TR6 TR6 water pump replacement

I guess I've been lucky so far, 1 Midget, 2 B's, a Europa and 2 TR6's and I've yet to replace a water pump...until now. I did a mid-Winter warm up and just started getting a drip from the 6's water pump at only 45,100 miles (but 35 years). I needed a winter project.

The job looks pretty straightforward; penetrating oil, remove/replace, new gasket and Hylomar. Are there any gotcha's or things I should look out for, hints, tips, etc.?


I will most likely go with a TRF part, any thoughts or experiences on their or any of the other suppliers pumps?

Thanks and regards, W

W - I just replaced a water pump on my 6 and I undertook it thinking it was going to be a rather quick job. Never quite turns out that way for me. If you are lucky, the pump fixing nuts will back off the 3 mounting studs. Two of mine just turned the studs loose. This made it a tad more interesting, alternating loosening each stud a bit until the whole pump came loose. You'll notice there is little room between the studs and the pump's pulley. Since these studs came out of the pump housing, I wound up removing, cleaning and resealing the housing as well.

I think Charles (TRF) expresses some dissatisfaction with the quality of water pumps he is supplied. I've read where others have had issues with the current crop of replacement pumps from the big 3, so I took alot of time trying to find a brand that supposedly is more reliable since I did not want to have to redo the job soon. Also, I have a 72 and it originally had a single pulley pump for 1/2" belt. Crank and alternator have 1/2" pulleys as well. 3 weeks after mine went bad, I got lucky and found an uprated, 6 bladed pump off e-bay that a restorer had gotten but decided he wanted more bling along the lines of polished aluminum version.

Might check out pumps made by GMB. They claim to be one of the better replacement pumps. Others here are sure to be along with more experience and advice.

Simpson,

Thank you. I remembered TRF's concerns w/ their pumps from a while ago, but couldn't find anything on the website or my old catalogs. I'll give them a call.

I was also considering the 6 vane pump, but i haven't found one w/ the double pulley and I try to keep as close to original as possible. Given the choice, I'll take the quality part though and see if I can swap pulleys or just live with it.

Rgds, W

A couple years ago I spent a lot of time researching this subject and posted the results to the WIKI in three parts. True, it is written towards rebuilding a pump but it does also cover some good things to know about pumps.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php?page=TR+6

Doesn't BPNW sell an uprated unit?

I recently replaced mine.It's a simple job.
I had two of the studs come out with the nuts.I
just went down to the local auto parts store,&
bought two new studs & nuts.It went right back
together easily.

- Doug

I had a County brand water pump on my TR6 a couple years ago that left me stranded along the interstate when the pulley shaft sheared. Comparing it to a pump of different manufacture, I noticed it was not balanced where the other unit was. The supplier replaced the damaged pump saying that they evidently received a batch.
Another good reason to carry a AAA card.

DougF said:

I had a County brand water pump on my TR6 a couple years ago that left me stranded along the interstate when the pulley shaft sheared. Comparing it to a pump of different manufacture, I noticed it was not balanced where the other unit was. The supplier replaced the damaged pump saying that they evidently received a batch.
Another good reason to carry a AAA card.

Click to expand...

Those are some of the reasons I did my own.

Thanks all.

I spoke to/emailed several vendors and am going with the TRF pump. Their tech folks indicated that they have not had any of the currently supplied pumps come back..yet. I am cautiously optimistic.

I could not find an uprated one w/ the two row pulley, and i try to stay original with this car.

W

I had my original rebuilt thru Rock Auto.com. Very inexpensive

I've had a 'cheapo' waterpump in the car for 4 years now with no problems...could be luck I guess

I went for the TRF unit. It is a County brand part, made in India. It looks pretty good, castings are decent with straight, smooth machined flanges and is generally well finished and comparable to the original. I was actually impressed with the packaging: the pump was covered in a film of oi, wrapped in oil paper and in a sealed plastic bag with a gasket also sealed in its own bag. Overall, it was better than I expected. Hopefully the same quality is inside.

It also comes with a gasket, but the TRF folks didn't mention that when I ordered a gasket with it.

We'll see how it goes.

w

Does anyone know the original finish on the water pump?

On mine, it appears that the pulley was bare iron while the flange may have had a black finish. Several of the pictures in the various restorers guides appear to show the pump and pulley painted black, but the texts don't specifically mention the finish. The current County pumps are bare iron.

Thanks all.

Rgds, w