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Dear Townshend Act,
Hope you're well. The problem could be a misaligned pulley, i.e., a pulley the face of which is slightly at an angle relative to the other two, that share the wter pump's drive belt (crankshaft and power steering pump pulleys).
A pulley not parallel to the other two will twist the drive belt. The belt will absorb most of that punishment. As the distances between these pulleys are only a few inches (centimeters), some of the sideways belt movement will reach the other pulleys.
In short, I'd first examine the drive belt for signs of abnormal wear. I'd also use a steel ruler to see if the face of each pulley is precisely parallel to the engine block's face. A small variance can be caused by wear on the power steering pump's mounting.
Equally, if the crank pulley is "on its way out", it may no longer run true, i.e., its face may no longer be precisely parallel with the engine block's face.
These misalignments could - over a few months - cause wear on the water pump bearing and/or the shaft coolant seal.
Did the failed pumps start to make noise, at about the time you noticed coolant leakage? If so, that noise suggests bearing wear, which should not occur on any new pump after two or three months of use, absent a defective bearing. Bearing wear on a new pump - absent a manufacturing defect - results from stress on the pump's shaft or pulley.
It is possible to mis-align the water pump's pulley, if the four 10-mm bolts are tightened, before the pulley is seated flat against the water pump's flange.
That said, it is unlikely this occurred more than once.
However, a failing crank pulley or a slightly misaligned power steering pump might not attract attention and could damage any number of new pumps.
As to "rye" humor, in most U.S. states you must be of legal age (21) to consume whiskey or other alcoholic drinks.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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