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Every water pump from Volvo OEM to a brand new Murray brand, all leak from the weep hole on the bottom side of the pump in less than one year.
I know over-tightening the drive belt will stress bearing and front pump seal, causing these kinds of leaks. But I have not seen so many seal failures through the weep hole as I have on my 945T.
Quality coolant and proper installation is employed, but can the only answer be over-tensioning the drive belt?
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Thank you for taking the time to respond Kitty. I too bought a blue box Volvo OEM pump a couple of years ago. It was a nice complete kit with nuts, bolts and all, but lasted less than a year. At least with the O'Reilly unit, they honor the lifetime warranty.
I've currently have IPD poly bushings installed, so all the belt driven accessories are lined up good. Belt tension seems up to par and I'm so OCD, I even use distilled water with the Volvo OEM blue coolant.
Just wondering if anyone else out there in Volvoland has a crybaby water pump like my red block turbo?
Thanks everyone!
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I always run the water pump belt a little loose but tight enough so the p.s. pump doesn't squeal on a normal turn. I have done this for many years after seeing that the p.s. pump brackets bend in easily and cause mis-alignment.
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Mine:5-940s running, 1-740, 2-940 parts, dtrs:3-940s running
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Dear Townshend Act,
Hope you're well. Neither the power steering pump nor the water pump is mounted on bushings. It is not obvious how/why the state of mounting bushings for the alternator and the air-conditioning compressor would affect the water pump.
If, however, the power steering pump bracket is worn or bent, the power steering pump's misalignment could skew the drive belt. That could affect the water pump. Did/does the drive belt for the water pump and power steering pump show signs of uneven wear?
The Volvo brand pump might be defective. Does it make any noise, when running? For exampke, if you hear a "rumble" or a "grinding" noise, that would suggest the bearing has failed. Such a failure - after just a year of service - would be unusual.
Hope the helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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Thanks again to Spook and others for the kind interest and input you all have provided me on my 940T.
I enjoy the writings on the BrickBoard for my mechanical issues, and the ease at which we all can communicate.
I wanted to share with you all my method of getting proper p/s pump pulley alignment and belt tension.
Some years ago, the power steering pump & pulley on my B230FT 940 became misaligned as a result of normal mounting bracket wear & stresses. The OEM p/s pump bracket was a costly part, so I used the following procedure instead with great results:
1) Install the drive belt over the water pump pulley, crankshaft pulley, and p/s pump pulley, then tension the belt.
2) Scribe a mark on the p/s pump adjuster slide, to show the pumps position when the drive belt has correct tension.
3) Loosen the p/s pump and remove the drive belt.
4) Using my scribe mark(s), I then move the p/s pump to the previous location where I had obtained the proper drive belt tension.
5) Loosen some of the p/s pump rear pivot and mounting bolts to allow some pump assembly movement.
6) Position the loosened p/s pump in alignment with the crankshaft pulley & water pump pulley, and use the scribe mark to move the pump into the proper drive belt tension position.
7) While maintaining this alignment of the p/s pump, tighten all the previously loosened bolts and nuts and observe the spot-on position of the p/s pump pulley in relationship to the water pump and crankshaft pulleys.
8) With the p/s pump now perfectly aligned and tightened, use a 24mm socket & ratchet on the crankshaft pulley bolt to slowly rotate the engine and slip the drive belt over the pulleys.
Rotate the crankshaft pulley slowly (like mounting a tire to a rim) until the belt is seated.
You'll find the p/s pump is properly aligned, and the belt has the correct tension.
Now, if I can just find a quality water pump.....
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Hi Townshend Act,
"Now, if I can just find a quality water pump....."
I'd say they all can't be bad. One thing I noticed all these years the belts are tighter when engine is hot (the pulleys expand). While I do use your method of installing new belts by slipping them over the pulley while turning the crank, I always readjust their tension later when hot. A few times my hand got scalded by the hot exhaust manifold in the past but I managed to tread carefully nowadays. About a month or so later, I'd readjust their tension after the belts had expanded with use (again with hot engine). I use OE pumps and they typically last around 6 to 7 years. Mine is NA 940 used in daily commute to work.
Regards,
Amarin.
