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2018 Ram 1500 · Water pump replacement
2018 Ram 1500 water pump replacement cost
A 2018 Ram 1500 water pump replacement typically costs $305 to $855 at an independent shop, parts and labor included across its engine options. The water pump itself runs $110 to $290, and the job takes 2 to 4 hours. Prices updated September 2026.
Estimated cost, selected engine
$305 to $640
Charlotte, NC area
Prices updated September 2026
Which engine? They price differently, so pick yours for a closer number.
Water pump (part)
$110 to $290
Labor (2 to 4 hours)
$160 to $495
Fluids + supplies
$35 to $70
2018 Ram 1500 water pump replacement: parts and labor
Labor runs $160 to $495 (the job takes 2 to 4 hours at typical independent-shop rates), and the water pump itself typically costs $110 to $290 for the 2018 Ram 1500, plus $35 to $70 in oat coolant (ms.90032) + shop supplies. Prices updated September 2026.
| Engine | Parts | Labor | Estimated total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.6L V6 | $110 to $240 | $160 to $330 (1.4 to 2.0 hrs) | $305 to $640 |
| 5.7L HEMI V8 | $120 to $290 | $230 to $495 (2.0 to 3.0 hrs) | $385 to $855 |
Coverage note: 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 (available in 2018): excluded because its water pump job is a different animal entirely. YourMechanic averages $2,178 for the 2018 EcoDiesel (dealer range $2,619 to $3,928) versus $857 for the 5.7, with owners reporting ~$700 OEM pumps alone. Its low take rate plus 3x cost would badly distort the range for the ~95% of 2018 trucks running the gas engines.
RepairPal's 2018-specific estimate is $1,313 to $1,484, but it books roughly $947 in parts, which is 3 to 4x Mopar's own online price ($216 to $273) and 6 to 8x quality aftermarket. Treat RepairPal as a dealer-style ceiling built on inflated OEM list pricing. YourMechanic's $857 figure for a 2018 5.7 lands right at this table's independent-shop high, and their dealer range ($967 to $1,285) shows the realistic OEM-parts-at-dealer premium: roughly $400 to $600 over an independent using a Gates or lifetime store-brand pump.
Where these numbers come from
- Estimate ranges: a hand-verified research pass for this exact vehicle and repair, cross-referenced across 11 independent sources (parts retailers, labor guides, and published shop pricing), completed September 2026.
- Recall and complaint data: NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) records for the 2018 Ram 1500 specifically, filtered to cooling system relevance and refreshed daily from the federal API.
- Local prices: real, accepted quotes from verified Fixxr marketplace jobs, published per metro once five verified jobs of this type have closed. Never estimates dressed up as transactions.
Not included in the estimate: Fan clutch replacement on the 5.7 (common add-on while the fan is off, $80 to $200 extra in parts), Thermostat and housing (cheap insurance while drained, but a separate line), Radiator hoses and serpentine belt, Full cooling-system machine flush service, Radiator or heater core repairs found after teardown, Diagnostic fee, taxes, and shop supply fees beyond the consumables line.
What actually goes wrong on this exact vehicle
Federal safety data for the 2018 Ram 1500, filtered to the cooling system specifically.
3
cooling system recalls
45
cooling system owner complaints
cooling system recall · NHTSA 23V411000
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Ram 1500 and 2014-2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles equipped with 3.0L Diesel engines. The crankshaft position sensor tone wheel may delaminate, causing the engine to lose its ability to synchronize the fuel injector pulses and cam shaft timing, possibly resulting in an engine stall. An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the powertrain control module software to maintain vehicle propulsion, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 3, 2023. Some owner notification letters were mailed October 31, 2023. The remaining owner notification letters will be mailed at a future date, anticipated July 2024. Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA US, LLC's number for this recall is 66A. This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-475.
Real owner report, verbatim from NHTSA:
“The contact owns a 2018 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled but was almost immediately restarted. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the destination and turned off; however, while attempting to restart, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the crankshaft position tone wheel had completely delaminated and needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the mechanic that there was a recall for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the VIN was not associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). Several dealers were contact and provided the same information. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.”
Worth knowing: the radiator is one of the most common causes of overheating, alongside the thermostat, water pump, and hoses. Get the real source confirmed before you approve any repair, so you fix the part that actually failed.
Recall fixes are free at the dealer. Everything else deserves a fair price.
Source: NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), recalls and complaints for the 2018 Ram 1500. Refreshed periodically.
Not sure what’s wrong?
Overheating can be the radiator, thermostat, water pump, or a leak. Describe what your car is doing and our free diagnostic tool narrows it down before you spend a dollar.
Diagnose it freeKnow what you need?
Post your water pump replacement to the marketplace and get connected with local mechanics. Real repair offers for your 1500, free, with no phone calls to make.
Get connected with a mechanicHow your cooling system works
The water pump is one piece of a loop. Here is how the parts work together, so you understand exactly what your car is doing and why.
Found a puddle? What the color tells you
Bright green
Classic coolant leak. Find the source before it overheats.
Orange / pink
What most modern vehicles use (OAT). Same urgency as green.
