Rebuild water pump without a press

[bc.gold 3,399]

Our Jack Russel had a cat cornered in the woodpile that was just outside my rear shop door, when I came out for a few sticks of wood to feed the fire this cat be-lined it into the shop hiding under a bench. Pat managed to coax the cat out with some food, no one claimed the cat then when our Jack quit trying to kill it they became buddy's.

 

I think the cat was an unwilling passenger under the hood of a farm truck coming into the Village to check their mail and the post office which at that time was right across the street from our house.

 

Our Jack Russel ( Cooper ) named after the Austin Mini Cooper died a year ago Christmas aged 14 years, he spent some time in the freezer waiting for the ground to thaw, in the meantime the cat got stuck with a porcupine quill. On the way to the Vet spotted the Little Dipper as it sat orphaned behind a building.

 

A day later I came back to the fertilizer plant and purchased it for $1000.00, lots to learn from that do not under any circumstances purchase equipment that worked with fertilizer. The radiator core was eaten paper thin with leaks everywhere, $500.00 to have a new core installed, the wheel nuts each had an eight of an inch of rust scale once knocked off you could not find a socket to fit.

 

The rest of the machine had a heavy layer of rust scale as well.

 

Within a week the water pump started to leak, continental engine parts be it gas or diesel are not cheap I was quoted $500.00 for the water pump, that five hundred dollar pump is still sitting in the suppliers warehouse.

 

I already knew that Crane the toilet folks are a major manufacture of ceramic seals, I managed to find a rebuild kit from a supplier south of the 49th for under $60.00 delivered to my door.

 

At the time did not have a hydraulic press to remove the pulley form the bearing shaft, so I first drilled a small 1/8" hole dead center enlarging this to 3/8" drilling the hole releived the pressure for the outside diameter of the shaft making disassembly a snap.

 

The bearing is held in place with a spring clip, external snap ring pliers open it up.

 

Yiur rebuild kit comes with a new shaft with the bearing preinstalled, a bellows seal with one ceramic bonded to it, the bellows is spring loaded assuring contact with the other ceramic seal, anyhow I put the bearing into the freezer then when I was ready had preheated the cast iron water pump housing. Went together with out a hitch.

 

After the housing cooled down now it was time to heat the pulley and you have to be careful not to install the pulley to far onto the shaft or your belt will not line up properly.

 

Me and the Little Dipper have since parted company.

[Sarge 3,462]

Around here in the corn belt - fertilizer equipment is pushed away by every shop that works on any sort of machinery. Even dedicated farm shops hate dealing with their equipment and the corrosion issues when trying to perform simple PM work or welding shops trying to repair even the simplest of parts - that fertilizer is evil to metals.

 

Sarge

[bc.gold 3,399]

This afternoon was offered a Case 224 tractor that had spent it's life inside a dairy barn pushing manure, same deal plenty of corrosion but not near as bad as the little dipper.

 

Price is right at $200.00, engine and hydraulic pump has to be worth that much alone.