abhisabs

Hello all, this is my first time posting so please ignore if I unknowingly break any forum rules. I have a 1962 Oldsmobile super 88 which was leaking a little antifreeze through the weep hole (the hole just below the shaft in the pump body). It was a small leak but enough to drip on the crankshaft pulley and cause the power steering belt to slip.

Long story short, I was only able to find two vendors offering waterpumps for my car and I went ahead and ordered it. It is a brand new and not a rebuilt waterpump. It is the correct waterpump for a non A/C 1962 394ci v8 super 88. I compared the new pump to the original one and it is identical including the shaft length.

I went ahead and installed it and let it sit overnight so the sealant cured. I filled it up this afternoon and I could hear a steady stream of coolant leaking. I checked and it's coming out through the weep hole. My understanding is that the coolant should not leak out of the weep hole unless the seal is going out. I also made sure that it is not leaking through any water pump bolts.

This makes me think that pump is faulty. Please correct me if I am wrong or if you have any suggestions. I have a video of the leak but not sure how to upload it.

Thanks.

oldcutlass

I would call the vendor you purchased the pump from, sounds to me its faulty.

Olds64

There shouldn't be any coolant coming out of the weep hole. At the very least it shouldn't be a steady stream. Call the supplier, hopefully they make it right.

abhisabs

Thanks for the reply. This is what I thought. Even the old water pump I am replacing is leaking a few drops at it's worst when I stomp on gas which is negligible compared to the new water pump.

I have contacted the supplier and waiting for his reply. I am sure they will probably refund my money and I would have to ship it back to the supplier. I made sure it was a brand new pump and he assured me that it was leak tested. I am just annoyed I guess because I have to take it off and clean the mating surfaces and redo the whole process again.

Do you know a reliable source for water pumps for the 394 ci engine that I can try? Also, can I upload a video on here so someone more knowledgeable can confirm my doubts?

Thanks again for the help!

coldwar

Cardone seems to be the last one bulk rebuilding standard 555717 factory pumps for 1949-62 Oldsmobile. They are no longer rebuilding large numbers of these pumps, they make runs of them periodically, which sell out at once. Falcon Global and others offer brand new pumps sourced from Asia, which is what I suspect you purchased. I bought one a long time ago to try one, and it has been fine, but more expensive then a rebuild, which vary a lot in price.

When Cardone rebuilds factory pumps, it is difficult to know from where they source the seal and bearing assembly. Might be Asia like everything else, but I don't know. Then only the original casting, hub and impeller then old USA origin. Since the pump is buried behind the pulley in any factory install, the point is moot except to the guy who knows what is in there.

I believe and the passage of time has proven the bearing assembly in the 555717 1949-62 water pump to be not really wide enough to give long service with the belt(s) tight enough to prevent belt squeal in any case. If you really tighten the belts like people want to do today, the water pump is known to fail pretty quickly, said another way. GM made a pump with a double wide bearing for this engine for this exact reason, used on the 1958-59 GMC truck with 370 (371) Oldsmobile engine. GM offered Kent-Moore year specific tooling to use a torque wrench attached to the accesories to tighten belts to a factory, uniform spec to prevent over tightening in the dealer service setting. The service manual for your year will have these specs.

It isn't worth trying to track one of those truck pumps down, just make sure you don't tighten the belts to any extreme and a new or properly rebuilt water pump will provide long service.

abhisabs

Thanks for the reply.

You are right, I ordered one of the brand new replacement pump for my vehicle manufactured in Asia. I have been trying to source the Cardone 58-288 water pump which cross references to 555717 without any luck. I have no other choice but to give another pump from the same vendor a try as I cannot source the water pump from any other manufacturer. The pictures of the brand new water pump from both the vendors are identical which may suggest that they were sourced from the same manufacturer. The rate at which it was losing coolant from the weep hole makes me believe that there was something seriously wrong in the way these pumps were manufactured. Maybe a completely wrong bearing/seal, who knows.

And I completely agree with you on the belt tension. I think my original pump failed due to over-tightening of the belt by the previous owner. It was tighter than the two other modern cars I own. I will pay attention to not over-tighten the belt if and when I find a working water pump

As of now I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that the replacement pump from the vendor is not defective as well. It is hard to have the car parked for weeks when the weather is so nice

I will keep everyone updated and thanks again for the great information.

coldwar

Summit, Amazon, CariD and everyone else was anticipating 58-288 stock to arrive this week 8/11. Now today Summit is saying October - We may have reached the end of the line on 555717 rebuilds. :-[

Don R.

I didn't know this problem existed to this degree. Aren't there suppliers out there that rebuild water pumps individually to order? I know this market exists for prewar cars, I've never researched it but would be surprised to find no one does it.

coldwar

Yes - As long as the rebuild material is available. If anything interchanges for the bearing assy, I'm not aware of it. It's easy to press out and in the new assy and seal, and press off the hub and impeller which might take a little heat to get it off. A guy could clean the raw casting with a molasses bath and blast clean-up. Glad I bought GM old stock rebuild kits over the years when I saw them.

Or a guy could just spend about double the money of a rebuild and buy one of the Falcon new builds. They do work.

abhisabs

I did buy the new build pump that I was hoping would work .It looked really well built and definitely looked brand new. Both the pump and gasket were packed very nicely too and had no visible signs of damage.

The seller asked for the video of the leak and will ship a replacement pump out. I just hope the whole rebuild lot was not affected and only the pump I received was affected.

Can anyone share contact information of a reputed re-builder in case the second pump does not work as well?

abhisabs

Here is the video of the leak. Can someone look at it and confirm my doubt.

oldcutlass

Its faulty

coldwar

"....Here is the video of the leak. Can someone look at it and confirm my doubt...."

Yeah it's defective, get another. No big deal, it happens with any rebuild or new build. I think if you distort the ceramic seal once, that's it, it will leak. A careless install or defective part either way. BTW remember much wetter antifreeze leaks through much smaller openings then water, so if it is dripping water as seen in the video, it will GUSH coolant, possibly under cap rated pressure. A huge mess in the engine compartment with the pulleys and belts spraying it around while running.

Falcon's current auction on ebay which one assumes is only a portion of the sale of these pumps, is at 247 sold today, so they can't be all bad. The seller feedback seen is good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Water-Pu...pTJxSL&vxp=mtr

EDIT: $20 Less expensive today on Amazon:



Just make sure you don't over tighten the belt. Best of luck ~

coldwar

Update - Got a notice today from Summit canceling my long standing back order for Cardone 58-288 remanned Oldsmobile 555717 1949-62 water pumps. Cardone has ceased rebuilding them, 'NLA'. It's asia or nothing now.

steverw

Theres a place in Lubbock, Texas, O&G Waterpump rebuilding on Ave. A. Im sorry i dont know their phone number, but it should be available through directory assistance. They rebuilt an original pump that was on my 67 for $180, which i thought was pricey but its done. Its now just a spare so not tested. I would contact them, im from Lubbock and can tell you they have been there doing this for many years. I had pumps rebuilt there for my Vette in the 80's. They also put a new high flow impeller on the pump.
If you cant get their number let me know, ill have my son look it up.
Steve

coldwar

Update:

Looks like Cardone is again rebuilding 1949-62 water pumps. Available now from many online sources including CO site sponsor CarID, Amazon, J C Whitney, etc. Search Cardone 58-288. Comparable or less then the cost of a reproduction.