Water pump replacement on my BT7 advice needed please

[fishyboy]

Hi all,
The "County" reproduction water pump on my BT7 has failed (noisy bearing) after just a few thousand miles. With no alternative source for a replacement pump and having thrown the original away (why did I do that!) I will have to go down the "County" route once again.

One question I have is do I use the paper gasket as is or should I apply some gasket sealant? One side or both? If yes should I also apply some to the stud threads as well?

Many thanks
Phil

 

[steveg]

Hi all,
The "County" reproduction water pump on my BT7 has failed (noisy bearing) after just a few thousand miles. With no alternative source for a replacement pump and having thrown the original away (why did I do that!) I will have to go down the "County" route once again.

One question I have is do I use the paper gasket as is or should I apply some gasket sealant? One side or both? If yes should I also apply some to the stud threads as well?

Many thanks
Phil

Phil - you can't go wrong with that program. You can glue the gasket to the water pump with weatherstrip adhesive, then coat engine side of gasket with hylomar. Always best to glue gasket to moveable part. Wouldn't think studs would need sealant unless they go through into water jacket.

 

[HealeyPassion]

Are there any alternatives to the Country water pump?

Steve

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Are there any alternatives to the Country water pump?

Precious few. Rebuilding an original pump is your best bet. Some info here (I don't think BJ8 pumps are any different than older cars, but don't quote me):

https://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/2012/06/30/austin-healey-bj8-water-pump-rebuild/

Michael is a formally trained engineer/mechanic, and he rebuilt a BJ8 pump for me. Ironically, that pump failed me on a long road trip over 1,000 miles from home; a new County pump was overnighted to me, I installed it in a motel parking lot, and it failed on startup (broken shaft; gouged my radiator) and a second came pre-broken. After that, we cut our road trip short and trailered the car home.

Note: The failure of the rebuilt pump was in no way Michael's fault. A rubber bellows/seal ruptured; this was caused by a defective part. Michael's work is impeccable.

Michael not only re-rebuilt the failed pump gratis but paid for shipping. The fresh rebuild has about 20K miles on it with no problems. Michael also found a BJ8 pump that was sitting on the shelf of a respected rebuilder (in Canada) that was going out of business; of course, I snapped that one up too (it resides in the boot).

According to the senior tech support guy at Moss, County was a respectable brand until the original owner of the company keeled over from a heart attack and the new owners, well, let's just say they are not 'quality driven.' I don't know if a County pump can be rebuilt properly; I think they cast their own pump bodies and there are some differences from original. Obviously, unless they've remedied the problem, their shafts cannot be trusted.

 

[Keoke]

I don't now if it is just the shafts or not , but I have never had any good luck with coumty prts.

 

[steveg]

Mike Salter also sells the rebuild parts and has info (website and printed sheet) on how to do it. I did it myself and it was quite doable. Had to clean up the sealing surface on the impeller with a drill press and file (no lathe access). The rest was hand work.

That's my spare pump. I've been using a County pump for around 18 years with no problems. Must be one of the old ones.

 

[bob hughes]

Phil

I replaced my pump when I rebuilt the engine back in 2013, I obtained it through Bill Rawles and I guess that it came from AHead4Healeys, don't know what it is but it is not giving any trouble.



Bob

 

[RestoreThemAll]

During the fall of 2015 I went through four defective county water pumps. AH spares made it right. Paid for shipping, refunded my purchase. They worked with their manufacturers and stopped shipping water pumps for a while. Mine is fine now so they may have the problem improved. It wouldn't hurt to give AH Spares a call. They build as well as sell parts. They'd know if the problem persists.

 

[gonzo]

A "break-in" bedding procedure is described / recommended for Country WPs that's to be done on the bench before installation. Clamp MP body in vise, attach fan belt or something similar to pulley and the other end to a drill's hub and spin the shaft at moderate speed for about a minute.

 

[fishyboy]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the advice.

Can't find weatherstrip adhesive at a sensible price this side of the pond. Might just use RTV sealant or similar. Will that suffice?

