Leaking Water Pump

Soft_Click

Soft_Click

Member
One of the first things I did on my 1966 1200A 304 pickup was change the water pump. I got one off Rock Auto (before I knew about IHPA) and also bought a gasket from them. Of course the water pump came with a gasket, so I used that one and tossed the other.
Immediately there was major leaking.

Like a steady drip. I didn’t manually turn the pump to prime it and I didn’t torque the bolts to a specific number. I just got them tight. The water pump looked a little different from the one I pulled off, but the mounting surface matched and the gasket looked like a good fit.

I recently drained the system, pulled it off and removed the gasket, which was some kind of paper and was a soggy mess. Cleaned both surfaces really well (which I didn’t do the first time), then made my own gasket with permatex Black gasket maker. It seemed to work for a little while, now it’s really dumping out again. I haven’t driven more than a quarter mile since I started working on this truck, just idling while tuning The carb.

I just bought a new gasket from IHPA and I want to make sure I do it right this time. Is there anything obvious I’m doing wrong? I’m reading online about some water pumps forming a mechanical seal by being turned by hand first?

Any advice is much appreciated!
 
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First think is to determine where the leak is. If the shaft is leaking you'll need to replace the pump. Can you see or feel where the leak is?
 
It’s really hard to tell, unfortunately. I can see at least one point of leaking is coming from the top of the water pump seal, where some gasket was pushed out. It all kind of runs down the front of the engine. I can try to take a video if that might be helpful
 
I saw you just ordered the gasket. When you install these, you need to make sure the surfaces are very clean. You can not have coolant or liquids contaminating the sealing surface as it will make the RTV not stick. A thin layer on the pump and housing with the gasket in the middle is all you need, no globs.
 
Another warning, the coolant tubes that go to the head are known to rot out and leak. Should you disturb them, you'll need at a minimum replacement orings.
 
There are orings on coolant tubes?
I replaced all my coolant lines already except for the really short one that goes into the thermostat housing.

maybe these orings are part of my problem? I think I’m leaking coolant from all over really
 
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