TR4/4A water pump doesn't feel right

[shoopal]

Hi all
I just installed the old water pump on my newly rebuilt engine. It has the grease zerk fitting. When I turn it by hand, it seems to bind up a little in the reverse (counter clock facing the pump) direction. In the clockwise direction it feels OK but there is a clicking noise (sounds like ball bearings).
The pumps are cheap enough ($50-60) for the 4 vane type, 20-30 more for the uprated ones.
General ideas welcome.
Al

 

[TR3driver]

Unless the car will only be driven on and off the trailer for concours shows; I'd replace the pump. Having it fail on the road is no fun at all and certainly worth $70 to avoid IMO.

Might depend on why you're having cooling problems, but the 6 vane pump didn't help my problem at all. Now that I've found and fixed the real problem (bad radiator), a replacement 4 vane works just fine for me.

 

[martx-5]

... a replacement 4 vane works just fine for me.

That's what I'm using, and my engine is warmed up a bit with a big increase in compression and a hot cam. I don't have an engine driven fan but the electric will keep it at 185°F with no problems. As I remember, when I was in the market for a new pump when I was re-doing the engine, there were quality problems with the six vane pumps that were out there, so that's why I just stuck with the original four vane. That was six or seven years ago, so it might not apply today.