Chev water pump kits

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

As you all know , the Chev water pump uses a sealed bearing . Many other makes use a similar bearing , it's usually the diameter and length of the shafts each end that vary .

Old stock rebuild kits are often bought , but they have been sitting on a shelf for 50 or more years and the grease inside is usually dried up , you can feel and hear that dry rumbling sound as you turn the bearing .

Is there any way of re-packing the bearing with new grease ?

Somebody suggested sitting it in a container full of grease and heating up the whole thing til the grease melts into the bearing .

Mike

Mike ..
If heat will put the grease IN the bearing...What do you think will happen to the grease in the water pump bearing when it is working in cooling fluid that is under pressure and OVER the boiling point of water..say 230-240F..???
Besides .that is high temp grease but not that high..
You would probably need 500F at least to get the grease liquid and it would probably be breaking down by the time it was ready to flow..


In the mean time while you are thinking about it,pass by your local bearing shop and pick up a grease needle fitting...The proper way to inject new grease into a sealed bearing..
The old grease won't hurt it and the new grease will be minimul but will get the job done.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Make sure you insert the injector needle on the side that's not in the water. On some sealed bearings you can't get the needle in and have to drill a hole in the tin shield then put a spot of silicone on the hole when you're done.
I've used the boiling grease trick before too on different bearings and it seems to work. On a water pump bearing I'd use a silicone based grease as water doesn't affect it.