• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Water Pump Removal

Share this page

nevets

nevets

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
My water pump won't come off. I know this issue has been covered in previous threads (love the automatic 'Similar Threads' feature on this forum BTW). All 4 bolts have been removed, copious amounts of PB Blaster applied, with much tapping with a small hammer & wood block but the water pump body will not release from the engine block. I also tried tapping the blade of a putty knife into the gasket joint, but no joy. I considered inserting a heavy wood dowel into the outlet pipe and yanking/banging on that, but I'm concerned about fracturing the pump body. I'm not a fan of the heat & beat method because of fire issues. Any other tricks to try? Thanks
 
Something I've had success with in similar issues -

Take hacksaw or ignition file to the edges of the seal to roughen it up. Mix acetone and power steering fluid 50/50. Use eyedropper to drop the mixture onto the seal edges. Let soak overnight, then try removal again.

Someone may have used an *unusually effective* sealant on your pump years ago.

Worked for me.
Tom M.
 
NutmegCT said:
...
Someone may have used an *unusually effective* sealant on your pump years ago.
...
Click to expand...

Sounds likely. A product that works really well on a lot of adhesives/sealants is 3M Adhesive Remover# 08984. It's banned in California, and that's a good contra-indicator of a product's effectiveness.

WRT to sealants, I have a background with some chemistry so I've experimented with a lot of them to see what works best and where. As noted, some 'sealants' might as well be called glue, esp. if 'Adhesive/Sealant' is on the label (ex: 'Right Stuff'-type are near impossible to remove). On most paper gaskets I've found Permatex 'Aviation Form-A-Gasket' works well; the label says 'non-hardening' but I've found it cures to a semi-hardened glaze. Many times I've been able to peel paper gaskets lightly coated with it off intact, and occasionally reuse them. Also, it's less likely to shed a glob into 'sensitive' areas like oil passages. Some pumps I've installed have instructions to install gaskets dry, but I've never had any issues with F-A-G.
 
If the WP is set in some kind of sealant use what Bob suggests. It is good on 3M's 5200, a combination sealer/adhesive which has prodigious strength. If it is set in a hardening epoxy such as JB Weld or the like a combination of acetone, heat and lots of patience should soften things up. I agree on not using a dowel--castings can break easily.
 
I should have mentioned that obviously identifying the substance in which the WP was set is the first challenge, but a careful examination of the bolts should show something. Also if you follow Tom's suggestion and carefully work a hack saw blade behind the pump the scraps of what comes out should tell the tale.
 
Thanks again all. This weekend I will try the acetone treatment and/or adhesive remover. I think I have something like that used for removing adhesive from a disk sander. I'll post the results.
 
NutmegCT - the application of acetone /power steering fluid did the trick! Thank you for the suggestion! I applied the secret sauce with a small brush multiple times over the last few days and it softened the gasket. I was able to eventually tap the blade of putty knife into the joint in several places, then using a flat blade screwdriver, I separated the pump from the engine block. The big surprise was the gushing coolant because I neglected to drain the engine block, Ha! I will be sending it off to Salter for a rebuild. Funny how these small victories can really brighten your day.
 
Back
Top