Rattle...and other issues

[RageRover]

Hey guys, long time, no talk I know....

Anyways, yet another few problems I need your guys' opinions on. Starting with the rattle, it sounds like it is coming from the water pump. And it sounds like how one of my cats started rattling with the honey comb material knocking around in the case, only it is coming from the water pump. Could it be the internal bearings in the pump have gone bad? The cooling system is full of coolant, and hasen't lost any in a long time now. Do our Rover water pumps have a weep hole? Cause I know if coolant is seen coming from this hole, the pump needs replacing, but I can't find a weep hole, at least not that I can see. The temp. guage is in specs, and like I said the coolant level is good.

If it is the water pump, I have seen many replacement pumps from Rovers North, D.A.P., and local scenes like Autozone. Autozone has a Duralast pump for the truck but it costs an arm and a leg, like $200+. Rovers North has two, one for $259, and another for $189. Don't see a difference between the two. DAP has the cheapest for $125. Which pump would work better?

Also, has anyone ever have a rear end so rusty that one day the som bitch started leaking through a pin sized rust hole? The hole is up top on the rear diff cover and only leak while going down the road. What would you guys recommend for repair for this sorta thing? This has made me non-mobile for about a week, cause i didn't feel like burning up gears and bearings. Plus I gotta replace axle seals in the rear. I already ordered a kit from Rovers North for that. Just have to repair the rear diff cover is all.

Thanks guys!

[RageRover]

Also as a side note the rattling sound, comes and goes when the motor reaches operating temp.. The sound then faintly goes away few seconds after I stop at a red light.

When I rev the motor a little the sound gets slightly loud and then tapers down, sometimes going away. Just a heads up for you guys.

[roverandom]

Do you have a set of 'mechanic's ears', a stethoscope type device ? This tool will help you pin point that rattle, or you can use a long screw driver held up against you ear, but be very carefull of the fan. As for the rear diff cover, if the rust is contained to a small area, grind it out (obviously remove the cover first) and weld up the hole, good as new. If the cover is a total rust out then maybe look for a good used replacement, some guys like to go with the sewer cap retro-fit, but that is alot of work. Also, with the sewer cap it looks as if the diff oil would have a hard time cooling off, worse with a limited slip diff, the metal is very thick!

[RageRover]

Yeah I used the stethoscope on the truck the other day, and me and my buddy narrowed it down to the water pump making the most noise. It almost made my teeth cringe.

As for the cover rust hole, it is only a tiny little spot where it is leaking from. And the cover is not exactly removable on these Rover axles, not unless I had the Salisbury axles. My buddy suggested cleaning up the area where it is leaking and fill in a square inch around it, being very careful about it.

[roverandom]

Oh yeah, forgot about the rover axles having non-removeable covers, sorry. You could still weld up the hole as you say, just remove the carrier.

[RageRover]

Well, me and my bud we're changing the axle hub seal earlier today and we attempted to seal up the hole. First we had to find the hole, we used a scaling hammer to knock of scale and other crap, and we found two obvious holes and we filled them in with the MIG welder, being careful not to burn through the diff cover.

Well it seemed to work, the hub seal kept fluid in on its side, and the welds look promising. Well when I started driving, the holes that we thought we filled in just started gushing even worse than before.

We had to redneck a bandage on it using RTV and duct tape. Believe it or not, it worked, at least just for now until we can find a permanent solution.

What can me and my friend do to repair this? I really don't wanna replace the hole axle, that I cannot afford. Is it possible to patch pieces of metal around the weak areas? Would welding a diff guard like from Rovertym work to help the issue? The duct tape and RTV will only suffice for so long.

Also would JB weld help any?

This issue doesn't worry me as I am just driving the truck ON the road. I am not wheelin' the truck until I can take car of this issue. But at the same time, topping off the rear diff is gonna become unethical.

[roverandom]

If the metal is so weak that a weld will not hold you are going to have to replace it some how. If you are handy with the metal work then you can make a patch panel for the diff, cut off the whole cover and make/retro fit a new one, or you could weld on the sewer cap.

[roverandom]

I have also read that a 'cap' from a pressure cylinder (as used on small welding type gas bottles) can be used as a good replacement. Note that the cap should be new if poss and not cut from a old sealed gas bottle as this could blow up and kill you! Stronger and lighter than a sewer cap they also make good diff guards when cut in half and welded to the axle (with spacers) by all accounts. Just a idea.