kbuhagiar

I installed a brand new water pump (not rebuilt) on my 327; less than 50 miles on it. Developed a squeak in the front, sounds suspiciously like a water pump bearing. I grasped the fan assembly and, to my dismay, detected a slight amount of play in the bearing. No leakage from the weep hole.

Should a brand new water pump have any bearing play?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I don't have a fan clutch - I have a fan spacer with the stock steel fan.

67L36Driver

No.

What you are feeling possibly is play in the fan clutch bearing.

kbuhagiar

I do not have a fan clutch - I have the stock steel fan mounted to a spacer.

MikeM

Loosen the tension on the belt(s) and check for play again. The bearing will usually fail first and then the seal goes away.

kbuhagiar

Thanks, MikeM, I guess my question was rhetorical; I'm just a tad peeved that a brand new water pump with less than 50 miles on it (and no history of abuse) is on the verge of failure.

So, assuming that I can no longer depend on my local Napa auto parts outlet to deliver a quality water pump, who should I turn to for a replacement that will last, oh, I don't know, a little longer than fifty miles?

Seriously, any recommendations/sources for a better-quality water pump?

Thanks again.

midyearvette

take it back to napa...they will swap it out......

MikeM

All I can tell you is I have been buying parts from NAPA for close to 50 years. I can honestly say I've never returned a part to NAPA for being defective.

In order to compete with other auto parts outlets on price, they do have an economy line on some things.

wfo76

Won't this rob a lot of power and put undue strain on the pump?

Thought the stock fan was designed to be used with a clutch?

JohnZ

Does the fan look like the photo below? You must be using a "fan clutch eliminator". If so, the pilot protruding from the water pump hub MUST be the same diameter as the pilot hole in the back of the "eliminator"; if it isn't, the fan will be off-center and that's guaranteed to tear up the water pump bearing.

kbuhagiar

John,

My fan is identical.

And yes, I am using a "fan clutch eliminator" purchased from Corvette Central. I will check the fit of the pilot hole to water pump hub this weekend.

Assuming that the fit is correct, are there any detrimental long-term effects from using the fan clutch eliminator?

Thanks to all.

MikeM

Some of your older 265 and 283 passenger engines with AC and some of the truck engines pulled that much fan blade and more using the same design water pump. That was before fan clutches were used.

One main killer of pump bearings is belt tension. Make sure you're not running the belt too tight. The book aside, I set my belt tension as loose as I can without the belt slipping and I don't have pump problems.