Hello all,

I had the SC off the car for some maintenance and to put a pulley on. Below are some of my observations:

1. I water pump side had no oil left and the pulley side had 3.5 oz. The oil smelled like crap and was dark.
2. With the pump off rotated the SC output in both directions and can feel some backlash - just wondering if this is by design or a sign that the gear inside is getting chewed?
3. I see some scraps on the SC lobes/turbines and also feel and hear where it is rubbing against the SC body. I think I do hear some resonances while driving but nothing gnarly.
4. I have tried to push on the lobes and shafts to sense some play in the bearings but do not see any.

Anything above sound off? What else can I check for to gauge the health of the SC?

Also is it OK to remove the 4 bolts holding the WP side of the SC to check the gears inside? If yes then are there torque specs on it to bolt it back?

Thanks!

 

I'm not an expert and do not pretend to be one; but I've had a fair amount of backlash from the same area but have noticed no ill effects. No oil consumption, no odd wear on the internals. I plan to continue running as-is and checking every 10k miles or so.

I highly recommend removing the 4 bolts and checking the water pump gears. It'll tell you if it's even worth trying to refill with fluid or start sourcing a replacement. If the water pump was bone dry you're likely on borrowed time. If you don't need the car as a daily; I'd suggest refilling and monitoring after a few thousand miles. Or refill with a mix of Lucas stop leak and SC oil (what I would do on a project car before throwing in the towel completely).

 

Thanks.I am noob myself and just started wrenching on cars.

I had filled it up with new fluid but opened the WP side anyways. The gears look fine to me just weird that there is some reddish stuff in there that looks like rusted parts?

The gears look fine structurally but some rusting on non contact areas on the teeth. I am going to put it back together. Do I need to use a sealant since there is no gasket? Seems like there was some sort of sealant used before.

 

 

Wow! Those teeth actually look great. There doesn't seem to be any damage; but my concern is still that the oil went somewhere; and whatever you fill it with is going to follow the same path. I'd definitely put it on a shorted inspection plan to make sure you don't run it dry.

When you crack open the SC itself, you are supposed to use an anaerobic sealant (RTV); mostly if you crack the case or pull the snout off. I've removed the water pump flange a few times and never used sealant and never had a leak. If you DO find yourself needing a sealant, make sure you get the anaerobic variety.

 

Thr car has 125 k and the owner before last said the SC was serviced. I was not taking his word but that might be the case.

I want to think the oil went out through the WP side flange - mostly because it could be easily fixed with a sealant 🙂.. otherwise yeah the oil is going to find its way out like before.

I am hoping to use it as a daily driver since I have most of maintenance stuff done now. Hopefully it doesn't grenade catastrophically.

 

It looks like the needle roller bearing looks warn. You should change the shaft seal.