4000 Thermostat or Water Pump?

[B4AW]

Hi, everyone. I'm brand new to the club, just bought my truck 6 days ago. Everything was great until I overheated today running errands. Got great tech support from family who are better wrenchers than I, and replaced the thermostat in a parking lot. Seemed to solve the issue, drove around about 50 miles of varied highway and city driving with no problems. Previous owner was a car guy and replaced a lot of the usual suspects over the years, but water pump wasn't one of them. My question is: At 228k miles, should I be concerned that the water pump is currently under-performing/possibly failing right now? Many thanks in advance!
Alex

 

[Dirtman]

Does the coolant look clean? Is the pump leaking from the weep hole?

If it's been well maintained and the pump isn't leaking I see no reason to change it. Yea 228k is a ton of miles but it's no reason to simply replace parts that don't necessarily have a set lifespan like belts, plugs, etc.

 

[B4AW]

Thanks for the reply. No leakage anywhere. Coolant is clean. I have a '96 Taurus that had a water pump go out at similar mileage, so I'm predisposed to that concern. I'll continue monitoring, but being so new to this vehicle, I'm trying to siphon up as much knowledge as possible. Thanks so much for your advice!
-Alex

 

[Dirtman]

It's a judgment call, personally I'd leave it alone but if it bugs you there's no harm replacing it. It's a relatively inexpensive part and not hard to replace.