408 stoke 351W water pump

[bolmida]

I have a leak from the seep hole on my water pump. I assume it needs to be replaced. Never done one of these-- Im used to air cooled porsches. Is there a DIY? any tricks? Do I use gasket compound? thanks much peter

[lovehamr]

Peter, it sounds like one of your bearing seals let go. The removal and installation of the WP is pretty straight forward. As a hint, when you are removing it take notes and/or pictures so you know which length bolt goes into which hole for assembly. Some of them are quite short attaching only through the WP to the timing cover; while others are fairly long traveling through the WP, TC, what ever brackets you have and into the block thus sandwiching and sealing the block to the TC, and the TC to the WP. To give you a more direct answer about sealant I use RTV around the coolant exit ports between the TC and the WP on each side. That is usually the only place that you need it, plus that keeps the gasket in place while you get the WP in place and a few bolts threaded. It’s worth noting that some Ford small block WPs use the front face of the TC as the back plate of the WP but I haven’t seen one of those in years. If your new pump has a back plate covering the impeller you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. If the back is open then you will need to seal all the way around the pump.

Hope that helps, Steve

[bolmida]

thanks !! very helpful. peter