Thermoflex seal

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JohnG
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:44 pm

Thermoflex seal

Post by JohnG » Sun Aug 16, 2020 7:20 pm

I know it's a long shot but does anyone have a thermoflex seal for a Rover 12 (1946) water pump?

GOY189
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:08 pm

Re: Thermoflex seal

Post by GOY189 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:36 am

Have you tried the usual sources like Meteor Spares or Mike Evans?

JohnG
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:44 pm

Re: Thermoflex seal

Post by JohnG » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:49 am

Yes. Nothing doing unfortunately. The seals are no longer being made.

TonyG
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:38 pm

Re: Thermoflex seal

Post by TonyG » Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:20 pm

John,

I’m not familiar with the later pumps. On my 36/37 cars with the older type pump, I seem to recall that the thermoflex seal is carbon on one face and brass/ bronze on the other with the brass bellows providing the necessary pressure to maintain the seal between water side and oil/ grease bearing side. Assuming I’m thinking about the correct part and that the construction is similar to your later pump, what exactly is wrong with your thermoflex seal?

The reason I ask is that over time the bellows compress and the seal I’m thinking of fails, allowing water through to the hole which discharges at the bottom behind the pulley. If this is the case it is possible to gently stretch out the bellows so that pressure is once again applied to the seal.

This approach was taken by my Father back in 1975 when he owned my Tourer. It worked for a few years until the car was dismantled in ‘82. Then I put the pump back onto the car, untouched, in 2016 and it lasted a couple more years before starting to leak. So it took quite a while for the bellows to compress again.

Failing that, you can either pay to have the pump reconditioned with modern parts or start searching for parts you can modify as a replacement. A good starting point might be series 1 Land Rover or, looking on line, there do appear to be repair kits for other cars and motorcycles. Taking this route the first step would be to measure the exact size of parts you are looking for.

A final thought; a couple of years ago a chap called Phil Spencer at Birmingham Rd Garage, Kidderminster had a load of spares that he bought as a job lot with a 46 Rover 10. Most of it was gone when I last visited a couple of years ago but he may have a few bits left. He did have some pumps then, but probably gone now. Might be worth giving him a call. You can find the number from the address.

Hope that helps.

Tony.
Tony Gilbert

P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport

GOY189
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:08 pm

Re: Thermoflex seal

Post by GOY189 » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:48 pm

John and Tony,

The early/ late P2 thermoflex seals are very similar. The P3/ Series1 land Rover pumps are very different and the seal used is lower than the thermoflex seal, if both are stood on end, due to much shorter spring. If it could be used (not sure of diameters of P3/ LR spindles relative to the P2) some sort of spacer capable of withstanding almost boiling water would be needed.

The spares in Kidderminster have all gone. Have you asked Mike Evans about an exchange recon pump?

Mike

JohnG
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:44 pm

Re: Thermoflex seal

Post by JohnG » Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:23 pm

Hello Tony and Mike,

Thank you for your messages and apologies for the late reply — I was on holiday and didn't have access to the internet. The problem with my seal is that the carbon part is damaged around the outer edges and I'm not sure that it's fit for purpose any more. I thought that it would make sense to replace it while the pump is dismantled rather than re-use. I'd been aiming to rebuild the pump myself and have obtained the other necessary parts from Mike Evans.

Regards,

John

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