Water pump rebuild

The water pump on the Little Dipper loader calved, a replacement water pump for the Continental diesel $450.00 before tax.

I found a rebuild kit from a US supplier for $60.00, the kit came with new bearing kit, impeller on a shaft with a seal kit and gasket kit
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The old impeller shaft was press fit into the hub plate that the fan assembly bolts to, instead of hunting down a press to disassemble the pump. I drilled a small 1/8" hole dead centre as deep as the drill bit would go. Then enlarged the hole by going another drill bit size larger until I had drilled the hole out to 7/16ths inch.



Just remeber to pull the small drill out often enough the clear the flutes of chips otherwise the bit could seize and break off in the hole. If that happens you'll be looking for a hydraulic press to complete your disassembly.

Having drilled the hole had relieved the tension from the outside diameter on the impeller shaft, with a bit of tapping with a 1'/4 inch pin punch at the bottom oft he drilled hole the shaft and bearing came free, Before attempting to remove the old impeller shaft you have to remove the internal clip ring that holds the bearing in place.

To reassemble the pump, I put the new impeller and shaft in the freezer for half an hour then applied just enough heat to the hub that it was still comfortable to handle.with ordinary work gloves.

Slipped the new seal into place then inserted the impeller shaft into the pump housing, the hub plate went back on so easy I had to be careful not to push it to far onto the impeller shaft otherwise it may have rubbed against the snout of the water pump housing.