Technical Leaking water pump seals

Currently reading:
Technical Leaking water pump seals

Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
6,225
Points
1,612
Location
Nairn
Having carefully overhauled the pump it is working well and running smoothly.
When I fitted the carbon seals I pressed them snugly into the housings as far as they would go. I'm now wondering if I should have simply have got them started in the housing and then allowed them to find their own depth as the whole assembly was bolted together.

I'm worried that the working face, which I assume is meant to bear each side on the smooth side of the boss on the impeller, is just slightly too far away and is not being forced tightly enough to make a good seal.

I'm not going anywhere for avery long time yet so I can live with it in the hope that it magically heals itself' it doesn't seem to leak when stationary.:D
 
Last edited:
I have previously rebuilt my water pump, using new bearings and carbon seals, but it still leaked. I've stripped it down again and think if I've found the reason.

On the fan side of the impeller there is a disc of carbon which is bonded to the impeller; this looks in good condition. On the pulley side of the impeller, the carbon looked fragmented and hardly there at all.After poking off the loose bits with a pointy instrument it looks like I'm down to the bare metal. I assume that when new, these shafts have an equal amount of carbon coating on both sides?
So I'm going to experiment with fitting a nylon sealing-washer removed from a more modern, three-hole replacement pump in place of the carbon which should be there. I think I'm going to run into clearance issues, but at £400+ for a new pump or £170 for an impeller kit, it's worth a try.
 

Attachments

  • NOV_1610.JPG
    NOV_1610.JPG
    3.9 MB · Views: 112
  • NOV_1611.JPG
    NOV_1611.JPG
    3.3 MB · Views: 61
I had a few choices on this:

1. Buy a new pump....approx. £400
2. Buy a reconditioned pump....Approx £300, plus, in some cases, give the old one in exchange.
3. Buy a secondhand pump.....approx. £150
4. Find someone to refurbish the impeller and then rebuild it or do it myself.....unknown cost.
5. Buy a full rebuild kit and repair my existing pump properly.....approx. £150.

After a lot of thought, I took option 5. The kit was better than I expected. As well as the new impeller, seals and bearings, it also had two custom "O"-rings, the special circlips for the shaft, the cup-washers which bear on these, new pulley-nuts and lockwashers and quality gaskets for the impeller and for where the pump fits on the engine-block.

This time, I had a better understanding of the way the pump seals. I cleaned the casing inside and out, scraping away any corroded or chipped aluminium to create a nice fit for all the components.

It went together well and I can feel the carbon seals moving smoothly on the impeller. It's been a long and relatively expensive learning-curve, but it finally feels properly fixed. :)
 

Attachments

  • NOV_1710.JPG
    NOV_1710.JPG
    5.8 MB · Views: 85
  • NOV_1712.JPG
    NOV_1712.JPG
    4.2 MB · Views: 82
It will be interesting to hear how it holds up when fitted and running.

Out of interest, did you look into an electric water pump option?
There has been talk on the forum of someone fitting one (I've also considered it) but I've not seen one finished and working.
 
The photos are amazing.
photo number 1
the way the light falls from right to left, nicely framed, textures of the bench/fabric/wall, arrangement of the components , shadows .
Beautiful

Photo number two is also composed beautifully
 
Last edited:
The photos are amazing.
photo number 1
the way the light falls from right to left, nicely framed, textures of the bench/fabric/wall, arrangement of the components , shadows .
Beautiful

Photo number two is also composed beautifully
As a person who likes illustrating my posts with images, I have to agree with you Jack. I'm just wondering if noticing and commenting on this is a bit of a sign of early onset senility though? I'm sitting here (notice I've not said "I'm sat here"!) having a wee chortle to myself.
 
It will be interesting to hear how it holds up when fitted and running.

Out of interest, did you look into an electric water pump option?
There has been talk on the forum of someone fitting one (I've also considered it) but I've not seen one finished and working.
I didn't really consider the electric pump option as it seems to add a layer of complexity which I would prefer to avoid.

This time I'm certain that it won't leak as I know where I went wrong. I also have a spare set of bearings and seals for the future.

I'm just waiting for warmer weather because I need to stick back a loose edge of the rubber shroud on the fan first.....-11C isn't good for most adhesives. [emoji16]

When I was searching for parts I came across a set of refurbished undertrays whilst I was at it...so these things are still around. I'm now dithering over a pair of quarter-lights with proper catches, rather than the glued-on ones.
 
As a person who likes illustrating my posts with images, I have to agree with you Jack. I'm just wondering if noticing and commenting on this is a bit of a sign of early onset senility though? I'm sitting here (notice I've not said "I'm sat here"!) having a wee chortle to myself.

I'm sat here wondering what all the fuss is about. [emoji854]
 
Hi,

If you ever need to have a pump reconditioned I can highly recommend EP Services on 01902 452 914, they're great to deal with and will save a fortune on replacement.

Cheers,

Andy
 
Hi Andy,

Just been looking for the photo's of my old under tray's but couldn't find them (I think that I've posted them on another thread somewhere).

The original ones are pressed steel which provides both rigidity and clearance where needed. Unfortunately these curves also make perfect dust and water traps... and ensuing rust.

They are easy enough to replace. Basically, their purpose is to stop hot air recirculating into the engine bay (and reduce dirt and dust in the process). If you look upwards under the engine bay use a piece of cardboard as a template and cut it to fit the gaps - there will one for each side of the engine bay and the locating holes for the bolts should still be there. Note the one on exhaust side fits above it to reduce the heat coming up into the engine bay.

The original trays have a rubber strip on them to provide a seal with the engine. This is crimped into the tray - I've simply pop-riveted some VHT rubber strip on. Don't put any touching the exhaust!

If you look at the thread on overheating I've explained how I've also fitted some ducting under the fan side to channel the hot air beyond the back of the van. This works really well when stationary as it reduces the opportunity for hot air to rise back into the engine bay (especially when stuck in traffic).

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Gary
 
Back
Top