Water in the crankcase

[Unregistered]

I'm considering buying a new water pump for my A4. The one I have now has six brass screws holding the cover plate in place and the cover plate says Sherwoo Brass Works, Detroit MI.

My reasons are as follows: I don't run my engine more than 20 hours/season and I change the oil at the end of the each season. However, when I do I always find the oil to be creamy in color. I think I'm getting water in the crankcase thru this old pump...Is that likely? I am also jealous of the new thumb-screw access plates available on the new pumps. Do you have any thoughts on this subject?

[Don Moyer]

It is possible to get a bit of water in your crankcase via the Sherwood pump. These pumps (as well as the older Jabsco pumps) had very small weep holes in the bottom of the housing which tended to fill up with crud over the years. With these holes blocked, any water that would seep past the shaft seal on the impeller chamber side of the pump would build up a small amount of pressure on the seal on the engine side of the pump (being unable to drain out of he blocked weep hole) and work its way into the crankcase.

We've received good customer feedback on the convenience of the captive thumb screws on our back plates.

Don