Water pump cover plate stuck

Iceni John · August 03, 2016, 07:39:14 AM

Quote from: Geoff on August 03, 2016, 07:23:02 AM
I seem to remember holes in the nubs. If not, I welded vice grips to a nut that fits my slide hammer.

--Geoff

Each nub has a small hole probably about 1/8" diameter or less, not very deep, and definitely not threaded. Tonight I'll resume my Brute-Force-And-Subtlety approach, using some CLR and a rubber mallet and block of wood. The only reason I don't want to break it is to avoid having to make a trip out to Valley Power to get another one!

Thanks, John

luvrbus · August 03, 2016, 07:45:51 AM

Quote from: Iceni John on August 03, 2016, 07:39:14 AM
Each nub has a small hole probably about 1/8" diameter or less, not very deep, and definitely not threaded. Tonight I'll resume my Brute-Force-And-Subtlety approach, using some CLR and a rubber mallet and block of wood. The only reason I don't want to break it is to avoid having to make a trip out to Valley Power to get another one!

Thanks, John

I never ran across 1 that hard to remove before,I have no idea what that cover would cost but I do know DD charges 12 bucks for the o-ring

TomC · August 03, 2016, 07:46:39 AM

How much is a rebuilt water pump?

Iceni John · August 03, 2016, 07:49:29 AM

Quote from: Boomer on August 02, 2016, 05:01:29 PM
John, do you know what became of the ex Grand Teton Crown tour bus, the blue one that Glenn Torrey had? Is it still there, or? Sorry for the off topic.

Yes, the Teton tour is safe and sound at a friend's place, except it has a broken windshield - apparently he had a stash of spare curved Crown windshields so it may not be as bad as it seems to replace it. He has another similar tour Crown that was converted into an RV (sort of), and he also has the high-level 3-axle Atomic from Idaho that's still in original condition. The Teton and the Atomic are both gorgeous - I hope they find a good home. The last I heard was that his widow is still sorting out his estate, so it may be a while until she puts them up for sale.

John

Boomer · August 03, 2016, 12:27:02 PM

OK, thank you. I did not find out about the auction at Teton a few years back until it was too late. Maybe after a while I could contact his widow? Those were really beautiful buses when they came out of service, only ran in the summer and warehoused in the winter with the coolant drained.

chessie4905 · August 03, 2016, 03:34:32 PM

You could drill out the holes in the nubs, thread them, pull plate with bolts, install set screws with sealant into the holes.

Iceni John · August 03, 2016, 03:54:28 PM

Quote from: chessie4905 on August 03, 2016, 03:34:32 PM
You could drill out the holes in the nubs, thread them, pull plate with bolts, install set screws with sealant into the holes.

I could, or I could just whack the heck out of it tonight with furious abandon until either it or I break apart. I WILL NOT be defeated by some crummy piece of plastic! Man is a tool-using animal, so I'll use my opposable thumbs and simian intelligence to show it who's boss. Yeah!

I also got the radiator's tanks and coolant surge tank back from the powder-coater today, so now I've got 88 bolts to get uniformly tightened. The new fan and fan motor are arriving tomorrow - guess what I'll be doing all this weekend. Getting the old fan off the old motor shaft last night was "interesting" - with a gear puller tightened as much as I dare tighten anything made in Taiwan, it still wouldn't budge, so I put some gentle heat onto it and stood well back. After a minute or so there was a loud bang and the fan hub and gear puller flew off several feet. That's when working on buses is rewarding.

Onward and upward.

John

chessie4905 · August 04, 2016, 04:32:29 AM

Maybe spraying the center of the cover with freon would shrink it enough to come off.

chessie4905 · August 04, 2016, 04:40:06 AM

Maybe spraying the center of the cover with freon would shrink it enough to come off.

Iceni John · August 04, 2016, 07:53:26 AM

Done it! I defeated it by good ol' guile and cunning - I pretended I was working on something else, then I suddenly grabbed one of the lugs with a locking plier and pulled, just like a medieval dentist extracting teeth. I obviously caught it by surprise, and the cover popped right off.

The red O-ring inside looks OK, so I'll clean it and reuse it. As far as I can tell, the impeller also looks OK, but I did snug down its nut slightly tighter - I don't want it trunting* on me down the road. All's good, I hope, so I'll put everything back with some silicone grease on the O-ring. Another job crossed off my list.

Thanks everyone, John

* when a nut backs completely off, as happened to Ol Trunt's water pump.

luvrbus · August 04, 2016, 08:02:41 AM

I was never able to reuse the o-ring John a leak always popped up later and I had to change it good luck on that one

Iceni John · August 04, 2016, 08:21:00 AM

OK, so a trip to Valley Power is in my future! Too bad - I hate having to drive 80 miles to buy an O-ring. Maybe ABC Bus just down the road from here has them? However, the last few times I've been there to ask about parts, they have nothing anymore for 2-strokes.

Will a generic black O-ring not survive the temperature? I can get one of them locally.

Thanks, John

luvrbus · August 04, 2016, 09:30:56 AM

Just call PC Industries in WY 877-855-4724 tell him drop you a 5101160 0-ring in the mail they only cost $2.63 plus mailing there

Iceni John · August 04, 2016, 12:16:45 PM

Great, will do! Thanks so much for all your help and good advice. You're the best!

John