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Got the SL filled with coolant and now I find that there is a slight drip coming out of the water pump weep hole. This engine is the common block version, but it appears to use a pre-common block water pump with the heater core nipple on the side.
Is there any reason I can't just use a normal common block water pump setup on this engine?
Hey Jeremy,
You certainly can use the CB waterpump and corresponding housing, pulley, and belt, but make sure you have the correct lower radiator hose to mate to your radiator and CB pump. The orientation is a bit different, as is the CCW rotation. Chrysler used the early waterpump because of packaging reasons as far as I can tell. Yeah, water pumps will many times weep after sitting dormant for long periods of time. They can also get incredibly stiff to turn when they sit too long. Many people on these TM forums haven't had the best luck with aftermarket pumps lasting very long.
Todd
if you use an aftermarket pump , test fit it on the housing with a couple of bolts and no housing gasket or silicone
I have found a lot of pumps have an interfearance between the housing and the edge of the impeller
sometimes it was slight enough it could be installed and the impeller would tink on the housing for a few turns when started until it made it's clearance , others I've had to file down the impeller slightly just so it could actually turn
Thanks guys. I have a new aftermarket water pump from NAPA and also a new radiator hose and heater hose that I was saving for the Spirit R/T, but I'll probably just use them here. I haven't had but 1-2 water pump failures over the years, but I do remember once having an aftermarket pump that had the problem Dr. Johny Dodge described so I will definitely be checking for that.
The weeping pump spins easy, and the drip is pretty slight. I will probably run the engine up to operating temp just to see if it goes away....probably not but sometimes we have faucets here at work that leak when they aren't used for long periods of time. Just using them again sometimes stops them from dripping. Maybe I'll get lucky, but I'd rather have the CB pump on anyway especially with that big O-ring seal they use which seal up way better than the early ones.
I've never trusted the O ring completely and always used just a little bead of silicon in the grouve , then pushed the O ring into the grouve and installed the pump with silicone on the bolts too of course
I never wanted to have to rip everything else back off just for the sake of an O ring
I've assembled many of the CB water pumps and never use anything but the O-ring and dry clean stock M6 screws that hold it together, torqued to 105 in/lbs and never had a problem. I've had a hell of a time getting the pre CB pumps to seal to the housing though.