Water pump leaking

rallymadV70 · Post by **rallymadV70** » 21 May 2012, 14:49

Hi people,

I have not long replaced my water pump while doing the timing belt, and even though the gasket and edges were clean, grease free, dry, and all of the old gasket was removed, it has just started p#$sing out over the driveway

..., it was checked before the auxillery belt went back on and was fine when idling, but after a drive over a hill the pressure must have built up and its found a way out.

After having similar problems like this in the past, I did put a 'very slight' amount of instant gasket on before fitting, left it to cure, and torqued the bolts with a torque wrench. I also used the new bolts supplied with the pump.

Has any one else had this issue before, have I been daft somewhere along the job, or does anyone know an easier fix than having to remove the damn timing belt again to re-seat - could I try torquing the bolts a little more than Volvo suggest and see if that helps or try using the old bolts instead which seem much better quality than the new ones provided with the pump or will I have to get up to my armpits in timing belts and tensioners again????

Any help, advice or pointers all gratefully received

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 21 May 2012, 15:51

Is there any chance the gasket shifted while you were putting the new pump in place? I always have trouble with the gasket wanting to move. I use a thin film of gasket sealer to hold the new gasket to the block and then wrestle the pump into place. I can usually see the gasket (at least three sides of it) and both locater pins before I go ahead and fully push the pump in place.

...Lee

rallymadV70 · Post by **rallymadV70** » 21 May 2012, 16:12

I used that very same method, the gasket was lined up with the 3 studs and a light smear of instant gasket to hold in place - saying that, I couldn't see much when placing the pump over the top, so it may have shifted., but then the bolts threaded in nicely, usually you can tell when its moved cos its a 'pita' to get the bolts in.

The garage I was using was dubious about the torque setting though, 15lb/ft - is that correct, or worth a 'tweek' a little further before ripping it out and starting again? Yes, I did undo the torque wrench all the way before winding it up!

rallymadV70 · Post by **rallymadV70** » 22 May 2012, 12:45

Yay - Ive sussed it! After having a look in the UK Autodata book, the recommended torque setting for the water pump is 25lb/ft NOT 15 as written in the timing belt PDF. This was probably a typo, but could be worth correcting in case someone else is as OCD over their torque wrench settings like I am!! lol!

After redlining in every gear while going up a 1-10 hill to put it under as much pressure as I could, I have returned home with a totally dry engine bay, whoop, job done!

Post by **jblackburn** » 22 May 2012, 13:14

I will correct that and re-export the PDF; thanks for catching that!

rallymadV70 · Post by **rallymadV70** » 22 May 2012, 13:22

No worries, its nice to have given a little help back after how much help you guys on here have given me!

Post by **JimBee** » 22 May 2012, 19:23

When I replaced the water pump on my '93 850 last August, I cleaned up the block as well as I could, then applied some water pump variety gasket sealer to the pump flange and stuck the gasket on there, then let it set up a while (can't remember how long).
Before applying, I smeared some sealer on the other side of the gasket and slid it into place. No problem. Then I hand tightened the screws, hand-torqued them to Ozark Lee's "gutentight" spec's (twice around) and left it overnight to set up. Before I put it all back together, I put my wrench on those screws and discovered they were not snug anymore, so one final time I hand torqued them. It has never leaked a drop.

Post by **jblackburn** » 22 May 2012, 21:22

I've never used a torque wrench on anything. That "seems tight enough" method has always worked for me - but 15 just doesn't seem tight enough at all.

In any case, that should be corrected for future users. Thanks for pointing it out!

Post by **Matty Moo** » 23 May 2012, 00:39

To me, the water pump is the part I despise the most when doing a timing belt service. You can't see in there and sometimes the plastic shroud gets in my way. The last one I did, which was #7, was the first one where I had zero problem with the pump and gasket... It just fell right into place.

Post by **rspi** » 23 May 2012, 09:07

I had to retorque pump bolts on a 960 once. I'm sure I exceeded torque values on that one. Drip drip.