3 water pumps later still wobbles??

[ChicoSmith]

I have been through two Kragen (Master Pro) pump and now a Bosch and still have the same problems. Pumps shaft wobbles just enough to have the fan "tink" around on something at idle. Can a pulley get spunked and cause this? I've used the same pulley and fan throughout. Oh yeah new Fan Clutch.

Any other ideas.

I've thought about going to an electric fan set up but trying to stay on a tight budget.

[AlienYouth]

is it the pump shaft wobbling or the pulley not being straight, or something on the mounting surface keeping it cocked? i have my doubts about it being the pump shaft wobbling.... just my thoughtssss

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by AlienYouth

is it the pump shaft wobbling or the pulley not being straight, or something on the mounting surface keeping it cocked? i have my doubts about it being the pump shaft wobbling.... just my thoughtssss

x2. If you have the same wobble with three different pumps, it's not the water pump shaft. If the pulley is good and there's nothing under it to cock it sideways, there must be something wrong with the fan.

[100%Chevy]

Are you over-tightening the belts?
Mike.

[hwyix]

The other people gave great advice, but as a shop owner I would never buy stuff from pep boys / autozone / kragen / napa, etc... YMMV.


I work with a lot of others shops that continue to buy from them, they seem to always have to return something like at least 10% of time. I guess for them in their eyes the profit is worth the hassle. Too me I do not want to put junk on my customers cars.

You might have just been given a bad water pump several times in a row. I have seen this with the stores above for fuel pump/timing belts/t-stats/radiator caps. I am talking about in a row. Even a good store or OEM will sometimes give you the wrong or bad part. The only time I have seen several in a row is with the above stores.

[Jtrux]

I bought 3 fuel pumps from advance auto and all 3 of them put out too much pressure, flooding the carb. I ordered a Carter from Summit and violoa!! Problem solved. YOU CAN buy 3 defective parts in a row, I did.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by hwyix

as a shop owner I would never buy stuff from pep boys / autozone / kragen / napa, etc...

You might have just been given a bad water pump several times in a row.

Lil story.... the only parts store in our small town is a NAPA. I once installed three of their water pumps to get one good one -- one lasted a week, and one was bad out of the box.


I suppose the OP could have gotten three pumps, each with a bent shaft. It seemed unlikely to me, but anything is possible.

[stealthy '69]

Originally Posted by Jtrux

I bought 3 fuel pumps from advance auto and all 3 of them put out too much pressure, flooding the carb. I ordered a Carter from Summit and violoa!! Problem solved. YOU CAN buy 3 defective parts in a row, I did.

wouldn't a fuel pressure regulator solve this? that's what i did. put a psi gauge in the stock one and 0psi at idle. new pump 10psi at idle, +regulator, now 6 psi at idle with reg.

[Shyguy]

This a true story even though it happened a very long time ago, late 1970's.

I had a Dodge chassis motorhome and the the alternator went bad.

I got 3 bad ones in a row from Kragens before I finally decided to spend more money and went to Napa Auto Parts store. I never had problems with the one I got from them.

I work at chain auto parts store, not one that is mentioned, and have seen problems with the cheaper stuff, but the "Life Time" parts are usually pretty reliable.

The majority of the parts sold now days are not made in the USA, so quality control seems to be not as good on the cheaper parts.

Danny

[67ChevyRedneck]

Are you buying the correct water pump? Is your pulley system set up for a short water pump or a long water pump? If it's set up for a short, and you buy a long and tighten the belts, the angled tension on the pulley would probably be enough to destroy the water pump.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by stealthy '69

wouldn't a fuel pressure regulator solve this?

But the best solution is the correct pump pushing the correct pressure. Nothing like spending more money to solve a problem created by a faulty/incorrect part

Autozone is good for specials on oil, wipers, spark plugs, and chrome valve stem caps. But anything like pumps, electrical items, and any other hard parts I'll only buy from Carquest or NAPA. I really miss Big A! Haven't had one of those here in years.

[LockDoc]

-
I was having the same type of problem with the '71 4x4. I kept getting that "tink" sound off and on and I couldn't figure out what the fan was hitting. There wasn't anything even close to the fan. It was a flex fan and I found a couple of small cracks in two of the blades so I swapped it out for a stock type clutch fan. Rats, it still did the same thing. I finally figured out that it was the flywheel hitting on the metal flywheel cover.

LockDoc

[dznucks]

i just installed a water pump on my truck from a little mom and pop store. the new pump flange is out of round by .030". i put a dial indicator on it and spun the flange. its creating a very noticable shake in the engine. you can feel and see the pully wobble. i switched to a billet pulley and still have the problem. i am going to have to replace it to get rid of the vibration.

[ChicoSmith]

Thanks guys for all the input.

= Belts seems to be the right tightness

I can feel a tiny bit of play in the shaft and can hear some humming in the pump bearings. All the pulleys are lined up right and yes it is the right part (as far as I know).

Really considering a Elec Fan swap.