Good Evening All!

Just a quick update...

Found a water pump rebuild company through Hemming's.  They're in Lubbock, TX.  Sent them my water pump on Saturday.  Should hopefully have it back in hand in two weeks or less.  They said that if I wanted, they could add an extra water shield and upgrade internal fan blades if there was room to do so.  I said yes to both.  Hope that was a wise choice.  Work is warrantied for a year.

I sanded and painted my smog bracket, alternator bracket and water neck.  Now they match filter cover and ring (red). Should look great once put back together!

I also went ahead and removed valve covers.  Turns out, the valve cover bolts were barely screwed into the block.  I literally removed all 8 bolts by hand...surprised I wasn't blowing oil all over!  One question: how do I remove the fresh air vent tube from the passenger side valve cover?  It spins in the grommet, so it doesn't unscrew, and there is a "vent" underneath the tube on the underside of the valve cover that does not come out.  Would like to refinish my covers but need to get that tube out first.

Thanks!

Jason    



 

Take a hair dryer, or heat gun, and heat the grommet up some. Use a rag or towel, grab the tube, and just pull on it. Wiggle it a little as you pull....it will come out. Don't be a-skeered. At the most, the grommet will disintegrate from old age. They get quite brittle over time. New ones are available at just about any local auto parts house if yours does happen to fall apart.

"Extra water shield"? What th' heck d'ya mean? lol   Never heard of that. Unless they're painting the inside of the pump or something like that. Ya gotta watch those folks down in Texas.....

Thanks, Adam's!

I will try to heat the grommet.

As for water shield, they said something along the lines of "we can add an extra water shield in case the first one fails and leaks."  I said sure.  They're supposed to call me once they receive the pump.  Should I tell them to nix the extra water shield?  Same for the extra fan blades.  Any benefit to upgrading them?

Thanks!

Jason D.

Jason, without knowing exactly what they are calling "extra water shield", or anything like that, it's hard to say if it's worth the extra $$$ or not. There are different impellers for water pumps that do increase the efficiency of the pump, and help with cavitation issues, but I can't see the need for that on a street car. It all comes down to how mush extra the cost is, and how comfortable you are spending the $$$. Think aboot it....the stock water pump design hasn't changed for years and years....they work pretty dang good to start with, as long as the parts inside are in good condition, and it ain't leaking.
Of course this is all just my opinion. If you don't mind, can you tell us who you found to rebuild the pump? Perhaps they have a website we can peruse to see what they are doing/modifying on their pumps.

Sure, Adam's.  Here's their information:
O&G Water Pump Co. – 4402 Ave A – Lubbock, Texas – 79404 - 806-744-5870

That's who I thought it might be. Unfortunately, the don't have a website....
Oh well....just thought it would be nice to know what they did to upgrade the pumps.

Adam's - So you have heard of them before?  Any thoughts on their service?  It's taking FOREVER for my water pump to get there.  According to UPS, should be there Monday.  If YOU haven't heard of this "water shield" upgrade before, I think I will cancel the upgrade on both the shield and the blades and just ask them to rebuild the pump.

Jason

VMan73 - A little update:  My two pulleys check out

Smog Pump single upper pulley: 3991425BX

Double upper pulley: 3991424BY

I have sanded them both, primered them, and will be painting them red this afternoon

Jason

Quick update: O&G received my pump today and I contacted them and asked them to not do the blade and shield upgrades. They were happy to oblige. I feel better now :)

Update:  I got the water pump!!  Came with gaskets, too.  Sweet.

It looks fantastic!  I'm really liking the cast look, but I know originally, the water pump is supposed to be orange.  I could primer it and spray it orange but it's kind of a cool looking contrast between the newly cleaned/painted orange block and the silver color of the cast (hard to tell in the pics).  Decisions, decisions....

Should hopefully be ready to begin piecing her back together this weekend!