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Hey Guys.
I went to a salvage yard to find a water pump to replace mine that leaks. I noticed the one I just bought has a hole in it, in the same spot as the other. I wanted to find out if that was a lube point, or just a place where water was sitting and rusted through. It doesnt make sense to me, that it would rust through.

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My '51 has that hole as well, but the corners are more square. I don't know what it does, but since it points down, I'm thinking it is a weep hole so it will leak when the seal is compromised.

On a side note, I am so jealous that you have a junkyard you can get Packard parts at!

Not to worry, that is a weep hole that is to allow any water that should happen to get past the seal to not get into the bearing. That way the pump is still failing, but not as quickly!

Miraculously, at 80K+ miles my 51 200 still has its factory installed water pump still pumping silently. An important key to happy water pumps is not to span the fanbelt any more than necessary. I always run mine quite loose: when I was just your age I cranked the fanbelt on my old 50 Super down nice and tight and ruined my new waterpump in just a couple weeks. Making just $1.65 an hour on weekends the expense scarred me for life, and I still run my fanbelts quite loose.

My '51 has that hole as well, but the corners are more square. I don't know what it does, but since it points down, I'm thinking it is a weep hole so it will leak when the seal is compromised.

Exactly. Here is an illustration of a slightly older pump showing the weep hole between the seal and the bearing.

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Thanks Guys,
That is good to know, I figured it couldn't just be a coincidence. As for that salvage yard, that is where I bought my car. I went back for my birthday to see if I could find some parts, since it is a ways out there. Didn't get to scope the full yard, but I found a '55 or '56, and a '53. The '55 I took the "Easamatic" power brake pedal pad, and trim piece. And, from the '53 I was able to get the water pump, battery box, and phenolic spacer. And a horn from a Hudson Hornet. Not a bad haul for $80, plus things my brother was able to find.

That's pretty cool! Down here in Florida, all of the cars in junkyards are 1988 or newer. With New York plates.

Right now, my '48 is weeping so bad, you would think that somebody ran over it's dog. Time to order a new pump!

Yeah, this place is ridiculously hard to find. It is out in the middle of nowhere. The man who owns it gets so little business, that he is thinking of closing down and scrapping everything. It would be a shame if it came to that. That yard is filled to the brim with cars from the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, etc. And engines, carbs, differentials, trannys, lenses, trim, almost anything you could ever hope to find!!! It is a rusty gold mine, tucked away in the Texas country. There is bound to be something there in Florida. Try carshows, there are usually good leads there. That is how I found out about this place, from a highschool student, with a really nice malibu, at a local carshow.

Any chance you could provide an address? If it has cars from the 30s, I would be interested in taking a look around.

Tom

Yeah no problem,

2020 Fox Trotter Rd.

Seguin, TX 78155

I'm sure you will find plenty of rusty gold. Not sure if there are any 30's packards there, but that is probably because I was too focused on 50's cars. My suggestion,if you go, is to get there early. It is a fairly large yard, and it is hard not to look at everything. Also, it is located on a little dusty back road that is easily missed. Try to use something other than google maps to find it.

Here's the link to his website:johnssalvagecompany.com/

G'day all, the Google map of the address brings it up as clear as day. You cannot determine the Packards but there certainly are a lot of cars, etc. Peter