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Water pumps

To: british-cars@hoosier (british-cars)
Subject: Water pumps
From: southern@neit.cgd.ucar.edu (Lawrence Buja)
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 91 9:03:58 MDT
T.J. writes:
>Wayne Angevine writes:
>> 
>> Well, after several weeks of relatively trouble-free driving, my Datsun
>> 2000 roadster has developed a(nother) coolant leak.  This time it seems
>> to be coming from the joint between the water pump and the block.  So,
>> time for some sage advice from all you net.experts out there.  
>
>I also am interested in the answer to this question.  I just took the 
>water pump off the Alpine last night.  After installing the new 
>exhaust system a while back, all sorts of engine noises that were 
>previously drowned out could now be heard.  Demanding immediate
>attention is the water pump.  Turns out that the impeller end of the
>shaft has about 1/8-to-1/4 inch play.  This doesn't sound like much
>until you put the fan and pulley on and see how close the fan comes to
>the radiator.  It also makes for an interesting aural phenomenon, the 
>likes of which I can't recall hearing before.  Can you say $50 for a
>new water pump?  :-(

It suddenly dawned on me. I have replaced the water pump on every
single european car that I've ever owned.  This probably says more
about the state of the cars when I buy them then anything about the
quality of european water pumps.  Or maybe I recognize that water pump
replacements tend to be one of the more painless repairs one can make
on a car.  The worst part of the job (after laying out the bucks for
the new pump) is that you might have take a couple of extra minutes to
drain and pull the radiator (good time to flush it out and put in
fresh antifreeze).

It sounds as if all that's needed to fix Wayne's leak is to put in a
new three dollar gasket.  Rumbles indicate a dead bearing on T.J's
Alpine and the need for total replacement.


/\      Lawrence Buja           Climate and Global Dynamics Division
  \_][  southern@ncar.ucar.edu  National Center for Atmospheric Research
      \_________________________Boulder,_Colorado___80307-3000__________



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