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Section : Cooling
Posted By : Ian Empsall, 22-May-2007, 06:46pm
Just got my first Spitfire and guess what, the water pump has gone on the blink.
I have bought a new one but can't work out if the radiator needs to come out to fit it - does anyone know if I can replace the pump with the rad in
situ?
Help!!!
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Posted By : Mark Astley, 22-May-2007,
07:19pm
I'm pretty sure you can. You'll probably have to remove the fan first, the gasket might cling a bit and you'll have to apply some force and you don't
want to yank it into your rad.
The water pump impeller that is hidden inside the housing isn't that deep, a few centimetres at most.
Try it with the fan on first. At worst you can release the radiator mount bolts and lean it slightly forward to gain a bit extra clearance.
Not a difficult job at all.
Good luck.
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Posted By : Ian Empsall, 22-May-2007,
07:39pm
Many thanks Mark for such a prompt (and encouraging) reply
I know where to come for any advice in the future
Regards - Ian
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Posted By : Jon Morton,
22-May-2007, 07:41pm
Let us know how you get on
Jon
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Posted By : Jon Morton, 22-May-2007,
07:33pm
Yes you can do it with the rad in place, but I wouldn't. It's all to easy to hit the veins and damage it.
The water pump will almost certainly be stuck on as its normal to use a sealant to get a water tight fit, so it will need jiggling and pulling to
remove it and its a relatively quick process to remove the rad.
What makes you think the water pump has gone? Its mechanical so the only reason for it to act up would be if its bearings have gone, you would be able
to feel play in it and it usually leaks abit, or a vein has broken which is not likely.
If its not cooling properly it's more likely to be a silted up water system, which is fairly common on our cars.
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Posted By : Graham Cartwright, 22-May-2007,
09:54pm
If the seal on the pumps gone then you will get a lost of coolant in the rad as well as a fine spray of rust coating on the bonnet. If you are to
replace the pump, remove the rad, saves damaging it (just a few bolts). Once removed easy to get to everything. The advantage of removing the rad
means you can flush the rad (turn up side down and place hose pipe into bottom of rad.) and then flush engine block, ensure heater valve is open to
flush out the heater core.
Then at least you know the cooling system is ok.
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Posted By : Ian Empsall, 22-May-2007,
11:21pm
Thanks to you all - symptoms are water loss (pool on garage floor) and as you say, mucky water being sprayed onto underside of bonnet and onto
engine.
Anybody free tomorrow to give a hand? This might be childsplay to you experienced mechanics but it's serious stuff to me.
Seriously though, advice is much appreciated from a new member
Ian