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Dear Townshend Act,
Hope you're well. "Some years ago, the power steering pump & pulley on my B230FT 940 became misaligned as a result of normal mounting bracket wear & stresses."
If the power steering pump mounting bolts are properly tightened - and the belt is properly tensioned - there should be no wear at all on the power steering pump mounting bracket. I reasonably conclude that your power steering pump bracket has been damaged.
If the bracket is damaged, it must be replaced, to ensure that the power steering pump pulley's face is precisely parallel with the engine block's face.
Nowhere in your detailed explaination do I see use of a straight-edge (steel ruler or a roofer's square) to check that the power steering pump pulley's face is exactly parallel with the face of the crank pulley, which - properly installed - is exactly parallel with the engine block's face.
To check power steering pump pulley alignment, place one end of a straight-edge across the crankshaft pulley's face. Move the other end of the straight-edge so that it completely spans the power steering pump pulley's face. Measure the gap between the straight-edge and both sides of the power steering pulley's face, at the outer edge of the pulley. The gaps should be exactly equal.
If not, then: (a) the crank pulley may be "on the way out", or as is more likely in your case, (b) the power steering pump is misaligned because the power steering pump's mounting bracket has been damaged.
If condition (a) prevails - if the crank pulley is "on the way out" - you can verify this by turning-on the engine. If the crank pulley's rubber insert has started to fail, the pulley will "wobble". You'll see that.
If so, replace the crank pulley. Note that some aftermarket crank pulleys have slots too narrow to accept the Volvo (and IPD) counter-hold tool. The factory-original crank pulley slots are about 7mm (0.3") across the narrow axis. Aftermarket crank pulleys have slots closer to 6mm.
If condition (b) prevails, replace the power steering pump bracket. You should be able to get one for small money at a salvage yard. The bracket was used on 740s (1985-92), 940s (1991-95) and 760s (with the B230FT engine, 1985-90).
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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Hi Townshend Act,
Happy Mundae (all day long).
Should you searching using Bing, Google, or the search the RWD forum here, as well as brickboard, and perhaps the other outlander Volvo forums that may dabble in RWD, you may find posts, as I have, that the Volvo Blue Box wasserumpen for redblock will leak within a year.
These pumps are made in England, at least the last time I bough and installed one in 2013-2014. They appear durable enough on inspection.
You've read the FAQ page:
https://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/Cooling.htm
Consider how long the factory installed Volvo OEM pump remain secured to your engine, formerly made in Sweden, during the overhead cam redblock production run, and sometime there after lasted. For maybe 160,000 miles and more as anecdotal testimonials relate. With failed accessory bushings and not well secured alternators with two-three belts to it.
Made in Germany HEPU (www.hepu.de/en/ uses a cast closed impeller like old, original, production run OEM) gets the praise, yet there exist other pump brands that some like (such as German made GMB I guess?). Indeed, new accessory bushes, proper belt tension, and some manner of recurring vigilance to inspect the rotation bits and pieces.
Though I use Volvo gasket and seals. Use synthetic silicon grease on the gasket and seals. Mount so that all is loose, and then lever up the water pumpin' beast for optimal top seal compression. Of course, you clean the surfaces well.
Or do as I did and get (true to sometimes Mr. Wholly and Utterly Incompetent Bassterd, your humble narrator here) does fine work on his 1990 240 DL [li'l red] Wagon:
Note the silicon grease. SuperLube NLGI II (2) grease. Not Volvo seals. Though I screwed it up. I gave up on RTV some time ago with water pumps.
Our Art's take on it:
http://cleanflametrap.com/wasserpumpen.html
Though research what works best, today.
Hope that helps you.
MacDuff's Buttermilk Tavern ...
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Give your brickboard.com a big thumbs up! Way up! - Roger Ebert. 
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Swap in a new crate LS3. Presto - no more leaks. Similar fuel mileage. Much better acceleration.
Problem solved.
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Dear Townshend Act,
Hope you're well. A mis-aligned drive belt also might cause premature water pump seal wear. If the power steering pump mounting bracket is bent, the pulley's face will not be parallel with the engine block. That, in turn, could stress the water pump. Does the drive belt show signs of edge wear?
When drive belts are properly tensioned, an index finger - with "gentle" pressure - on the belt can depress the belt by about 3/16" (4-5mm).
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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