Water pump impellor removal

[PaulB]

The nut on top of my water pump impellor has snapped off and looking in the Shop Manual it says great things about using SPECIALIST TOOLS to get the pump out.

Is there a home grown remedy for getting this thing out please?

Thanks

Paul

[jpyke]

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I'm not sure how well this would work but you could try making a tool with some vertical pins which slotted between the vanes of the pump then attempt to turn it clockwise and it should be pushed out by the angle of the teeth on the drive cog at the bottom of the pump shaft. Engine resistance should hopefully be enough to hold the jackshaft still whilst you twist the pump.

[jpyke]

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... a set of suitably meaty pliers opened the correct distance should do too. Only advantage of making something up would be the ability to engage on more than 2 pump teeth thus lessening the load and therefore the danger of snapping them although to be fair I think they should take it.

[V Mad]

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If the bolt (its not a nut) has broken off, you will have todrill out andclear the thread in the pump shaft. When you have done that, screw in a bolt attached to aslide hammer to get the pump out.

If you lever on the gears you risk damage to the pump gearor worse the jackshaft gear.

[jpyke]

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True, but thats easier said than done - have to be very careful to avoid getting swarf from the drilling going where it shouldn't and I'd hazard a guess that very few folks have a correct left hand thread tap to re-tap the hole - unless of course you temporarily tap it bigger and use a normal handed thread. Either way it could be time for a new pump shaft. I'm not advocating using extreme force when prying at the pump but that is surely better than trying to lever at it (a really bad idea). You'd do well to snap a hardened tooth on the drive gears IMHO

[Andrew S]

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Silly question, but turn the end in either direction by hand, wouldnt that push it upwards?

[jpyke]

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No, it must be clockwise (if turning the pump) otherwise the action of the gear teeth will try to pull the pump into the block.

[V Mad]

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Good point about the LH thread. If the pump is scrap you should be able to get some locking grips on the fins or drillslide hammer it out.

[Andrew S]

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Sorry, I meant turn the engine by hand so it should be screwed upwards and this is why we have the stop on the water pump cover, or have I go this wrong? When engine is running, it is pulled down but in the oppositedirection, it will try and unscrew itself from the jack shaft

Please feel free to tell me that I am talking rubbish, it is almost 9pm!

[PaulB]

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Thanks all. Perhaps I should have mentioned that the engine is being stripped prior to a boil out so getting stuff where it "didnyoughta" isnt so much of a concern ... but drill/tapping the right way is a good idea.!

Thanks

Paul

[jpyke]

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Ah I see what you mean, yeah, you're right - but you'd need to hold the pump still whilst you try to turn the engine so its probably easier to just try to turn the pump rather than trying to do both!

[jpyke]

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PaulB wrote:

Thanks all. Perhaps I should have mentioned that the engine is being stripped prior to a boil out so getting stuff where it "didnyoughta" isnt so much of a concern ... but drill/tapping the right way is a good idea.!

Thanks

Paul

It would certainly work to get the pump out, but I'd be nervous of re-fitting it with a right hand thread when it is supposed to have left hand - it may try and work loose when running. I'm not sure if that was what you were thinking of (probably not)?

Water pump work is a subject a little close to my heart at the moment having just taken mine out over the weekend. I almost didnt bother because it was running nicely and could see no reason to remove it, but thought it was silly not to since everything else was apart. Bloody glad I did - the water seal was totally gone and the brass carrier was absolutely full of rusty muck! I'm becoming more sure that the graphite seal available from LDPart is the way forward as it contains a ceramic ring which you can fit to the impellor (after having it machined) this guarantees graphite on ceramic rather than graphite on (rusty) steel -> grinds away -> leaks eventually!

Still, I did also discover that the holes in the brass cage exit to the top of the vee so water in the vee could be pump seal failure, so at least you get early warning

[Andrew S]

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If you remove the pump being that the impeller is quite thick, there should be a lot to get hold of to remove it if you soak it in fluid or similar

Some people have their impeller grub screwed onto the shaft so that it cant work loose

[PaulB]

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The bolt came out really easily when I put a drill bit on it and span it.

All I need now is to get a longer one and then I can get the slide hammer on it ... so a trip to Fastenal in Hoquiam WA.

Thanks for all the good words.

Paul

[alan_thomas]

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Andrew S wrote:

If you remove the pump being that the impeller is quite thick, there should be a lot to get hold of to remove it if you soak it in fluid or similar

Some people have their impeller grub screwed onto the shaft so that it cant work loose

If you are interested in the 'LDparts' mod with the ceramic ring checkout this thread

http://stagownersclub.mywowbb.com/vi...hlight=ceramic

I posted a couple of pics machining the impellor and with the ceramic ring fitted.

- Alan