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Replacing Your Water Pump
By Bob Freudenberger Jun 30, 2000
Bombingdowntheinterstate,youglanceattheodometerandrealizeyou'vejust
reachedanautomotivemilestone:100,000mileswithnomajorrepairs.Timewas
acarthathadpasseditsbellyoverthatmuchrealestatewasconsideredpretty
muchusedup,butyoursstillrunsgreatandlookspracticallynew.Amazinghow
technologyhasadvanced.
Thenyounoticethetemperaturegauge.Holysmokespegged!Youputitin
neutral,coastoffontotheshoulderandshutherdown.There'sthatmaplesyrup
spilledontheradiatorodoragainyou'vesmelleditbefore,butfileditunder
"thingstothinkaboutlater."Soonerwould'vebeenbetternowyou'rewalking.
SealDeal
Thebiggestchangeinwaterpumpdesignoccurreddecadesagowhenthespring
loadedmechanicalsealwasadopted.However,itsrubberpartsmaydisintegrateif
theengineoverheats,anditspolishedsealingfacescanwearandwarpifthe
engineisrundry.Typically,pumpswillstartleakingcatastrophicallyshortlyafter
aboilover.
Thiskindoffailurecanbeworsethanitsounds.Besidesthevastlyexpensive
internalenginedamagethatrunningwithoutcoolantmaycause,aleakingsealcan
washawaytheshaftbearing'slubricant,perhapsresultinginasnappedshaft,and
aflyingfanorbeltpulleycandestroytheradiatororevendentthehood.
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So,leakageistheNo.1failure.Noiseissecond,andisalwaysindicativeofa
terminalcondition.Whileserviceliteratureonwaterpumpsoftenwillshowa
pictureofabadlyerodedimpellerthatcontributestooverheating,technicianssay
that'snotascommonasitoncewas.Anotherpossibleproblemwiththesame
consequencesisanimpellerthat'scomeloosefromitsshaft.Erosionoftheinside
surfacesofthepumpchambercausedbycavitation(aweakcaporachronically
lowlevel,perhaps?)canopenuptheworkingspaceandreduceflow,ascan
corrosionfromtoolittleantifreezeinthecoolantmix.
Thisisaneasyone,becauseit'snearthetop.Yourjobwouldbealottougherifthe
pumpwerenearthebottom.
EvidenceGathering
Ifyoustarttosmellthedistinctiveodorofenginecoolant,oryounoticethatthe
levelintheoverflowbottleisdroppingrapidly,it'stimeforacarefulexam.(If
you'relucky,itmaybejustaleakyhoseconnection,butlooktheradiatorover,too.
Ifthesmellisstronginthepassengercompartmentandthewindshieldtendsto
steamup,thinkabouttheheatercore.Incaseswherenoneoftheaboveisthe
culprit,bettercheckoutthewaterpump.)
First,useaninspectionmirrorandagoodlighttoviewtheventholethat'satthe
bottomofthepumpcasting'snose.Or,supportthefrontofthecarsafelyon
jackstandsandlookupfromunderneath.Allsealsaresupposedtoweepslightly(a
littlecoolantisneededtolubethefaces),butdripsmeanyou'dbettergoshopping
foranestimate.
Next,graspthefanorwaterpumppulleyandseeifitrocksfromsidetoside.If
there'sanythingbutslightmovement,thebearingisonitswayout.Also,youcan
removethebeltandseehowthebearingfeelsasyourotatethepumpshaft.
Roughnessisn'tacceptable.
Alowflowsituationthatresultsinhotrunningcanbehardtodiagnose.Drainthe
leveldowntothetopoftheradiatortubes,gettheenginehot,andthenshutitoff
for10minutesandletitheatsoaktomakesurethethermostatiswideopen.Now,
fireitupagainandrunitat3000rpm.Oncarsusingtheradiatorfillneckonthe
toptank,lookdownintoitwithaflashlightandyoushouldseestrongcirculation.
Anotherpossibilityistosqueezetheupperhosetofeelforflow,butthat'spretty
subjective.Unfortunately,there'snogoodwayforthedoityourselferto
differentiateaweakpumpfromacloggedradiator.
Withtheenginewarmenoughtoopenthethermostat,butnothotenoughto
pressurizethesystem,lookforvigorousflowat3000rpm.
MajorUndertaking?
Onsomefrontwheeldrivesthejobisahorrorstory.Makesureyouresistthe
temptationtogetintothisrepairifyou'renotpreparedtoinvestthetimerequired.
Findouttheflatratehoursbyaskingalocalgarageownerordealerservice
manager.Or,lookituponyourPMCDROM.It'sajobthatcouldtakeseveral
hours,dependingonwhatyoudrive.
