Daves1940Buick56S Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I just put on this rebuilt pump and I think the bearing may be bad. Take a look at the video, the chatter can be clearly heard, it also appears the pulley is wobbling. Do you think it's the bearing or something else? I really don't want to pull it yet again... Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27donb Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I have isolated sounds before, by pulling the belt off and running the engine BRIEFLY without it (because of course there will be no coolant circulation without the water pump turning) Could you remove the belt and run it to see if the sound is gone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 With the belt off, can you wiggle the fan? If so, it can be 2 things. Bad bearing or loose fan / pulley bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 donb: It's definitely coming from the pump area. I use a wooden dowl and press my ear up against one end (old school I know!) and place it against various engine parts to isolate noise. It's definitely not from the generator and definitely is from the pump. Don: Yes, it wiggles with both the belt on or off. I will get my dial indicator out and see how much the pulley edge moves later today. I tried tightening the fan/pulley bolts to make sure that wasn't it, it was a pain and I busted my knuckles yet again, but they are pretty tight - unless there is something interfering with them. But that's a pull to investigate anyhow. I sent a message to the rebuilder so will see what he says, but it's looking like a pull. Sigh... Cheers (or not!), Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 What you say says bad bearing. There should be no wiggle at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 I just finished measuring it with a dial indicator. About 15 thousandths at the edge of the pulley. I will call the rebuilder tomorrow and likely pull Wed afternoon. Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 49 minutes ago, DonMicheletti said: What you say says bad bearing. There should be no wiggle at all. I also vote for a bad bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Make sure the pulley itself is running true to the shaft. Maybe the pulley itself is bent on an edge from someone trying to pry on or off a belt with a screwdriver. The best suggestion is to remove the belt and see if the noise goes away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 I have had cracked pulleys Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 I had a water pump on a '41 Cadillac where the impeller walked on the shaft and started hitting the inside of the housing. Destroyed both. It came to me that way, so I don't know what it sounded like when it was happening, but by the time I got it, it had self-clearanced leaving the housing paper thin and the impeller ground down to the size of a silver dollar. The only reason I knew it had happened is because the car ran hot and finally pulled the pump off to have a look. Outwardly, it was not visible. It might have sounded like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Did final tests today, including turning it with a separate motor to absolutely confirm. Pulling it tomorrow, sending back to rebuilder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Rebuilder said that bearing was fine but that hub face was not true. He turned it on a lathe and reassembled and it tested ok. I will have it back tomorrow with reinstall on Sunday. I dunno, I could feel the wiggle and it "felt" like it was internal to the casting, if you know what I mean, similar to marginal water pumps I have had to deal with in the past. I hope he is right, will find out soon. Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share Posted May 2, 2016 OK, got the pump back. He went ahead and swapped the bearing anyway. I checked the pulley and sure enough it was out, 15 thousandths like my coarse measurement above. I ended up fixing it by shimming under the pulley, now it's less than 5 thousandths difference. I bolted up the fan and ran it up using a drill and it looked good. Installed it today (I install with the fan on) and it works good so far, just a slight chuckle which is likely in the normal range. I am seeing a very small leak that may be from the back of the pump but am not sure, could be at the front of the head, will pressure test tomorrow. On a related note, I am also seeing a very small leak at the back of the engine. It could be leaking from the head gasket but it's difficult to tell. I used a different type gasket this time, the original type that has metal on the outside and sandwiches the Viton or whatever the center material is. Anyone have any experience to share here? Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Through the years I have had 2 '38 Buick water pumps rebuilt. Both were not good. The first one, the engine started to overheat very quickly when started. Turned out that the impeller had come loose on the shaft. It was fixed. The second leaked from the back plate immediately after rebuild. The horrible thing about that back of the head leak is that it might be that small core plug at the back of the head. Had they been replaced? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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