lubricating the water pump

47topless

47topless

Well-known member
New to Model A's. Installing a new water pump in a '31 Victoria. I could not find much detail in my mechanic manuals on the proper way to lube the pump.
Do I use the same gear grease in both zerks? Front zerk, one to two pumps of grease gun? Back zerk, screw off cap, fill with grease and screw back on? Will that provide sufficient grease to the bearing?
Thank you,
Phil
 

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Unscrew the cap and see what is under there. Grease the front bearing thoroughly and the back one sparingly.
 
Need to know what pump you have. Some take grease front and back, some have sealed bearing in front so no grease there and some are sealed front and rear.
 
Bob C said:
Need to know what pump you have. Some take grease front and back, some have sealed bearing in front so no grease there and some are sealed front and rear.
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If the pump has sealed bearings you shouldn't be able to add any grease.
 
Brattons, for one, sells a special grease for the bearing next to the impeller that, if it gets in the water, won’t coat the cooling system internal surfaces.
 
Bruce of MN said:
Brattons, for one, sells a special grease for the bearing next to the impeller that, if it gets in the water, won’t coat the cooling system internal surfaces.
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Yes, it is a new "Leakless" from Bratton's. Now I see the special grease, for the back bearing only. I am to hand pack the cap on the zerk and screw it back on. The front does not require any lubing.
I guess I'm ok without lubing the front one even though there is a zerk there.
Thank you all for the responses.
 
You used to be able to buy "water pump grease." You might try the water proof grease that is sold for wheel bearings on trailers that carry boats. The trailers are backed into the water when the boat is launched and retrieved so the grease has be water proof.
 
2 years ago I researched this same topic on the grease for the rear grease cup on the A water pump. The grease is supposed to be water soluble. The only grease I could find available in the states, at that time, is made by Lubri-plate and you want Number 115. I hand packed an old small grease gun with the correct tip on it for my use on club members cars. I had to remove one radiator to have the excessive bearing grease baked out of it. What a pain in the a!
 
I'm rebuilding an engine I pulled from my A in 1969 and got at least a total of 3 golf ball sized gobs of grease out of the cooling system.
 
J Franklin said:
If the pump has sealed bearings you shouldn't be able to add any grease.
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Come to find out, that my new "Leakless" pump, was fitted with the front zerk for looks only. The sealed bearings do not require any grease be added. The rear does require just a tiny bit of grease in the cap, which is then screwed back on the zerk. This new design should eliminate the grease in the cooling system problem.
 
cars2cool said:
2 years ago I researched this same topic on the grease for the rear grease cup on the A water pump. The grease is supposed to be water soluble. The only grease I could find available in the states, at that time, is made by Lubri-plate and you want Number 115.
Click to expand...

According to Lubriplate, #115 is " a extremely water- resistant grease", not water soluble. It has a dropping point of 190°F.

https://www.lubriplate.com/Lubripla...PDS/Lubriplate/Water_Pump_Grease.pdf?ext=.pdf
 
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47topless said:
...The rear does require just a tiny bit of grease in the cap, which is then screwed back on the zerk.
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I believe the cap on that zerk was there to keep the zerk from leaking out water, not as a screw down greas fitting. That zerk fitting does need to be greased sparingly though.
 
Correct, the rear brass cap is only a dust cap and not a screw down type of grease fitting that you would have in a model t.
 
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