Water pump play

Redbird

Redbird

Well-known member
I was cleaning up a little in the engine compartment, and while wiping around the W/P discovered that the shaft moves in and out about 1/4" or so. The pump had dripped a little previously. I had backed off the packing nut all the way and added some packing from Bert's then tightened it back up. Did I do something wrong here? Is it okay to run this way with the shaft out and aligned with the crank pulley? Is something worn out here and is a new pump needed. I intend to drive this car and I don't want to worry about a W/P failure on the road.
 
Mine had about the same end play, but it also leaked at a small but consistent rate. I was going to get one of those collars that take up the slack, but then because i had a four bladed fan the radiator had to come out just to put the collar on...so wanting to only do this once I replaced the water pump and the fan with a two bladed version.

I really didn't see anything wrong with the old pump, it just had that fore-aft play and it leaked a little. I don't think that failure was just around the corner. But the fan was a poor fit and it moved on the tapered shaft so it is a good thing that all is now new..

I started a thread...it wanders a little but you can read the responses if you like..

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167333
 
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The collar is the way to go. With 1/4" play there is a good chance the thrust washer
that is between the impeller and pump body will come out of the impeller and
eventually cut the shaft in half. Tom Wesenberg has a picture of this.

Bob
 
Redbird said:
Is the collar just a temporary fix?
Click to expand...

I guess so. The problem is the head wears where the end of the water pump shaft rides. The fix would be to build up the worn area on the head, replace the head with a new one, weld up the end of the shaft or use a longer shaft to reduce the end play.

Bob
 
I don't have the equipment to weld or press on any items. I see that Bert's has the pump shaft that is longer and has the impeller is pinned. Should I just send mine to them or someone else to rebuild with the longer shaft? Has anyone done that?
 
There should only be about .010" end play. The shaft or the boss cast in place in the head are worn away. Probably both. The teflon collar should solve your problem. I would take off the pump to determine what is going on then fix it with the collar. Bill G
 
Thanks Bill. I will be taking it off. Is it possible to take off w/o removing the radiator? The new pumps for sale do not show the longer shaft.
 
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1. Put a piece of cardboard in front of the waterpump to protect your hands and the engine side face of the radiator from damage,
2. then loosen the generator and remove the fan belt and loosen the top radiator hose. I would then get a buddy to help remove the hood keeping the radiator support rods distance unchanged (count and write down the number of threads exposed on each rod so when you reattach the hood you won't mess up the alignment).
3. loosen the two spring loaded bolts at the base of the radiator that secure the radiator so you can tilt the radiator forward if you need more clearance to remove the wp.
4. remove the 4 studs from the head that hold the wp in place
5. the wp should be 1/2 inch from the radiator allowing the wp to be tilted to remove and later reinstall it without removing the hood.
This probably is not a very clear discription of what is ahead, but you will have the most trouble removing the studs. try double nutting them.
Bob
 
Bob C said:
The collar is the way to go. With 1/4" play there is a good chance the thrust washer
that is between the impeller and pump body will come out of the impeller and
eventually cut the shaft in half. Tom Wesenberg has a picture of this.

Bob
Click to expand...

Absolutely!
Be sure the thrust washer is in place in the impeller pocket, then slip on the Teflon thrust washer and locking collar on the front of the pump.

As long as the pump is off, I'd remove the shaft and check it for wear. Replace the shaft as needed with a new one with the impeller already pinned. A new pair of lead packing rings with grease on them installed in the brass packing nut has given me over 15 years of service with not one drip. The packing nut only needs to be lightly snugged up, then checked a couple times after some miles are on it.

When you grease the rear bushing it's best to unscrew the packing nut, so the grease can come out the front, and not go into the coolant. I now buy rear bushings with the double lip seal in the rear of the bushing. Even though my original bushings have never leaked the seal will better keep the grease and coolant from mixing.
 
Pulled the W/P and here is what I found. There is 1/4" to 5/16" of play in the shaft. A piece of the impeller broke off. How does the fan come off? The blade looks okay. The boss inside the head had a little wear but looked good to me. What next? How do you take it apart? Or should I just buy a new one with a longer shaft?
 

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Buy a leakless water pump and a new cast 2 blade aluminum fan. The one Brattons sells has the end play set so it doesn't matter how worn your head boss is. Test fit it first to your head without a gasket to make sure the impellers are not scraping. If they are just grind or file a little off the impeller tips. Once it spins good without rubbing install it with a gasket.

Your fan is an original late 31 fan. Hang it on the wall.
 

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