Water Pump End Play and Type

CWilson

CWilson

Senior Member
My water pump has about an 1/8" of play front to back. I know it is supposed to be .006 to .010 end play. Can someone tell me if it is a leakless or original style. Also, the 4 blade is coming off for a 2 blade aluminum.
 
I had an original fan on mine and when I put a 4 blade on there was a lot of play so some how the fan must be different and make contact on the front end of the pump. I have wear in the head but didn't have play until I switched fans. I am thinking of putting a washer behind the fan to take out some play.
 
CWilson said:
My water pump has about an 1/8" of play front to back. I know it is supposed to be .006 to .010 end play. Can someone tell me if it is a leakless or original style. Also, the 4 blade is coming off for a 2 blade aluminum.
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Snyders offers a new stainless steel shaft that is 1/4" longer.

I bought one and faced it off to fit the length on my metal lathe. Snuck up on it. Could be hand ground and polished too.
 
I would change that 4 blade fan. It looks like a crack in one of the blades. The new 2 blade fans are real nice, those 4 blades are waiting to put a hole in the radiator or go through the hood.
 
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Your question about leakless or not. To find out for sure, put a grease gun on the fittings and it they take grease, it is not leakless. Except I think maybe some of the leakless take grease in the front bearing. Others on here my have a better idea. BTW it looks like maybe a fairly new pump looking at the paint on it. But if you have any questions about pump or fan, then do as mentioned above.
 
It is difficult to tell from thr picture if it is a leakless or not. If you loosen the packing nut, are there soft lead rings on the shaft?
When you remove the pump from the engine to change the fan blades, pull the shaft back out and look inside the brass water pump bushing. If there is a rubber seal, then it is a leakless. If no seal then it is an old style. Hope this helps answer your question.
 
Some leakless are still greaseable on the rear fitting.. Go with an all out non greaseable if your taking that route
 
Do I need to disconnect the battery if I have a battery disconnect installed? (to remove the radiator).
 
No. You might be able to loosen and lean the radiator against the headlight bar to get the pump out. Put a piece of cardboard between the fan and the radiator for protection.
 
Ed Saniewski said:
No. You might be able to loosen and lean the radiator against the headlight bar to get the pump out. Put a piece of cardboard between the fan and the radiator for protection.
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I tried that, not enough room to get the shaft out. is there a trick to getting the fan off the shaft while the pump is still installed?
 
Your doing all the other work timing gear etc. just remove the rad it's not hard, two bolts on the bottom and the shell,, then you will have easy access to the front of the motor... Why break your back
 
Mitch//pa said:
Your doing all the other work timing gear etc. just remove the rad it's not hard, two bolts on the bottom and the shell,, then you will have easy access to the front of the motor... Why break your back
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My problem is the wiring. I have to remove the wiring from the headlights and horn to remove the rad, correct?

The wiring has connectors that wont fit though the flex cables.
 
If you don't want to mess with the after market butt style connectors just fish the flexible conduits to the inside of the shell leaving the wires intact.. Of course the need to be disconnected from the lights and horn... Cutting the connectors off is no big deal either..
 
When I put my pump back on I used the water pump bolts that look like a stud and nut.
I had to pull my head later and the pump came off with out removing the fan or moving
The radiator.
 
Another suggestion: The vendors have a spacer with an allen set screw in it that fits against the front bearing of the water pump, and is concealed by the pulley of the fan. You use a .010 feeler, put it between the front bearing and this spacer, and tighten the screw. It takes out all the end play in the water pump shaft. I'm using these on two of my original-type water pumps on my As, with no problems so far. Cheap, and easy to do-I'd look into one of these before I'd scrap out an otherwise good pump and go to all the expense of buying a "leakless" one.
 
I like the original light connections because it makes it easy to remove the lights, horn, and bar as an assembly, and set it in a safe place.

Since you have crimp connectors in the buckets, I'd remove the 4 light bar bolts and use a bungee cord to hold the assembly to your left fender and bumper.
 
There is a bushing that fits in the pump from the engine side.
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See that ridge on the top of the picture? If it is worn away it will cause end play. Check it out when you have it apart.
 
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