Crypty's water pump

[Tinster]

DPO Pedro's water pump has NOT YET failed on me.
The radiator blew up within 24 hours of purchase.

My new Moss Motors water pump is due today or tomorrow.
We have all seen the quality of new parts go down the drain.
I'm a bit gun shy after the Moss fuel pump failure.

Here are some photos of Crypty's water pump. The 4 pump
blades spin OK but not real smooth either. I can hear a
faint metal to metal noise when I rotate the pump by hand.
More like a whooshing sound.

If DPO Pedro did not change the oil or coolant in four
years, I doubt he rebuilt the water pump.

The pulley has the # 30154 stamped on it.
The pump blades are stamped #190985
The pulley groove measures 3/8" inside to inside.

So?? Which water pump should I install back into the car?

Pedro's still function pump- that WILL fail.

or

Moss new pump that MIGHT fail?

A tough call given the history of this car.
All advice appreciated from you water pump gurus.

 

[tr6lover]

hi dale, i would put the original one back on and here is why. the original one has lasted for what? 30 or so years and is still doing fine. there is not much at all to go wrong with the water pump, simply a bearing and a seal. now i know that you must be thinking that new would be better but thats not necessarily so. you live in a warm climate and there are problems with some of the new water pumps with the impellers not being quite long enough. this is documented on the 6-pack.org library. i am a member and if you are not i can look up the specs for you. the original water pump impeller was x inches long and the newer ones can be a few thouthsands of an inch shorter which leads to cavitation problems and therefore cooling problems. if you want a nice water pump that is of a new design look up british frame and engine or i believe its racemettle.com which is based in england. they have 6 blade aluminum impellers. if you do decide to put in the modern design i would use the orange gm coolant since the green coolant is corrosive to aluminum. hope that helps
Randy

 

[Geo Hahn]

When my water pumps have left me they have always screamed or barfed. Oops, maybe I'm thinking of my ex-girlfriends.

No really, short of leaking or making serious noise I have never been able to identify a pump whose days are numbered. I do carry a spare water pump on long trips, guess that either way you're going to have one of those too.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Aloha Dale,

I will second Randy's opinion with the following caveat, did it leak coolant, make noise the few times you've driven the car. Particularly on an long drive I crypt car has managed. I would guess the whooshing noise you hear is the pump seal rubbing on the pump housing (it is suppose to). Coolant provides lubrication when installed and this quites the seal.

However, if you would add to your confidence in the car and make you feel better then replace it. With a new water pump be sure to follow the installation instructions. Some new pumps need to spun dry to lap in the seal with the pump housing.

 

[tomshobby]

As I see it you have three choices, as already mentioned you can just continue to use the original. You can replace it with the new one. Or, you can rebuild the old one.

I can see in the picture that your old one has been balanced. From the comments on the forums that tells me it should be valued above all others that are not. Which means you can continue to run it. And hope not to ruin the cast parts in the process. If you can hear metal on metal and are sure it is not the seal making that sound then your time may be approaching.

If your new pump does not indicate that it has been balanced, based on what I have learned I would use it for a back up.

Smiley's (Pedro-with-the-toothy-grin's) pump indicates that it has been balanced and is a candidate for a rebuild. It might be one of the good things he did for you. Your new pump could take it's place during that period.

A side note, I also had a conversation with a rep at Gates. I was told to watch their future offering of new replacements for a Triumph pump. In the end that might be our long term best solution.

 

[tosoutherncars]

If you do decide to put in the modern design i would use the orange gm coolant since the green coolant is corrosive to aluminum. hope that helps
Randy

In my opinion, this is a recurring myth. Cars with aluminium radiators, heads, etc. have been using 'green' coolant for half a century. As long as fluids are changed according to maintenance schedules, neither ethylene glycol (EG) nor propylene glycol (PG) are corrosive. Ford did a study to that effect, which I can locate if anyone is interested.

It reminds me a lot of the eternal oil debate, dino vs. blends vs. synthetic. The answer is that frequency of regularly scheduled maintenance is vastly more important than the formulation of the product you choose.

My three cents (adjusted for inflation and the US dollar.)

 

[TR3driver]

if you do decide to put in the modern design i would use the orange gm coolant since the green coolant is corrosive to aluminum.

Read this first :
New Long Life Coolant May Not be Good for Old Cars

The slight rubbing sound is perfectly normal. Water pumps use a 'face' type seal and that's the noise you hear. The thing to do is put some load on the bearings, and feel if they are smooth under load. If they feel gritty, then I'd replace the pump. Otherwise, put it back, IMO.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Read this first :
New Long Life Coolant May Not be Good for Old Cars

Long Life Coolant? Wow, if I ever went 5 years without having to drain the coolant and fix something on the system or the head or whatever I sure don't remember when it was. Guess I might as well stay with the inapproiately named 'Green'.

As for myth of green coolants and aluminum (or aluminium) maybe it doesn't matter much in most cases but VW Wasserboxer engines seem very prone to pitting on the head surfaces which, due to the cheesy o-ring arrangment makes even smal pits a source of head failure. So in that case I think I'll stick with phosphate-free.