The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hello,
Apologies if this has been covered a million times already, I have searched but not found the exact answer to my query. I found this article which I am very grateful for!

https://dollywiki.co.uk/wiki/Water_Pump_Overhaul

My water pump was spitting water out rather freely from the slot beside the alternstor, therefore I have removed it. Thankfully it came out all in one piece, cage and all. I note Rimmers sell a reconditioning kit (http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-RB7062), like most people I have some good and bad experiences with regards to the quality of things supplied, so has anyone had any experience of the kits or is there an alternative? Peerhaps you could PM me if you don't want to end up in court for libel by posting in public! I will need someone to do the repair for me as I do not have a press or the experience and it needs to be done right. There's a guy on eBay who offers a repair service, maybe someone on here?

I'd be grateful for any advice.

Thanks as always. Chris

The guy who advertises the repair service on ebay is Tony Hart. Very well known in Stag circles.

Doing the repair yourself is fairly straight forward, the most difficult part is removing the impeller. They are know the shatter if treated roughly, particularly the 12 vane version.

If you want to do it yourself, get the parts from James Paddock, they have the best parts at best price.

If you aren't confident the remove the impeller, I would send it to Tony, he does a good job

Yep i used tony hart on my spare water pump and he did a good job, he machines the impellor also which i did not have the patience or inclination to do myself

That's great, thanks, I'll get in touch with Tony.

I always rebuild my water pumps with this

http://ldparts.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=vi ... 13a623ef96

With the impeller machined to accept the ceramic face, there's no more corrosion or pitting and the pump stays sealed, even if the car gets infrequent use - I always use his genuine RHP bearing, that doesn't always come in the "cheaper" repair kits

When I wrote the guide there was another seal type available that had a rubber flange against the impellor
and its own internal rotating part.
I have had good success rates with that seal, but its a while since I had one. It worked with just a light sanding
on the impellor.
The last one I did for a customer needed a new impellor as the old one shattered when pressing it off, so we used
the graphite seal direct on a new impellor.

The LD ceramic solution looks like a good one.....

Jonners

So I sent my Sprint's water pump off to Tony, he messaged me today to say the impeller on the pump is for an early 1850 not a Sprint.
Maybe that's why is leaked... It's a wonder the engine didn't overheat more as it sounds like it's smaller.

Does anyone have a Sprint water pump impeller I could purchase by any chance...?

Thanks!

Early 1850/early Sprint are the same: there was early 6 vane, late 6 vane (both of which had the same part number) and then 12 vane. It will have a smaller fin area, but importantly it will be matched to your cover (hopefully!)

If you change the impeller you also need to change the cover.

Ah, interesting... thank you form this xvivalve, maybe Tony the pump reburb chap is not aware of this, he is Stag expert I believe. My engine is from a '73 car so perhaps it is correct afterall? I shall contact him again to highlight this.

Cheers

I would expect a '73 car to have the smaller vaned pump with relatively taller boss; your cover should have a flat surface at the bottom of the chamfer on the underside rather than the casting going to a point as it does on the later pumps.

Its absolutely crucial that the right cover goes with the impellor.

I think all 12 vanes are the same, but I wonder if fitting the wrong cover to the 6 vane pump was what
wrecked the pump drive and jackshaft on a car I had in earlier this year.....

Maybe Alun or I should get into pump recons....

Jonners

I've been doing recons for years and I'm sure many others have too. They're not that difficult to do. As long as you have a machine shop (or own a lathe) to resurface the impellors.

The early 1850 had a 6 vane water pump, but the impeller had a smaller diameter. The vane were the same angle, so when upgraded to the later 6 vane impeller you don't need to change the pump cover. If you change to a 12 vane you definitely do need to change the cover to match.

The bottom hose connection on the cover for the early 1850s and Sprints was at the stepper angle which meant you could not remove the alternator bolt rearwards, so the bolt was fitted from the front which meant removing the radiator to get the alternator off. What a great plan. I have changed the pump cover on VA6 to the later 6 vane type to solve this issue.

Whether the early Sprint ever had the earlier smaller diameter 6 vane impeller I wouldn't like to say.

My recommendation would be to find the later 6 vane impeller, which could be difficult.

The vanes of the early and later 6 vane impellars are indeed at the same angle, but are at a different relative height. From my comparisons if you try to match an early 6v impellar with a late 6v lid, whilst it will 'fit' there is too great a cavity between the lid chamfer and the vanes and the efficiency of the pump is reduced. As for trying to put an early lid on a late 6v impellar, you can't....unless you have a lot of gaskets!!

I have seem pump covers with obvious signs of damage due to possibly being used with the wrong
impellor or clearance not properly set.

They must have been deaf is all I can say....

Jonners