Thefirststepsinremovinganywaterpumparetolettheenginecooloff
completely,andthendrainthecoolingsystembyeitheropeningtheradiator
petcockordisconnectingthebottomradiatorhose.Next,dowhateverisnecessary
toremovetheaccessorydrivebelts.Ifthecarhasalongitudinallymountedengine
asfoundineveryrwdandsomefrontdrivers,removetheairshrouds(insome
cases,theradiator,too),andthenthefananditsclutch,whichbolttothefrontof
thewaterpumpshaft.
Nowyoucanstartonthepumpbydisconnectingthehoses.Thosefortheheater
willprobablybestubborn,soyoumayneedtosplittheirendswithautilityknife
(ifthey'relongenough,youmightbeabletotrimthemoffsquareandreusethem).
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Extractthepumptoengineboltsandkeepthemandanyaccessorybracketsthey
retaininstrictorderoryou'llregretitatassembly.Theremaybehiddenbolts,so
takealookatadiagram.
Thepumpshouldcomeoffwithagoodtug.Ifnot,makesureyoudidn'tmissany
bolts,andthentapontheinletoroutletneckwithamalletorablockofwoodand
ahammer.Don'tuseascrewdrivertoprytheseamopenoryou'llmakeanickthat
thegasketmaynotseal.
Pumpssealagainsttheengineorbackingplatewithagasket,anOringorRTV
silicone.Getthematingsurfacecleanwithascraper.
Ifyoumustusesiliconesealer,useoneratedforautomotiveuse.Itshouldalsobe
labeledlowvolatility.Outgassingfromthecuringsealantcanpoisonoxygen
sensorssoleavethebathtubcaulkwithyourplumbingtools.
Weshouldmentionapotentialproblem.Supposeyou'reinstallingawaterpump
onacarwithaserpentinebelt.Enginesonmanyoldermodelswereequippedwith
aregularVbelt,butthewaterpumpfortheoldmodelmayfitphysicallyonthe
newone.Canyouguessthepossiblemistake?Thinkaboutdirection:The
serpentinebeltmightdrivetheimpellerintheoppositedirectionfromthatofthe
Vbelt,soyoucouldendupinstallingapumpthatrunsbackward,causinga
seeminglyincurableoverheatingsituation.Makesureyougetexactlytheright
part,andcomparetheimpellers.Also,heedthatroutingdiagram.
Aftereverythingisbuttonedup,figureouthowmuchcoolantyoursystemholds.
Thisshouldbeinyourowner'smanual,orintheshopmanual.Usingthe
appropriatemanufacturer'scoolant,addhalfthatamountandthentopoffwith
water.Thiswillgiveyoua5050mix.Besuretofollowtheserviceprocedurefor
bleedingtheairbubblesoutofthesystem.
Wetliquidseepingfromtheweepholesignifiestheendoftheservicelifeofthe
sealsinyourpump.
Almostanyradialplayinthewaterpumpshaftisgroundsforimmediatepump
replacementbeforesomethingfails.
Vehicleswithserpentinebeltshaveabeltroutingdiagramunderthehood
somewhere.Readandobey.
HOW IT WORKS: WATER PUMP SHAFT SEALS
Twoperfectlyflatrings,onestationaryandtheotherrotatingwiththepumpshaft,
arepressedtogetherbymeansofacoilspring.Theringsmaybemadeofcarbonor
maybeceramic,phenolic,porousbronze,castiron,etc.,inanycombination.This
allowsonlyenoughseepagetokeeptheelementslubricated.Ithasaweaklink,
however,intheformofitsrubberpartsthebellowsthatsealsthespringandthe
rubberseatcupbetweentherotatingelementandtheshaft.Iftheengineisever
rundry,thetemperatureofthepumpisapttorisefarbeyondwhattherubbercan
survive,andaleakoccurs.Anotherpossibilityiswarpageofthesealingelements,
alsofromoverheating.
There'sconflictingevidenceonwhethersilicatesandphosphatesfromantifreeze,
orotherhardparticlessuchascastingcoresand,canactuallydamagetheseal
faces.Engineershavetoldustherunningclearanceiswaytoosmalltoadmitsolids
ofanyappreciablediameter.
Sincecarsarelastinglongerthantheyusedto,andsincewe'vebecomesucha
litigioussociety,carmakersareworkingharderthanevertomakewaterpumps
last.Afterall,whenapumpgoesyou'vegottogetoutandwalk,whichexposesyou
todangersthathorrifyautocompanylawyers.
So,therehasbeenapushforwaterpumpsealsthatwillrarely,ifever,fail.One
designthatlookspromisingisfromMichaelOstrowskiandJohnCrane
International,theleadingsupplierofconventionalwaterpumpseals.Calledthe
AdvancedMetalDiaphragmseal,itusesaflexiblestainlesssteeldiaphragmthat
actsasboththespringandthebellows,andincorporatesanimprovedmethodof
mountingthesealfaces.
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