My family was in town this past weekend, and I took the opportunity to have my dear sister help me with some exploratory surgery on the Scout. As you may have read, there’s a recurring leak coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the water pump that I haven’t been able to chase down. I decided I’d give it one last go and see if I could replace the current pump with a spare I’d gotten from KB last year.
As with most things, I plunged into it without really thinking the procedure through completely. My sister and I got the leaky pump off, and after much cursing, were able to lift it completely out with the fan shroud (The top filler neck was in the way, of course). Once I’d gotten it off completely, I noticed that it was three-pulley while the backup fan was a dual-pulley. Now, I could have run the engine without the AC compressor (which is what I believe the pump in the foreground of the picture below is), but I thought it would be better to leave everything the way I found it.
So, with some trepidation, I RTV’d the new gasket I had on the original pump and we settled it back into place. My plan for tonight is to tighten up the pump bolts, replace the upper hose clamps, tighten down the compressor and alternator brackets, make sure the distributor cap is tight, fill the radiator back up, and get it started. Tomorrow morning at dawn, I’m going to throw my bike in the back and haul ass down the street to Ridgeway Automotive in the hopes that the fine folks there can diagnose the problem once and for all.
In happier news, I think I’ve got the bolts I need for the Tuffy console–and they’re all stainless steel.