Unless the relief valve is clogged or otherwise blocked, head internal
head leakage itself will not cause the pump to leak. The seal should
hold more than the relief pressure. If the pump leaks with very little
speed, it is shot. Premature failure can be caused by running dry or
overheating. It is also possible that the bearings failed first. Bearing
failure is usually caused by excessive belt tension. It is also possible
you got a bum pump.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Edward Morrell
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 1:01 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Water Pump Weep Hole advice needed

The archives say that a dripping water pump weep hole is a potential
early
sign of head gasket or other head problems causing excessive pressure in
the cooling system.  My saga is a bit of a twist.  I replaced the heads
on
my '90 Carat with 125K miles with rebuilt AMC's including new valves,
guides, seals, and of course, gaskets.  I have owned the van for 60K
miles,
and the motor is now quieter and stronger than ever.  When I did the
heads,
I replace the water pump.  No particular reason, other than it may have
bee
the original.  I have driven about 8K miles since the work, and there is
now a steady drip from the weep hole on the water pump when the van is
running, probably about 30 drips per minute frequency.  I started
digging
down to the water pump for potential replacement, and what I discovered
is
that coolant drips from the weep hold when I turn the pulley on the pump
by
hand!  It does not drip when stationary.

My question is, does this sound like a defective pump?  When the weep
hole
starts to leak, should one expect it will do so even with hand spinning
of
the pulley?  Has anyone else had a brand new water pump do this?

I am sure I have to get a new pump, but if I really need to start
thinking
about pulling one or both the heads, I want to make sure that is the
right
approach before I give away another weekend!

Thanks in advance,

Ed Morrell
90 Carat 133K
91 Carat 52K
and more......