Water pump seal

[Peter Pleitner]

Hi Whitworth Heads! Been absent from this LIST for too long. The TC and I had hard run around Lake Huron in two days last September keeping up with Healeys, Triumphs and later MGs on an event called the British Reliability Run. Frost in the morning along the North Channel called for a hood up and curtains in. Well the TC was reliable, and judging from the comments like, "didn't know a TC could run like that", I'd say we acquitted ourselves well and made the point for all of us, and it turned 10,000 miles since restoration in the process! Funny thing was, a restored London Taxi kept breaking down! But, 50 miles from home, chasing a healthy MGA, the water pump started to talk to me. No water leaks mind you, just turned into kind of a wobbly experience for the fan. So now I look in the brand new Moss Catalog for bearings, and a new packing just because, and find out the packing is NA - as in not available! Just complete pumps! I have a serviceable pump from a TD around here, and recall somewhere seeing an old rubber packing that I think was a spare for the TC but it felt kind of old and hard and besides, I couldn't find it just now amongst all the stuff for my other project cars. I presume its wise to replace the packing with a new one while I'm replacing bearings which I presume to be the source of the wobble and rumble. Why they failed in 10K miles though is perplexing, I did give them a shot of grease every other year or so, and didn't run the belt too tight. I could just go to a bearing supply house for them and ignore Moss' problems. But what about the packing? Simply a pointer to a source for the packing would be nice from you all (I'm a northerner actually , but comments and observations would be welcome also. Cheers, Peter Pleitner

[Peter Pleitner]

Hi Ben, Thanks for quick reply with the right information. I just found my spare seal in a tiny neatly labeled box under my nose. I'll follows your suggestions. I'll even use sealed bearings so I don't have to pump grease there anymore. BTW, noticed you're in Colorado. TC and I were in Durango a couple of years ago for GOF West during the fires. The TC earned its altitude record afterwards on Monarch Pass, 11,000 + feet. We ran out of breath but made it. Finished our visit off in Manitou Springs after we brought the heavy rains to douse the fires, then watched the hill climb at Pikes Peak. Great memories! Cheers, Peter

On Mar 12, 2005, at 8:05 PM, SCULPTART@aol.com wrote: > Peter, > > I had the exact "talk" from my water pump on the TC about 1500-1600 > miles ago. I rebuilt the unit using locally sourced sealed bearings > and the seal available from Abingdon Spares. Use the old bearing to > measure for the new ones...they are not an unusual size and should be > easy to find. > > Some of the dust material is a thick felt...I happened to have some of > the right thickness in the old upholstery parts and cut it to fit. > > The total cost was a bit less than $25, including the shipping from > Abingdon to Colorado. > > The repair is fairly straight forward if you are the least bit handy. > The important thing I found was to bench run the water pump for about > 3-5 minutes at a moderate speed using a drill chucked around the > shaft. This allows the seal to "bed in" and will prevent future leaks. > > I have had no further problems or leaks. > > Ben Cordsen, TC 4260 in Colorado [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[E.Worpe]

Hi Peter, Good to hear from you again. I believe new water pumps have a circlip instead of a shoulder machined in the spindle. The circlip is supposed to secure the spindle's position relative to the bearings. However, this circlip distorts if the nut clamping the pulley to the spindle is over tightened and fails. This allows the spindle to float and the pulley and fan, deprived of the clamping effect of the nut, become loose. This may be the cause of the wobble in the fan. Regards, Eric. -----Original Message----- From: Peter Pleitner [mailto:pleitner@comcast.net] But, 50 miles from home, chasing a healthy MGA, the water pump started to talk to me. No water leaks mind you, just turned into kind of a wobbly experience for the fan. So now I look in the brand new Moss Catalog for bearings, and a new packing just because, and find out the packing is NA - as in not available! Just complete pumps! I presume its wise to replace the packing with a new one while I'm replacing bearings which I presume to be the source of the wobble and rumble. Why they failed in 10K miles though is perplexing, I did give them a shot of grease every other year or so, and didn't run the belt too tight. I could just go to a bearing supply house for them and ignore Moss' problems. But what about the packing? Cheers, Peter Pleitner Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[adrian wells]

Has anyone had the experience of a leaking water pump, I am rebuilding a TA Tickford and at the point of running the engine as all the pipes and cables and wires are all installed, thanks to you all for the help and info. You have passed on to me. The problem now as I have filled the radiator and the water pump started to leak from the seal area, on stripping the pump I found a small spring loaded assembly with a carbon seal at one end and a rubber seal at the other that goes onto the shaft, the problem is the carbon has three splits in so I presume this is where the water is leaking from. It all looks new the shaft,bearing and this seal assembly, that is stainless steel, I have tried to locate this assembly in the U.K. But not having much luck, can anyone help with this seal assembly it seems to have a manufacturers stamp on the housing, looks like MD or AD if this helps I can send a picture if anyone thinks they can help. Thanks in anticipation, Adrian Wells. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[joecurto@aol.com]

Contact me off list I have some carbons for that application best to phone me 718 762-7878 9-5 EST USA Joe -----Original Message----- From: adrian wells adrian.wells19@ntlworld.com> To: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 3:02 pm Subject: [mg-tabc] Water pump seal Has anyone had the experience of a leaking water pump, I am rebuilding a TA Tickford and at the point of running the engine as all the pipes and cables and wires are all installed, thanks to you all for the help and info. You have passed on to me. The problem now as I have filled the radiator and the water pump started to leak from the seal area, on stripping the pump I found a small spring loaded assembly with a carbon seal at one end and a rubber seal at the other that goes onto the shaft, the problem is the carbon has three splits in so I presume this is where the water is leaking from. It all looks new the shaft,bearing and this seal assembly, that is stainless steel, I have tried to locate this assembly in the U.K. But not having much luck, can anyone help with this seal assembly it seems to have a manufacturers stamp on the housing, looks like MD or AD if this helps I can send a picture if anyone thinks they can help. Thanks in anticipation, Adrian Wells. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]