Leakless water pump vs Stock.

[Y-Blockhead]

I'm rebuilding a water pump to have for a spare and I am curious which is preferred, Leakless or Stock?

The price for the kits are about the same but it occurred to me IF a leakless water pump started leaking, the only way to repair would be with another kit. Whereas a stock type water pump you could tighten the packing nut or add more packing. This would be a huge advantage 'out on the road'.

I decided to go with the stock configuration. What are your opinions?

Thanks

[Mike V. Florida]

The stock one need a little more maintenance then the leakless but you will read here that the leakless ones have leaked. As for me, since they both look alike I go with leakless.

[CarlG]

I have a James Rupert Leakless pump. 6+ years and still going strong -- no leaks.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Have original WP housing with leakless WP parts I installed from Brattons ..... No leaks.

Original types worked well for years.

Installing what makes you feel more comfortable is what is most important in my opinion.

[Synchro909]

Some types of leakless pumps have the gland and packing as well as the lip seal. These can be tightened and have extra packing added just like the originals. As for longevity, I don't think one is better than the other. The limiting factor is the stainless shafts one has to use these days. For some reason, everybody has shunned the original steel shafts for stainless but they are TOO SOFT. The lip seals wear a groove in them and start leaking and the gland packing wears the shaft too and you're in the same boat. It is going to happen whenever you have something rubbing on those shafts. I have done away with that in a pump for each of my cars by using ball bearings and a more modern carbon seal. I'm told by those who should know, like a guy who has been building water pumps for decades that they should last enough years that I will never have to worry about them again.

[updraught]

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A recent thread somewhat came to the conclusion that the grease in the original type pump will reach melting point and get washed into the radiator.

[Tom Wesenberg]

My stock pump is leakless, so it's the best of both worlds.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by CarlG

I have a James Rupert Leakless pump. 6+ years and still going strong -- no leaks.

Times 2 on the extreme Rupert pumps
http://leaklessapumps.com/extreme.htm

[Zener424]

I installed a James Rupert Leakless pump a year ago. So far, so good. I keep the original as a spare for long trips, just in case.

[31 Model A]

Originally Posted by CarlG

I have a James Rupert Leakless pump. 6+ years and still going strong -- no leaks.

+1 here too

[Kurt in NJ]

mu stock pump has been leaks less and less, at first I had to adjust the packing often, now havn't needed it for years----the pump was made of used parts leftover from making a leakless conversion----the guy I got the parts from has replaced the leakless 3 times and I am still using the original parts untouched in my car--25 years

[Rex_A_Lott]

I've had them both, I think you made the right decision, for the right reason.
I will say that if somewhere down the road you decide to give your radiator the vinegar treatment, it will also eat the grease out of the pump, so be sure and keep an eye on that and grease it up good. Good Luck.

[Tom Wesenberg]

The key to long life on any pump is to keep a good clean water/antifreeze solution in the engine, and not rusty water.

When we had the 4 day outing a couple weeks ago I noticed one car was leaving a pool of rusty water at each stop. Her upper radiator inlet needed to be soldered on the bottom side, as it has a fairly good leak. This would be an easy fix with the radiator removed, and hopefully antifreeze will be added after the fix.

[mantta]

I have a leakless pump on my car that I converted myself. It has been on the car for 12 years, no problems yet.

[Synchro909]

As I see it, it is not a matter of how long a pump has been fitted but how many miles it has done. Someone who drives maybe 500 miles a year will get many years out of a pump but someone like me who drives long distances regularly, won't get more than a very few years. I've done well over 30K miles in the past 3 years and had to replace a couple of "leakless" pumps when the lip seal wore the shaft even with soluble oil in the system.