Mertz Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I have not been able to find a gasket for the water pump plate to water pump. I have made one but should it only have sealant to keep the pump wheel closer to the plate?When I took it apart it did had a thin gasket. BTW the plate was very rusted and rough so I applied bondo to smooth it out so the flow was not restricted or caused cavitation. The pump wheel was slightly hitting the plate without the gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I have always just cut a gasket from whatever paper gasket stock I have at hand that seems about the same thickness as what I found when I took it apart. On the other hand, the 1933/34 water pump housing is different than the 1935 and up so I had no option of buying a nicely manufactured one. But to answer your question, yes there should be a gasket there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A. Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 This is just my opinion and someone more knowledgeable may want to chime in, but you may have created a future problem using bondo on your water pump. Body filler absorbs water which will allow the metal plate behind it to rust. Eventually the body filler will flake off and may plug up your radiator causing over heating problems. If it really needs smoothed out, you may want to consider fiberglass or epoxy. David A. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBNeal Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 Bondo is not for internal use, only for sheet metal repairs. If your pump backing plate is that rough, your impeller may be not far behind. Replacing that backing plate may be an option by fabricating a new one out of similar thickness steel. By comparison, Gates #42554 replacement pumps have zinc-plated backing plates to deal with this issue. additional information - water pumps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mertz Posted April 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 That’s pretty cheap insurance. It does not look like an exact match to mine. I’ll do some more research. Thanks for you help. BTW. I was going to paint over the plate with epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiftyFifty Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Mertz said: That’s pretty cheap insurance. It does not look like an exact match to mine. I’ll do some more research. Thanks for you help. BTW. I was going to paint over the plate with epoxy. The coolant and heat will eat that paint and bondo up in no time, I would clean that all off and either put a layer of JB weld or similar heat and chemical resistant epoxy. Best is a new pump, better is as JBNeal posted, last is my idea, but please don’t run it your way, it could cause a lot of issues Edited April 28, 2021 by NiftyFifty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mertz Posted April 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I’m going with the new pump. The rockauto price is really good compared to others. It didn’t show up in my search under 1940 dodge truck so I wasn’t sure if it was the correct one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.