Need advice on 1932 Hudson water pump

Jon B

One of our local chapter members owns a 1932 Hudson (Pacemaker) sedan.  He reports that the water pump is leaking "more than usual".  I suspect that's because the steel shaft that runs through it, has corroded in the vicinity of the seal, and thus there will never be a good watertight seal anymore.

I wondered: is it possible (at reasonable cost) to buy a new steel shaft (say, from McMaster-Carr) and replace the present shaft, or is that welded to some component, and thus replacement would not be a simple matter?  Another thought would be to remove the shaft and and someone turn it down on a lathe, in the vicinity of the rust, until it is smooth.  Then re-install.  I think there is simply a packing, not a real seal, so it would seem to work (on paper).

Anyone have ideas I can pass along to this fellow?

Is anyone rebuilding these pumps in such a way that they won't leak (or at least won't leak much)?

Courtesy Man

I would think a stainless steel shaft turned in a lathe and possibly ground or polished should fix it. Check and likely replace bushings since the old shaft would tear it up. Gert

Courtesy Man

Another comment or two. You would think that if you need say a 1 inch shaft you could just order one and install it. Unfortunately it won't work. Off the shelf stock metal will be oversize and not precise dimensions.
Your 1 inch shaft will be oversize by design so it can be machined down to the precise needed size.
You would also have a problem turning down the old shaft as then it would no longer fit the housing, impeller or bushings. Gert

Jon B

Thanks for the great ideas!

I really need to see a cross section of the pump.  I'm assuming that there is some sort of packing at either end of the shaft to form a watertight seal.  My thought was that THIS would be where the rust occurred, and therefore you could turn the shaft down very slightly only in the immediate area of the shaft.  The remainder of the shaft would be the correct diameter to fit the bushings, impeller and housing.  But I may not be envisioning the layout of the pump correctly.