Water Pump Replacement

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Colin Newbold
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Water Pump Replacement

Post by Colin Newbold »

Hi guys, not sure I can get to the Bicester Scramble like last year, but even if I don't, I could do with your inputs here please:

For some time my Kirkham's had a screeching noise on start-up and I just assumed it was a loose fan belt. But despite tightening, the screeching now lasts for a good few miles, in fact it doesn't really stop - especially under heavy acceleration. What's more, I can now see a steady trickle of coolant passing down the right side front of the engine, past the sump pan onto the floor. Looks like it's coming from the back of the water pump. Am I right to conclude the water pump is past its sell-by date? Are those worn-out bearings I'm hearing? (Its a stock 289 motor with a cast iron water pump BTW).

What if it is the water pump? Now I'm more of a driver than a mechanic but I'd like to have a go at replacing the water pump myself. A couple of YouTube videos make it look fairly straightforward. Any tips or hints you can give me would be most welcome (remember, when it comes to mechanics you need to think of me as the 9-year old daughter of a French peasant farmer, but with a reasonable splattering of English!).

Thanks in anticipation,

Colin
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peterc
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by peterc »

I don’t think that the job is a big hassle?
As your engine has not been built too many years ago you shouldn’t have corroded in bolts which is the normal problem in removing old pumps. Just be carefull in cleaning the front surface of the block e.g. don’t scrape too hard and leave scratches that could otherwise create a leak across the gasket. I would use a sealant to stick the gasket to the pump so you can offer it up without the gasket getting out of position. Be carefull to not over tighten the bolts. It’s a common mistake and creates future agro to replace said broken bolt or worse still stripped thread in the block.
Best of luck.
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Phil Riley
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by Phil Riley »

If the bearings have gone already, on such a low mileage car, perhaps the belt has been too tight?
Colin Newbold
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by Colin Newbold »

Thanks Peter, I think I heard a torque figure of 15 ft/lbs in one of the videos. Should I drain the system fully before starting the job, or just partially? And if the latter, roughly how much should I remove? Come to that, do you know what the coolant capacity is for a small block 289?
Colin
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Colin Newbold
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by Colin Newbold »

philriley427 wrote: Fri Apr 06, 2018 8:51 am If the bearings have gone already, on such a low mileage car, perhaps the belt has been too tight?
That's a really good point Phil, I'll keep that in mind.
Colin
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clive
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by clive »

All as has been said above, but there is no need to completely drain the cooling system, however it is a good idea to take the opportunity to do so and replace with new anti-freeze as it acts as a corrosion inhibitor too and should be changed every couple of years. (I guess with the hard water you have, it is more important).

My system, (289 with Hawk radiator) takes about 10 pints to fill and I use a 50:50 mix of blue anti-freeze. There was some chat on here a few years back about the difference between blue and pink anti-freeze with blue being the preferred one for older engines.

One final observation when removing the old pump, it is heavy, especially when leaning over the engine, so be careful not to let it slip and damage the radiator!

Good luck, it is pretty easy.

CJ
Cheers, Clive.

(If I'm not here I'm in my workshop or on the golf course!)
Colin Newbold
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by Colin Newbold »

Good to hear from you Clive, hope all is well with you and yours? Sad news about Barrie Bird's wife, June.

Re the antifreeze, that's about 5.6 litres I reckon. Steve Gray (Brooklands) recently grafted on an FIA nose cone for me and took the opportunity to replace the coolant, looks pink to me though! I'll keep you posted...

Colin
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StewbieC
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by StewbieC »

The pink / orange antifreeze is slightly acidic and may have contributed to it failing. I would hazard a guess that it will be a tad orange when you take it off. It is probably leaking from the drain hole which would suggest the mechanical seal failed and the squealing will be the bearing stuffed.
Water pump replacement is pretty simple. It's harder to fit one to a long block not having the bolts and trying to work out bolt length as you will see, they are all varying in length. You need to tell the supplier which orientation the outlet is (from the perspective of sitting in the driving seat), and get some decent RTV compound to seal it. I got my last pump from Real Steel and got the RTV from them too. The inlet to the pump is from the engine through the timing cover.
My complete system is 14 litres including rad. I tend to buy blue antifreeze in 20 litre containers from Smith Allen online and get it delivered and do the tractor, landrover and Hawk at the same time
________________________________________________
Stu
Hawk 289, 66 Mustang Fastback with a 289 maximum smiles per mile..
Colin Newbold
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by Colin Newbold »

Thanks Stu, all duly noted. Water pump is cast iron and the new replacement arrived today. There seems to be the pump, then a gasket, then a metal backing plate, then another gasket. Is this all correct? So I'm guessing RTV on both sides of both gaskets - yes?
Colin
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peterc
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Re: Water Pump Replacement

Post by peterc »

Following on from Phil’s comment on whether the fan belt may have been too tight. My test for correct fan belt tension is that you can just turn the alternator pulley in one direction but not the other. This shows that the belt will drive the alternator OK but the small amount of slack left in the belt confirmed by being to turn it the opposite way means it’s not too tight.
I have done this check for years after suffering from alternator bearing problems.
Peter C
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