Rusty brown
Old, corroded coolant. Overdue for a flush.
Milky / oily
Coolant mixing with oil, like a coffee milkshake. Can mean a head gasket. Serious.
What a water pump replacement is like on the 2018 Ram 1500
On the 5.7L HEMI the pump bolts to the front of the timing cover and is driven by the serpentine belt, but the mechanical fan clutch and upper shroud sit directly in front of it, so the shop has to spin the fan off with a fan clutch wrench before the pump comes out. Book time on the 2018 DS body runs right around 2.0 hours, and a seized fan nut or corroded pump bolts threading into the aluminum cover push real-world jobs toward 3.0. The classic HEMI failure mode is coolant seeping from the weep hole or a growling pump bearing between roughly 90,000 and 140,000 miles, not a sudden catastrophic letting-go.
The 3.6L Pentastar is the easy one in this truck: the pump is an external bolt-on unit behind its own pulley on the front of the engine, and mechanics quote the 2018 at just 1.4 book hours. Do not confuse it with the 2019-and-newer DT-body eTorque 3.6, where the belt-driven motor-generator raises the same job to about 2.0 hours; no 2018 Ram 1500 has eTorque. Drivetrain does not matter for either engine, since 4x2 and 4x4 share identical front-of-engine access, which is why the spread here is engine-driven, not driveline-driven.
Real part numbers and prices: genuine Mopar is $216 online ($321 MSRP) for the 3.6 pump, part 5184498AK, and $273 online ($404 MSRP) for the 5.7 pump, part 53022192AK. Quality aftermarket is far cheaper: the Gates 43559 for the 5.7 runs about $113 at PartsGeek and less on RockAuto, and AutoZone and O'Reilly lifetime-warranty store-brand pumps for the 2018 1500 sit around $159. Any estimate booking $900+ in parts for this truck is estimator-guide fiction, not a real invoice.
Both 2018 engines use the purple 10-year Mopar OAT coolant (spec MS.90032), and it must not be topped off or mixed with the gold/green HOAT that older Rams used; the HEMI system takes roughly three gallons of 50/50 for a proper refill and burp, which is where the $35 to $70 consumables line comes from. Many shops will pitch replacing the fan clutch while the fan is already off the 5.7, and on a high-mileage truck with a roaring fan that is a fair add-on, but it is a separate part at $80 to $200 and is not included in these numbers.
A dealer quote on this job can legitimately hit $967 to $1,285 for the 5.7 per YourMechanic's dealer-range data, driven by the $404 MSRP Mopar pump and $180+/hr dealer labor. An independent shop using a Gates or store-brand lifetime pump at $110 to $165/hr should land the 5.7 in the $400 to $850 window and the 3.6 in the $300 to $650 window, which matches YourMechanic's real 2017 3.6 estimate of $626 and 2018 5.7 estimate of $857.
Estimate note: these are researched independent-shop ranges, not a guaranteed quote. The only exact number is one from a shop that has seen your car.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 2018 Ram 1500 water pump replacement cost?
A 2018 Ram 1500 water pump replacement typically runs $305 to $855 at an independent shop, parts and labor included. The water pump itself is $110 to $290, labor makes up most of the rest, and the job takes 2 to 4 hours.Why does the price change with the engine?
The 2018 Ram 1500 came with more than one engine, and they do not share the same part or the same access. A tighter engine bay or extra teardown adds labor hours, and the part price moves too. Sites that show one national number flatten that out. Pick your engine on the estimate above for a closer figure.Is it always the water pump when my Ram overheats?
No. Overheating can also be a stuck thermostat, a clogged or leaking radiator, a failed cooling fan, or simply low coolant. What points specifically at the water pump is coolant dripping from the weep hole under the pump, a grinding or whining noise from the front of the engine, or wobble in the pump pulley. Because these causes look identical from the driver's seat, get a real diagnosis before approving the repair.Can I drive my Ram with a bad water pump?
Only far enough to get it looked at. A failing pump stops circulating coolant, the engine overheats, and driving an overheating Ram risks a warped cylinder head or a blown head gasket, a $3,000 to $8,000 repair on top of the pump. If the temperature gauge climbs or you see steam, pull over and let it cool. If it keeps overheating, tow it.Should the thermostat be replaced at the same time?
Usually yes, and most shops will suggest it. The cooling system is already drained and opened for the water pump, so the thermostat adds only a small part cost with little extra labor, and a stuck thermostat is one of the most common follow-on failures. Replacing both in one visit avoids paying the teardown labor twice.How long does a water pump last?
Most factory water pumps last roughly 100,000 to 150,000 miles. The usual failures are the shaft seal, which starts seeping coolant from the weep hole, and the bearing, which gets noisy before it lets go. Regular coolant changes protect the seal and are the cheapest way to extend pump life.Are there recalls on the 2018 Ram 1500?
Yes, NHTSA lists 15 recalls for the 2018 Ram 1500. Recall repairs are done free of charge at a franchised dealer for that brand, so it is worth checking your VIN before paying a shop for related work.
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