Interestingly AHSpares said that there were no known problems with the count water pumps which is a little at odds with "Restorethemall" comments and my own experience.

Gonzo - I thought these bearings required coolant for lubrication. I suppose a minute wont do any harm but is it really necessary to bed them in?. AHSpares said it wasn't required. As i'm going to remove the radiator and drain the coolant I could always run the engine for a minute before putting fresh coolant back in. Would that work?

Phil

 

[John Turney]

The bedding isn't for the bearings, it's for the seal. Just rotate it by hand for a few turns.

 

[steveg]

I installed my County pump back in the early oughts without any break-in and it's been fine. Ditto at least one of my Alfas also no problem.

Mike Salter uses sealed bearings; assume the mfrs do too.

RTV would probably be fine as long as it's a thin coat. Or Hylomar on both sides of the gasket.

 

[Deleted member 21878]

this was not from me.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

I installed my County pump back in the early oughts without any break-in and it's been fine. Ditto at least one of my Alfas also no problem.

Mike Salter uses sealed bearings; assume the mfrs do too.

RTV would probably be fine as long as it's a thin coat. Or Hylomar on both sides of the gasket.

I used a County pump in my BJ8 for many years and many miles without any problem, but I didn't know it was a County pump until I bought one of Mike Salter's rebuild kits and had a machinist install the kit. He reported that it wouldn't work with that pump body. When I consulted with Mike, he said I had a County pump and confirmed that his kit wouldn't work with a County body.

I used Hylomar on both sides of the gasket of the rebuilt pump and had to remove the pump again later for a different issue. The Hylomar released very easily and cleaned up enough that I could use the same gasket with a new smear of Hylomar.

 

[RestoreThemAll]

I use this stuff on both surfaces. Works great. Good price.
"Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket is ideal for most types of gaskets, machined surfaces, and screw thread connections of your plane, boat, or auto engine. This is a slow-drying and non-hardening sealant liquid that changes to a pliable, tacky film to seal your close-fitting parts. It has a temperature range of -65 to 400 degrees F and will resist gasoline, oil, and grease. Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket features a brush-top applicator for easy use."

I also did the proper break in. Not the problem for me. All of the bodys were defective, didn't fit right. In one case the small water hole was half covered. Watch out for that!

 

[gramos]

Re: Water Pump Replacement BT7

Well, having a failed seal on my Healey made this great reading, but I still have yet to find the solution to my water pump issue!

I am trying to repair my 100 pump, which is probably one of the much maligned County pumps. It is stripped and ready for a new seal as the bearings were easy to find. The problem is the type of seal used in the replacement pump. It has an enclosed spring and is impossible to find.

The standard, external-spring type seals are very easy to find. Has anyone a supplier for this type or anyone know of vehicles that used to use this sealed spring seal? I tried a few tractor sites, but nothing yet.

Help, please.

 

[red57]

Hi Gramos,

I got an NOS rebuild kit for my early 3000 pump from Michael Salter in Canada. I'm not sure if he has anything for 100 water pumps but he would be a good one to ask.

As others have said, he has lots of NOS stuff and his blog site is a wonderful resource - you can read a detailed how-to on rebuilding BJ8 water pumps here: https://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/2012/06/30/austin-healey-bj8-water-pump-rebuild/

His Ebay store is here: https://www.ebay.com/str/michaelsbritishparts/Austin-Healey-Parts/_i.html?_storecat=3517081519

Hope he can help.
Dave

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I second contacting Michael Salter. He owns a 100 and there's an outside chance he has a line on an OEM pump that can be rebuilt (he found a rebuilt OEM pump for my 3000). Even with shipping, it might be your best bet.

 

[gramos]

Thanks guys. I have been talking to Michael and what he has is repair kits for 3000 pumps; nothing for the 100.

The 100 repro pump that failed has a very similar seal to the 3000 seal, but Michael - quite rightly - will sell only complete kits as he has
invested in this repair kit.

So back to the wall!

I have searched high and worldwide for this type of seal, but no luck yet!

I have even thought about using a Davies Craig electric pump and removing the leaky mechanical pump altogether. Has anyone used this type of pump?