removing a broken water pump impeller hub

[Rick Kirchner]

Well I could sure use the thoughts from the collective brain trust here.

I purchased a NOS pinto water pump. Had an old one from a junkyard motor to practice prepping it. managed to remove the fan flange and heater port tube from both, successfully tap the heater port on both, and remove the impeller from the junkyard pump. When I tried to remove the impeller from the NOS pump, things started to go sideways. The impeller just broke in half.

I tried removing the rest of the impeller so that I might get a better grab on it with my puller, no luck.

Tried to weld a nut to it - impeller hub is cast iron though. Interestingly, weld stuck to both the cast iron and the nut, but both snapped when I inserted a bolt to try and extract the hub.

Thought about tapping the center of the hub - but it's .650, not really close to anything. I could bore it out to fit a 3/8? NPT pipe plug, and then bore and tap that for a bolt, but that's all I can come up with.

Boring likely to be a bit of a bitch, all I can really do is grab the shaft in the lathe and then use a stop to keep the pump body from rotating while I attempt to bore out the hub. Would have to use a boring bar or a mill as the pocket isn't real deep in the first place.

Thoughts? Tig braze with some bronze rod? Trying not to goober up the seals obviously.

Trying to figure out how to delete some pics so I have enough space to add a couple here.

[DaveW]

Click on "settings" at upper right on the forum page

On the LH side, scroll down to and click on "attachments" - should be obvious from there.

[Rick Kirchner]

What's interesting is that the dialog box that shows up to insert attachments has far more pictures in it than the interface you just described. And I don't think the number of pictures shown takes up the amount of storage I've used. I think there's a ghost in the machine somewhere.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

It's been a few years since I looked at one.....

Can you press the shaft/impeller out from the front and then press the impeller off the shaft?
It's a bronze bushing, right?

[jrh3]

Maybe grind the cast iron thin over the shaft. Fracture it with a cold chisel. Looks like you’re almost there.

[DaveW]

What's interesting is that the dialog box that shows up to insert attachments has far more pictures in it than the interface you just described. And I don't think the number of pictures shown takes up the amount of storage I've used. I think there's a ghost in the machine somewhere.

Mine does that also - a lot of the photos that show up have actually been deleted, some of them years ago. I agree there's something amiss with the attachment function.

However, when I delete stuff, the green/red bar showing the amount of storage I have used and have left seems accurate.

[Rick Kirchner]

It's been a few years since I looked at one.....

Can you press the shaft/impeller out from the front and then press the impeller off the shaft?
It's a bronze bushing, right?

I'm going to have to play around with the "old" one some more.

Plans were to get a CNC impeller from Racemate, like my current engine. Went down to San Diego last week, old guy now runs the business out of his house, stopped returning my calls a couple of days before I was to show up, went there, nobody home, voicemail is full. I have a sneaking suspicion he's either dead or in the hospital.

Looking at the impeller from a 2.3 that Esslinger sells.

[tstrong]

Well I could sure use the thoughts from the collective brain trust here.

I purchased a NOS pinto water pump. Had an old one from a junkyard motor to practice prepping it. managed to remove the fan flange and heater port tube from both, successfully tap the heater port on both, and remove the impeller from the junkyard pump. When I tried to remove the impeller from the NOS pump, things started to go sideways. The impeller just broke in half.

I tried removing the rest of the impeller so that I might get a better grab on it with my puller, no luck.

Tried to weld a nut to it - impeller hub is cast iron though. Interestingly, weld stuck to both the cast iron and the nut, but both snapped when I inserted a bolt to try and extract the hub.

Thought about tapping the center of the hub - but it's .650, not really close to anything. I could bore it out to fit a 3/8? NPT pipe plug, and then bore and tap that for a bolt, but that's all I can come up with.

Boring likely to be a bit of a bitch, all I can really do is grab the shaft in the lathe and then use a stop to keep the pump body from rotating while I attempt to bore out the hub. Would have to use a boring bar or a mill as the pocket isn't real deep in the first place.

Thoughts? Tig braze with some bronze rod? Trying not to goober up the seals obviously.

Trying to figure out how to delete some pics so I have enough space to add a couple here.

Rick, dont use a puller on the impeller. Instead use a press on the shaft to push the bearing cartridge out the front of the housing. The impeller will bottom on the housing and the. The shaft will push out of it. If the impeller has any sharp edges you can put some feeler gauges between the impeller and housing when you press it to protect the housing surface. Todd

[Rick Kirchner]

Rick, dont use a puller on the impeller. Instead use a press on the shaft to push the bearing cartridge out the front of the housing. The impeller will bottom on the housing and the. The shaft will push out of it. If the impeller has any sharp edges you can put some feeler gauges between the impeller and housing when you press it to protect the housing surface. Todd

Monday I tried this but supported the bearing, and it wouldn't move. This morning I had the idea that I need to machine a tube to just support the housing so the bearing can exit if it wants to. Still working on the one from the junkyard engine just so I don't goober up the new one.

[tstrong]

Monday I tried this but supported the bearing, and it wouldn't move. This morning I had the idea that I need to machine a tube to just support the housing so the bearing can exit if it wants to. Still working on the one from the junkyard engine just so I don't goober up the new one.

yes, need to support housing, not bearing.

[Rick Kirchner]

well, as soon as I get a functional Mac back from the shop I'll post some pics of what a water pump looks like disassembled.

But the bad news is that it was the junkyard pump that came apart easily - probably because the impeller was already off. Even with considerable heat, he new one resists with all its might. Seems like I probably need hydraulics to get this done, and I wonder what the inside seal will look like when finished....