I've put about 18,000 miles on my '62 CDV in the 18 years I've owned the car. Thankfully, I've never had a water pump problem.
Since I'd like to keep things that way (or at least be able to address small issues before they become BIG issues), I would like to know if there are tips or even a diagnostic process to check the water pump on the engine once in a while to make sure all is well. I remember hearing a story years ago about a friend's '61 Cadillac engine seizing up after a trip to the Jersey Shore because the water pump gave out on the way home and he didn't bother to stop the engine until he got home.
Thanks in advance for the due diligence.
Ed
You can grab hold of fan and see if there is excess side or vertical looseness,, check for coolant leaks under the front of the pump housing. Or play it safe and have it rebuilt.
With the radiator COOL, you can remove the cap, then run the car until it reaches it's operating temperature and the thermostat opens. You should be able to see the coolant flow by looking into the radiator fill neck opening. Increasing the RPM up and down easy will show the coolant circulating.
Fortunately, these pumps are fairly easy to change. It's the leaning over that long front end that hurts the back after a while.
As Dave stated in his posting, If you grab the fan
on both sides and can feel any movement up / down
fore / aft that's an indication that the pump shaft
seal is worn.
What starts to happen after this is that you will start
to see leakage at the pump seal. At first, just a few
drops then more as the wear continues. That's time
to replace the pump. Continuing to drive in this
condition may cause the pump to sieze as your friend's
did.
If you would ever decide to have the pump rebuilt
make certain that it's a reliable rebuilder. Some
rebuilders do a really poor job. One reliable person
I've used several times for both fuel and water pumps:
http://www.arthurgouldrebuilders.com/
Mike
Seconded on Gould, did some work for me.