Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello.

My water pump seems to be starting to make a noise at certain rev ranges. I see this hole on the 1098cc water pump body (indicated by the green arrow). Is this a oil point for the water pump shaft, A grease point for the shaft or something else entirely.

Thanks
Donald

The original fit pumps has a grease point I believe, as the manual makes reference to it in Section PP, but I think modern replacements over the decades have only got a drain hole for any water that might leak through, a sort of early warning device of coming failure.

I can't tell from the image, but is that not on the underside, where a drain hole would be? If it is on the top, I suppose you could put a little grease in there and see what happens. But only a small amount as not to contaminate the internal seals.

The hole arrowed is a drain for any coolant that gets past the seal.
The bearings are sealed so even if you put oil into the hole it will do no good.
As above if there is any sign of coolant around the hole it is time to replace the pump. There does look to be some coolant discolouring around the hole and with the noise I would suggest that it is time to replace the pump & not forgetting to replace the bypass hose.

Thanks for your comments

The hole is towards the top side of the water pump. I do agree however that it is most likely a drain hole.

Yes there does seem to be some discolouration around the hole although even when the engine is running there is no trace of any water. It probably leeks so little water is not visible.

As I use the car very little in the coming month or 2 I will overhaul the water system and will replace
The bypass hose, water pump, thermostat+housing and all gaskets.

Hopefully that will solve the strange noise I have been getting once and for all. As the shaft has a slight bit of play in it this is why I strongly suspect it is the water pump causing the noise.

In the mean time do you think it would do any harm to put a few drops of 20w-50 or 3 in 1 oil in the whole just incase it helps the problem?

Thanks
Donald

I have just looked at a couple of spare 'A' Series water pumps.

One has a hole similar to yours on the top face of the pump body and it also has a hole in the underside of the pump body.

The other has a hole in the underside of the pump body.

All three holes are used as drain or vent holes.

Phil