The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Note to self.

DO NOT UNDO THE COOLANT DRAIN PLUG WHILST UNDER THE CAR!

Loosen 1/4 turn and remove by hand from top.

This is what the inside of my new NOS cage looks like.

I know what you mean about limited working time in the winter months - I had intentions of quickly getting my brass cage out and dropping the refurbished pump body in and start on the re-fitting work.....

BUT

Had to make a tool up to get the cage out and after two goes at making it the right size and fit etc, it came out nicely just as it was getting dark - best laid plans and all that.

Thanks for the invite on the pics, I'll take some in the morning and post tomorrow.

You and I could write a book just on the ups 'n' downs of Dolly water pumps!

James

I'm amazed, your new cage looks almost like my old cage, and I only cleaned it with a dry cloth. If yours has normal deterioration, why in the same area as my old one? and not all over.

Have ordered the new cage from eBay, I'll post pics once it arrives.

I hope you get your engine bits sorted soon, (self interest and well wishes) I need to undo mine to change gaskets ( after the gearbox is done ). Think nearly all gaskets in the car have perished in long term storage.

Could not do much this evening, so I thought, clean the engine.
Pathetic attempt. Couldn't clean the engine without removing the paint, and I do like that gold colour, anyone know the code for BL Goldseal (Panton, RGB, HEX etc, etc)

Started to rain, and the front grills looked dirty. (Rest of the car won't fit in a sink, I would

Geoff, I'm glad you got your cage out, it can be a right

But I'm pretty much sold on a nut wrapped in two turns of webbing, slotted in underneath and pulled up. If there's no forklift, two or three guys should do the trick.

(I know someone is going to say, get the right tool for the job or go make one)

My cage needed around a 230kg lift, as soon as the front wheels were beginning to bow in, it released, I'm sure some owners have had worse.

Spares arrival is end of week, so cleaning is on the agenda, if I comes off, clean, wirebrush, paint and return. Have to do something.

I'm concerned about the water pump surround in the block, its got muddy sort of deposits, hard rusty type, but they go down a bit with sandpaper, but should I clean it out?, or is it acting as a protective aged layer?

Look forward to your pics,

Keep it gold!! I'm sure you can get some gold engine paint from somewhere.

With deposits in the waterways, I'd clean it all out. You'll end up with bits blocking your rad, just back flush it with a hose.

How's the gearbox? If you're still having issues, with the engine like this I'd be tempted to yank it out, better to do it now than when the cooling systems been refilled, I have a crane if you want to borrow it. That'll give you better access to the motor for cleaning and painting, you can check the rear oil seal on the crank as well.

As with a lot of binding things, strategic impact is always your friend.

I have NEVER had one not come out with a slide hammer. Its only binding on 2 O rings.

Shock works; tension, well you need a lot more.....as in a fork lift.

Jonners

The new brass cage arrived today,
What looked worn, just seems to be how they are.
I now have peace of mind and a spare.

I need some help with the metal water flinger, is this how it should sit in the cage, or lower?

Having the same thing happen as you Mahesh, where the cage stayed behind and I also hadn't drained the water from the block, when you lift the impeller/shaft up it dumps 90% of the water sat in the hole out of the tell-tale slot in the side of the block....but the rest invariably goes down the hole into the sump as someone has already said.

Before I got too far today I cracked off the sump plug a bit and drained a jam-jar full of oil. First out was a small amount of water where it had sank below the engine oil - no need to drain the lot.

It doesn't look like your bearing is right down in the cage Mahesh. Hard to tell but looking through the holes in the side of the cage it looks like its sat up too high.
When its all in together, the final graphite seal should just go in on the top and sit neatly against the face of the top of the brass cage.

Your right Geoff,

The bearing is not far down the cage, (yet), and that is a bit of a conundrum,

Do I fit the shaft in now and get is nicely level all round in the cage, or do I put the
cage in the block first.

If I put the shaft into the cage first, aligning the shaft gear teeth may be a pig.

I'm thinking go for the cage first, then take it from there, the shaft is in the freezer
at the moment, and I'm just going to check for fitting in a bit.

Freezing the shaft does allow it further into the cage, but not much more, as the cage
is a really good conductor and cools quickly to match.

Reverse of removal is the best way, the only snag is, when the pump was removed
the nut on the top assited in separation of the gearing, during reversal it could damage
the gearing, if not aligned spot on.

I will try later to check the shaft in the pump first, and see where the flat side locates and
how easy the gears align, this may give me some insight as to the workings and re-assembly.

Once done, never forgotten, but the time this has taken has allowed good learning of the
working design. The new seal and parts differ to my old ones, (new ones are more logical)
which says to me I had the original pump from the old engine, and BL/Rover changed them
over and did not damage the shaft gears or even mark them.

I know once the last part is here, patience will go out of the window and finish the job will
be the agenda, must resist.

Now I see how it goes,

The flat on the shaft don't do much,
and as the shaft goes in it turns
anticlockwise a third and winds
itself onto the gear.