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Water pump failures


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Might be helpful if I clarify a few issues, and apologies for not doing this earlier, but have been away for a few days.

When Monty first had an issue with his original water pump, I offered to send him,  direct, a spare water pump I had so he didn't have to wait for EPS to recodition his existing pump, to minimise the time his car would be off the road. We arranged for EPS to send me his reconditioned pump to replace my one.

I originally recommended EP Services to him as they have had many recommendations over the years on this forum, and as a result, I sent them a batch of old pumps I had collected over the years for reconditioning in mid 2016. I have used some of these pumps on my own rebuild engines but so far none have been run so they haven't been tested.

When Monty had the problem with the first pump I sent him, I was naturally disappointed , but these things happen sometimes, and I wasn't unduly concerned because of EPS's lifetime guarantee - obviously Monty experienced the hassle and additional costs as he had the work carried out by a garage, but as I understand it EPS said they would consider reimbursing his postage costs.

When the first pump failed,  in order to mitigate delays again, I sent Monty another of my EPS refurbished pumps, with the same arrangement as before, namely that EPS would refurbish the defective pump and send it back to me - this hasn't arrived yet.

I've spoken to EPS because this whole thing has been extremely embarrassing for me, as I have simply tried to help out a fellow member, and it's turned out badly - I beleive they are genuine in what they do, and when they admit that occasionally defects do occur, which they are happy to correct, I also belive them when they say having two consecutive defects, in different pumps, is unheard of in their experience. 

It could be relevant that there is a common defect in the pumps, because they are from the same batch, in which case I need to know as well, as I have several more from the same batch, but as I understand it, there doesn't appear to be an obvious defect to explain the leakages, apart from over pressurisation of the system.

I think in fairness to both Monty and EPS, we shouldn't jump to conclusions at this point - we do need to understand the true nature of the problem, and I'm sure this will be established shortly.

FWIW,  as I understand it, EPS will recondition modern repro pumps by fitting their uprated bearings and seals, and still offer their lifetime guarantee - their prices are pretty much on a par with a repro pump, so before this issue, it was a no brainer to get your pump refurbed by them.

Just to be clear, I have no connection with EPS other than as a customer - I did research another company mentioned in some other posts (SP Pumps), and their work looked first class, albeit quite a lot more expensive at just over £100 unit + postage.

Hope this helps a bit!

Cheers

Rich

 

Edited by rcreweread
Clarify paragraph
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On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 6:58 PM, monty said:

I was hoping I might get some feedback on this problem from Motorsport Mickey or Tom Boyd as they have competition experience! How do these water pumps stand up to Motorsport use?

 

Hi Monty,

+1 with Tom, good results with standard pump.

Mick Richards

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Well, just returned from having this problem looked at further. The cooling system has been tested for pressure which is fine & as it should be. 2 X 7lb radiator caps have been tested, which are fine & a test for a blown head gasket proved negative. Water is slowly still dripping from the hole underneath the pump body & there are water drips on the cross member. Conclusion is a third faulty pump leaking past the seals, so the hassle of fitting a third!

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Monty not saying this is the case with yours but I had what I thought was a failed after market pump, I removed mine and fitted a used but good original only to find It still had a leak from underneath the water pump. After much head scratching and everything else I discovered it wasn't the pump after all but a weeping thermostat joint this leak was not noticeable from above as the water was tracking down around the pump and dripping from the tell tale hole. I removed cleaned and rejoined the stat housing and all was good.

Paul

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37 minutes ago, Paul J said:

Monty not saying this is the case with yours but I had what I thought was a failed after market pump, I removed mine and fitted a used but good original only to find It still had a leak from underneath the water pump. After much head scratching and everything else I discovered it wasn't the pump after all but a weeping thermostat joint this leak was not noticeable from above as the water was tracking down around the pump and dripping from the tell tale hole. I removed cleaned and rejoined the stat housing and all was good.

Paul

Will go & take a look now Paul. Thanks.

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47 minutes ago, Paul J said:

Monty not saying this is the case with yours but I had what I thought was a failed after market pump, I removed mine and fitted a used but good original only to find It still had a leak from underneath the water pump. After much head scratching and everything else I discovered it wasn't the pump after all but a weeping thermostat joint this leak was not noticeable from above as the water was tracking down around the pump and dripping from the tell tale hole. I removed cleaned and rejoined the stat housing and all was good.

Paul

Thanks again Paul but just checked that area once more & it is completely dry around the thermostat area. If only! 

Convinced after testing this morning that it is seeping from that tell-tale (seeping now rather than dripping now).

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On 9/28/2018 at 12:13 AM, monty said:

The water pump people are saying 2 failures like this are unprecedented & think it is something else like maybe head problems causing maybe over pressurisation? Car shows no signs of head problems that I can see & did a 30 - 40 mile run today like a dream.

Sounds like they are testiculating. The radiator cap effectively limits the pressure to 7ibs or whatever the cap pressure is. (sure you may get momentary surges before excess water and steam spews out but the radiator cap functions as a pressure relief valve).

You have either been unlucky and had 2 random failures in an otherwise reliable product or the person building or rebuilding the pump doesn't know what they are doing or the bearings/seals/shims were not correct or cheap tatt and they are lying to you.

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The water pump people are now suggesting that now the 'drip' has reduced to a 'seep', after yesterday's investigation, the seals/bearings may be bedding in & the seeping should disappear. My technician had never heard that before after several years of working with some top rate classic cars but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt before claiming a 3rd pump! Worth waiting to see I guess but will not know for a while due to non use of the car for a week or so. Thanks to all for their input.

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