water pump leak

paulsv8manta · Post by **paulsv8manta** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 6:04 am

Hi, yet another problem has arisen!
installing water for the first time and I have water dripping out of the underside of the pump.
There appears to be a small hole not sure why this is here, but how do i stop it?
Hopefully i've managed to upload some photos.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S8LPR ... -h215-p-no

DEVONMAN · Post by **DEVONMAN** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 9:28 am

This means the seal in the pump is leaking. If you spin the pump it may seal up but unlikely. If the coolant has got into the bearings then the pump won't last very long anyway.

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:45 am

I've got several EFI water pumps here with the only fault being a leak. If only they could be stripped and new seals etc fitted.

ChrisJC · Post by **ChrisJC** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:14 pm

They can be stripped - you can press the flange off the shaft, and then the shaft out of the bearing.

Not sure where new bearings and seals come from though.

Chris.

paulsv8manta · Post by **paulsv8manta** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:33 pm

I guess what I'm about to ask will be frouned upon. But I can't afford a new pump yet, and I really need to see if I can get the engine up and running. So can I plug the leak just so I can run in the cams?

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:50 pm

How bad is it ? try some radweld ?

Unless it's absolutely running out of it, just ensure there is water in the system and running the engine will be fine.

DEVONMAN · Post by **DEVONMAN** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 8:45 am

If you plug the hole you will flood the bearings with coolant and wash away the special grease and the pump will definitely be ruined. If you do what Stevie suggested then there is a chance it will seal up after running for a while. It depends on what part of the seal is suspect. If it's the running surface it may seal up when running and pressure in the system can sometimes help the seal. If it's the seal surround that's leaking then there is no fix other than a rebuild or new pump.

Darkspeed · Post by **Darkspeed** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 3:58 pm

As above see what happens with some heat and pressure

paulsv8manta · Post by **paulsv8manta** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:21 pm

The pump has been sat around dry for about 10years at least!
Now it's got water in it the leak has almost stopped.

Can I ask what water people are using in their rads? It's just I live in a really hard water area and I don't fancy the limescale build up in the engine. I know to avoid soft water from a softner because of the salt. I was thinking of filtered rain water as its a neutral ph.

Ian Anderson · Post by **Ian Anderson** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:19 pm

Tap water
How many litres will it take?

And as it does not constantly have new water added the amount of lime will be minimal

Ian

Darkspeed · Post by **Darkspeed** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:43 pm

Ian Anderson wrote:Tap water
How many litres will it take?

And as it does not constantly have new water added the amount of lime will be minimal

Ian

With the correct amount of antifreeze - about a gram by my calculation !

DEVONMAN · Post by **DEVONMAN** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 7:10 pm

I may be wrong but my water softener uses the salt to clean the resin matrix and then flushes the matrix before it flows and begins to soften the water. Although it not recommended to drink the soft water, it does not taste salty. I use it to make tea.

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 7:15 pm

paulsv8manta wrote:The pump has been sat around dry for about 10years at least!
Now it's got water in it the leak has almost stopped.
Can I ask what water people are using in their rads? It's just I live in a really hard water area and I don't fancy the limescale build up in the engine. I know to avoid soft water from a softner because of the salt. I was thinking of filtered rain water as its a neutral ph.

If you're concerned, distilled water is best, or Halfords etc sell de-ionised water. Will do same sort of thing really.