1965 Ford 2000 (3 cyl.) gasser. Coolant leak. Advice needed.

[tmac196]

As stated above. Radiator and hoses are new (summer 2014). The coolant leak started slowly a few weeks ago, occurs at rest and has gotten more noticeable over time. Just a few drops a day. It appears to be coming from the water pump and (although I haven't yet removed the grille and radiator shell), specifically, from the shaft and bearing assembly which passes through the center of the water pump housing. I have noticed some growling noises coming from the front of the engine intermittently over the past few months and suspected the water pump bearing was going bad.

Two questions:

If I do find the source of the leak to be the shaft bearing assembly, what is the fastest and most efficient way to fix the problem? I don't have the tools to be "pressing the shaft out of the housing yadda, yadda...". Is it faster just to replace the entire pump itself?

Is the bearing shaft a more likely source of the leak or is the water pump gasket?

tmac

 

[Ed of all trades]

The most common way to fix a leaking water pump is to replace it. Very few have the barrings and seal replaced.

 

[ESBkevin]

I agree with Ed of all trades, a new pump is the usual answer.

 

[Soundguy]

Yup, no doubt, fastest fix is via replacement, remove, clean, install

 

[Bigfoot62]

Yup, no doubt, fastest fix is via replacement, remove, clean, install

And, you want to do that before the bearing fails and the fan goes through the radiator.

 

[Ed of all trades]

And, you want to do that before the bearing fails and the fan goes through the radiator.

Yep that's right.

 

[Soundguy]

Yup, I have an 850 ford loader tractor, it had a fan kiss the radiator in a previous life. Solder and propane must have been in good supply as the owner soldered up a couple tubes, closed off a couple, etc. Rad is deffinately not California legal with all that lead

If it was a mower tractor it might overheat, but as a low use hay mover and backhoe, its fine.

 

[tmac196]

Thanks for the advice. I pulled the hood, grill guard and the cowl last night thinking that that would help me visualize the leak, but to no avail. The radiator, fan and shroud still obscure the front of the water pump, so they will need to be removed for a final "look see". What I have verified is the fact that the hoses are not the source of the leak.


I next pulled the plug and drained the radiator in preparation for removal. In spite of my best efforts and two buckets, the process still belched 50 % of the radiator fluid all over the tractor and the shop floor. How does one collect radiator fluid without making a huge mess? This fluid is only 7 mos old, fresh when the new radiator was installed, so I thought I would reuse it.

 

[Soundguy]

I do lower hose and block drain, but bottom line, pulling water pump you are going to loose some coolant unless you park on an incline,or vacume the block out.

 

[tmac196]

Update:

Picture one is after removal of the bolts connecting the water pump from the block. A stream of coolant will flow:



Next picture is after removal of the pump and before the block gasket has been removed. The tears in the gasket are artifactural incurred during the removal process:



Final picture is with the new pump and fan belt installed. After some consideration I choose to replace the belt and both hoses which were still apparently in good shape, but whose risk of premature failure was not worth my time of tearing the cooling system apart again: