Holy Crap on a Cracker (Post #385) 8/29/2013


Yes, that is a broken water pump pulley.
How does a water pump pulley get broken you might ask?
That’s a good question.

As you know the two pulleys you see here are nested and bolted to the water pump shaft. You don’t expect that to EVER fail.

When I saw that today and said the very words titling this post. I asked Mickey of Mickey’s Garage had he ever seen one broken before. His answer was a resounding, “No.”

I have blogged before that my truck came to me after a front end wreck restoration. The first thing I replaced on my Range Rover was a failed water pump. It had failed because during the wreck the shaft had been pushed back toward the motor. Actually slipping in its sleeve from the impact.

That impact must have broken or weakened that pulley. Mickey pointed out some older rust and the fresh (silver colored) break. It had probably been wobbling there for 125,000 miles, give or take a mile or so. It’s amazing to me that it lasted as long as it did.

Mickey called me and told me the news and asked me if I could stop by Rover Cannibal to pick up the replacements. I said sure and drove over there right after work.

Ryan was helping a customer with his Discovery. He described a whining sound which is common to Land Rover Discovery’s. I told him he needed to change the transaxle fluid. It will quiet, but will not go away.

I got caught up with Ryan as he hurried back through the shop. The engine shop looked awesome. I too was in a hurry as five o’clock traffic starts about five minutes after four. Turned out the traffic had already started backing up. I need to get my list together and get back down there.

I have a quick note here. You may have noticed I’ve had a lot of work done lately at Mickey’s. The AC pump that had just been put on failed. Mickey was going to swap it when the pulley left me chained to the back of a wrecker. I had the BWB at Mickey’s already and since it wasn’t going anywhere with a broken water pump. I had him fix it. I trust him with my truck so it’s all good.

If you aren’t already a fan of The Big Bang Theory, you should be.
Penny and her signature catch phrase…

Thanks for reading, do business locally, and Happy Rovering.