water pump repair problems

[Breech]

Ah, yet another bump in the road on my way to having the perfect vehicle. I replaced my water pump earlier today on my 78 Cherokee Chief and an unexpected side effect occured. I have replaced several water pumps before, never on a jeep, but I have never had this kind of problem. After completing the job (took me forever) I started my rig and things seemed to be going fine. At idle everything was ok, but when I gave it a little gas there was a vibration in the motor. It felt as if something was out of balance. I checked my fan and pulleys, but everything appeared to be nice and tight. I was wondering if it may be the bearing inside of the water pump. It is new, not rebuilt, so the bearing may need some break in time. I wasn't sure if this could cause vibration in the motor though. Any helpful insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

[243]

Welcome to IFSJ...

The bearing will not require break-in. You can check for a bad bearing by grabbing the fan at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock and twisting the shaft side to side. The only movement you may see is actually the bending of the fan blades, the shaft should not move.

Did you feel the vibration while inside the vehicle or out?

Did you look at the pulleys, fan and belts while the motor was running?

[Breech]

Problem solved. My friend installed the fan ever so slightly crooked. I just pulled it and put it back on. Smooth as silk now. Thanks GearHead.

[wn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Breech:
Problem solved. My friend installed the fan ever so slightly crooked. I just pulled it and put it back on. Smooth as silk now. Thanks GearHead.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Breech:

I need to replace my water pump on my 75 chero. How long did it take you and do you have any sage advise?

[Ralph]

I just replaced the water pump, radiator, and thermostat on my J10 this past Sunday. The water pump alone is about a 4-hour job.

You first remove the fan, then loosen the brackets for the power steering pump and alternator, remove the drive belts, then the drive pully on the water pump, then the bolts holding the A/C compressor in place. It wasn't necessary to remove any of those components, just had to get them out of the way.

Also remember to remove the studs from the old pump and install them into your new/reman pump (the studs that hold the pulley and fan in place).

[wn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ralph:
I just replaced the water pump, radiator, and thermostat on my J10 this past Sunday. The water pump alone is about a 4-hour job.

You first remove the fan, then loosen the brackets for the power steering pump and alternator, remove the drive belts, then the drive pully on the water pump, then the bolts holding the A/C compressor in place. It wasn't necessary to remove any of those components, just had to get them out of the way.

Also remember to remove the studs from the old pump and install them into your new/reman pump (the studs that hold the pulley and fan in place).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the info. The labor book at my mechanic's says its a 2 hour job....I figured 2 to 3 times that for me to do it.

[Breech]

Sorry wn, just got your message. It took a full day to do my water pump. With all of the complications that seem to occur and without all of the proper tools of course. But that's all part of the fun smile.gif The only advice that I could give you is to make sure that you don't try to skip any steps. Short cuts may look good, but in the end it could come back on you. I pulled my radiator and all of that good stuff. Also, make sure that you notice how the brackets for all of your pumps and pulleys and such go back together. I had an extra bracket left over at the end and I still can't find where it went. Well, good luck to ya if this hasn't already come too late.

[wn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Breech:
Sorry wn, just got your message. It took a full day to do my water pump. With all of the complications that seem to occur and without all of the proper tools of course. But that's all part of the fun smile.gif The only advice that I could give you is to make sure that you don't try to skip any steps. Short cuts may look good, but in the end it could come back on you. I pulled my radiator and all of that good stuff. Also, make sure that you notice how the brackets for all of your pumps and pulleys and such go back together. I had an extra bracket left over at the end and I still can't find where it went. Well, good luck to ya if this hasn't already come too late.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Thanks, your post is not too late. It's been a little frigid outside to do any work and this is an outside job for me. It appears to be a pretty straight forward job but tedious. I have removed and replaced the radiator on my J-10 without any problems but I have never gotten into the water pump before. So, everyone is saying the radiator must come out first to get to the fan, etc?