1972 water pump issues

[R N.]

Hello all,

Over winter I had the water pump off a 72' for about 2 and 1/2 months while doing detailing work on the engine. The water pump was working fine before pulling the pump off and showed no signs of leakage. Upon reinstallation, when filling the coolant back up it leaked for a few hours, but eventually stopped. Today, I started the car and it started to leak again.

Just to note, it was leaking from the drain hole in the water pump.

Could this be caused because the seals are dried out and it just needs time to get moisture back in them?

[Joe L.]

Re: 1972 water pump issues

Hello all,

Over winter I had the water pump off a 72' for about 2 and 1/2 months while doing detailing work on the engine. The water pump was working fine before pulling the pump off and showed no signs of leakage. Upon reinstallation, when filling the coolant back up it leaked for a few hours, but eventually stopped. Today, I started the car and it started to leak again.

Just to note, it was leaking from the drain hole in the water pump.

Could this be caused because the seals are dried out and it just needs time to get moisture back in them?

Kurt-----


These waterpumps use a carbon-ceramic seal. In this arrangement a circular ceramic disc rotates against a stationary carbon seat. This sort of seal is never 100% leak-proof. That's why the weep holes are provided in the pump casting.

However, this sort of seal does depend on a virtually perfect mating of the carbon and ceramic sealing elements. I suspect that what happened here is that when the pump was off the car and "dry", salts in the coolant dried on the carbon or ceramic elements. Then, when the pump was re-started, the dried salts scratched the face of the carbon sealing element resulting in a leak.

At this point, I doubt that the carbon and ceramic elements will "wear in" and re-establish a satisfactory seal. It's not beyond the realm of possibility, though, so you might want to try it for awhile.

[Joseph K.]

Re: 1972 water pump issues

Pumps usaly do not last long after they begin to leak.

[R N.]

Re: 1972 water pump issues

Thank you for the replies. It pays to change & flush your coollant system every two years. I'm going to have this pump rebuilt.