470 water pump seals...anyone thought of grease?

[dieselram94]

Hi, having sold a boat with a 470 last week I purchased another one with a 470 Saturday. It has a very slow drip from weep hole. Let me just say I have all parts to fix except the speedi sleeves. And I am going to fix it properly...
However I was thinking about this set up and got to thinking, has anyone tried installing a grease fitting into the weep hole and gently filling with grease? Maybe kinda create a "stuffing box" in a sense? Seems to me like it would work well as long as someone didn't go crazy with the amount of grease pumped in but also keeping up with a pump every so often?

Again I am going to fix it correctly, I'm just thinking out loud here...

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... That might stop the water from comin' Out, but won't stop the water from gettin' into the oil,.....

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah, blocking the weep hole is a BAD idea! Coolant leaking out of the weep hole is a GOOD thing! There is a reason for the TWO seals. The weep hole drains the space between the seals, so that when the coolant under high pressure is forced past a failing front seal, it simply leaks out of the weep hole. Since the coolant is no longer under pressure the second seal (even if worn) effectively blocks the coolant from the crankcase. If you plug the weep hole any coolant that leaks past the front seal would still be under pressure and eventually be forced past the second seal into the crankcase, with no leaking coolant as an indication of a failing seal.

 

[dieselram94]

These are excellent points. I was just thinking out loud anyways.
Is it common when doing this job to have any bolts frozen into the aluminum block?

 

[stonyloam]

I did not have ant taking the bolts OUT, however I did manage to crack a cover putting them back IN! If they are rusty a little PB Blaster beforehand couldn't hurt. Be careful and use a good torque wrench on the bolts when you put the cover back on. Good luck!

 

[dieselram94]

Thanks stonyloam! As soon as I get the gimbal bearing changed and the carburation issues solved I'm going to tackle this pump. I don't think it's going to be too bad to fix.

Hopefully next week I'll be ready to deal with the pump...