–By Eric Fantin – One of the MN Citroën Club member cars, a 1972 DS 21, was making unhealthy noise from the water pump area. I quickly diagnosed a bad bearing so surgery was needed. A straightforward replacement was in order… or so I thought….
I proceeded with the usual dismantling which includes removing the front tray, radiator, alternator, and more misc. parts. The water pump is then accessible. (It IS possible to do it without removing the radiator, but new hoses were in order, so this is the best option.)
Once I attacked the pump removal, it became very obvious that I was going to encounter difficulties. The alloy body of the pump had fused itself onto the steel studs making the removal a more complicated situation.
In order to free it from the engine I used a Dremel tool to CAREFULLY cut off parts of the pump that were around the studs (photos above). After MANY HOURS, the old pump was free and I proceeded to do a good clean up. All the new parts were installed (with a lot of anti-seize compound). No more noise and impending failure (Final install photo below).
A 4 hour job turned into a 10 hour job. I am reminded all the time… working on an old car is usually a longer process than anticipated! Patience and dedication will OFTEN be needed to complete the project.
Next task on this car? Replace the rear suspension ram seals and boot, another somewhat “simple” task.