tractor slurry pump quote

One year old water pump weeping already

Water Pump Issue

I got a new small block crate engine last year and installed a new Edelbrock water pump. It's been about 1 year and 2000 miles and I just noticed a drop of antifreeze under the car and traced it back to the weep hole. I guess this means it's going bad already? If so any suggestions on a new one? I thought with the new engine I would get a high performance water pump but maybe I am better with just a factory type pump. The water pump on my previous 327 was over 20 years old and never leaked.

Driving with a Weeping Pump

Also, I assume it's fairly safe to drive it a little more before winter as long as it doesn't start leaking too bad. So far I only noticed a drop under the car and could see the antifreeze stain with a UV light back to the weep hole.

Possible Solutions and Brands

Assuming no warranty....you can rebuild it or replace it. It's leaking....you said so.. fix it.

Go Stewart next time.

It's OK to drive. A symptom of weeping WP can be steering gets harder as belt slips when coolant gets on it if it starts leaking more but otherwise not a problem. Don't know anything about Eddy WP, I just have a HD one from Rock Auto

I was about to post about the last two water pumps I've installed. Both Gates my ... go-to brand. At about 6 mos old they started whining like a scalded cat. But they don't leak. Has Gates started using Chinese-ium now?

The last gates pump I used I got about 5K miles out of before it started leaking.

I put an advance on my SS Chevelle for $20 last spring and it is fine, with a lifetime warranty, with my discount

Edelbrock makes a seal kit, but it shows "out of stock" right now.

Summit has that seal kit in stock. It looks like it contains the back plate gasket and an o ring. Is this all that is needed to fix it from weeping? I have never taken a water pump apart before but it looks strait forward if this is all there is.

Usually if it's weeping it's the snout bearing. Just get another pump. Causes could include the belt being too tight .

Thanks, after spending more on what I expected to be a high quality water pump I may just get a regular stock type pump. For about $40 I can get a Duralast or Carquest water pump with a limited lifetime warranty. Any opinion on either of these or are they pretty much the same?

That’s about right for an Edelbrock water pump. Mine leaked from the weep hole as well, less than a year after I installed it. I installed a heavy duty water pump from Advanced Auto with a lifetime warranty, and it cost a tenth of the price. It works just as well, if not better, because it doesn’t leak! Your leak is coming from the shaft seal, which is conveniently not included in the seal kit. The Edelbrock aluminum water pumps are pretty, that’s it.

I'm not one for voo doo additives... but my Edelbrock pump started to weep say maybe 10 years ago. Called their tech line and was suggested to put Red Line water wetter in the coolant. Supposedly this stuff has a lubricant in it that will help the seal. I did this and it hasn't weeped since.

If you just got it, it should be under warranty. Send it back and install the new one or go with a different brand and get rid of it. Try water wetter additive like the other poster mentioned and see if it helps. I like running a gano or coolant filter in the return line from the t-stat to see what junk is coming out of the engine. That would at least tell you if maybe you have too much debris in the coolant system that can tear up those seals. If you didnt flush the original radiator before the new engine, maybe there was junk or bad coolant in there that caused a problem? Id check the water pump belt and see if its not over tightened and make sure everything is lined up. If youre running a fan still and its not on right it can ruin that bearing/seal. I had a leaking weep hole a while ago, wasnt hard to replace the pump. Make sure its not the bolt holes leaking, on a 350, there are at least 1 or 2 water pump mount bolt holes that go straight to the coolant, if the torque isnt right, gaskets are jacked up or there was no sealant put on the bolt threads, that would leak also.

I checked with Summit and the warranty is 90 days so it's too late to return. It has a new Griffin radiator and was recently totally flushed. I checked the belts and they don't seem too tight to me but I may loosen them a bit and see what happens. I think my fan is fine, it's the same fan I have had for over 20 years on my previous engine. I'll try the water wetter and see if anything changes and if not I'll get a less expensive one and replace it this winter.

You're overthinking this. Brand new parts fail on a daily basis on every level, but yours is not new. Failed? Yes...bummer....yes.

Just change it and throw that one away.

Be glad all it's doing is leaking...

OP were you running a clutch fan?

He was. Look close at his first picture. Uff. That sucks man.

Wow! That is the worst water pump failure that I’ve ever seen. I’m pissed for you.

Wow! that's scary. I don't have a clutch fan. I just have a spacer between the pump and the fan. I think it fits tightly but I will check, thanks!

One word: Stewart

Yup. Said that in post #3.

I see an Aluminum and a Cast Iron EMP/Stewart water pump at Summit. Is one better than the other? Both have reviews saying they need some grinding to fit and one has a review that it started weeping after a couple months.

I had a cast iron one on a BBC and it was 9 years and counting. They are well made with large bearings and thick flanges. I wouldn’t be afraid of the aluminum one. Don’t worry about the one off reviews. No ”grinding” required. Fit like factory. They are also high flow without killing hp.

I tried to get the front of my car as light as I could afford. I have the aluminum Edelbrock victor pump on mine. Made in USA. I know Stewart is suppose to be good. If I ever replace, I’ll get an aluminum one from them. As long as it’s made in USA. I try not to support a future enemy if I can reasonably avoid it.

I was leaning towards just getting a $40 one at autozone but now I am considering either the Aluminum or Cast Iron EMP/Stewart water pump. The Aluminum pump is about half the price that I paid for the Edelbrock. The Iron one is even less. I may go with the Aluminum one so I don't have to paint it.

I have the aluminum one on my engine. It weighs 4 lbs less that a stock cast iron pump if that makes any difference to you.

I have a commercial account at multiple suppliers myself., the more we spend, the more the discount. the industrial SnapOn account is real nice. Way better than the truck. but, does it really make sense if you order 1 or two parts a year to establish a commercial account ? no, it does not.

How is the 427 sbc you got from NYES holding up. I noticed you bought a crate motor from an earlier post. I'm in the market for one as well and have narrowed it down to CNC and NYES. Do you have the cam specs for the smaller cam they used which gave you more vacuum ?

Ran into a water pump leak yesterday. Stewart pump and Blue Print block. The block doesn't have a bypass hole on the passenger side like a factory block. The Stewart pump has a screw in plug in the bypass hole. The plug was raised just enough to not let the pump seal to the block. Didn't look raised up. y out could feel it when scraping the surface of the pump with a razor blade. The leak was in the same general area as the OP's picture. Just figured I would meantion it so others would check before assembly. My bone head mistake.

Can I get a picture or 2 of that?