Water Pump install (w114): the saga continues

[Jub]

Hi all,

Able to get access to my water pump (1971 250; see attached):

1. Removed radiator
2. Removed belt
3. Removed fan blade

Finally removed 5 bolts around pump, but pump won't come off (stuck)?

Am I missing something?

Jub

[Frank Reiner]

That's all folks! Yes, stuck.

[socalbenz]

Mine was very difficult to get off. I ended up strategically placing a 2x4 near it and against the block so I could get some leverage with a crow bar and pried it out. I had to reposition the 2x4 several times to pry from different angles. Sounds primitive, but it worked.

[Jub]

Hi socalbenz,

Yikes!

Would it be easier to remove mounting?

[sjefke]

Give it a few blows with a rubber hammer from top and bottom. Pump surface is stuck against block. Once you have a bit of movement, start wiggling it by hand. Looks like you have the radiator out so you have lots of room. Been there...

Bert

[socalbenz]

I think removing the mount will just move the problem to your work bench. It will still be stuck, but you may have difficulty holding the mount steady while you try to pull the pump out on your work bench. I beat the crap out of mine with my rubber malet until the impact cut my malet and more or less destroyed one side of the malet. It did not budge. Then I spent about an hour trying to rig up some sort of puller and decided to give the crow bar and 2X4 a try. Crow bar worked and I did not damage anything. Frank summed it up pretty well, the thing is stuck. You are going to have to use some brut force.

If you do use my method be carefull what you are prying against so that you don't bend any other accessories or crack anything.

Good luck.

[Mike D]

And do yourself or the next guy a favor. Do NOT and I repeat, NOT, use any form of gasket sealer when you replace the gasket! If you absolutely have to due to gouges you can apply a light and I mean light, smearing of silicone sealant on the gasket sealing surface. Use never-seize on all the threaded surfaces.

Don't be surprised to find the water pump mount housing to be full of corrosion. A brass brush and some vinegar can be used to clean it out.

[sjefke]

Ditto on what Mike D says. Only use liquid gasket stuff etc if there are deep gouges. An old trick I learned from a mechanic is to smear a very light amount of grease on both sides of a paper gasket. That reduces corrosion of the surfaces and causes the gasket to be less sticky whenever it has to come off again.

If rubber mallet does not work, get a bigger steel hammer. A couple of well placed blows usually break the bond. But be carefull, you don't want to break something else.

Bert

[meltedpanda]

you could also apply judicious heat to the gasket area AND a rubber a mallet

[Jub]

Brut force...well ok (no prob).

Luckily god gave me more than just a charming personality.

Time to put the guns to good use (now where did I put that sledge hammer?)

[Jub]

Well well well...lookie what I found,

Yippee kaye motherf@&$er!

[Mike D]

Ahhh, I see what the problem was. That little "girlie-girl" hammer! What is that? A 16 OZer? Shucks, ya shoulda used at least a 32 OZ. hammer. A metric weight one would have been more correct for a European car!

Congrats on getting it removed. Be gentle removing any remnants of the old gasket from the housing. Lots of WD40 and gentle scraping.

[socalbenz]

Well Done!

[bwostosh]

Interesting techniques as described,
Those gaskets can be on the motor for so many years and get dissimilar metals corrosion.

I use a gasket scraper and machinist's sledge between the aluminum housing and cast steel pump housing to wedge and release the gasket while housing still is on the block.

Next problem can be the broken screws on that aluminum housing.
This is fixed with re-tapping with 1/4-24 thread and hex head screws..