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Don,
Good to hear from you and Grover. Never tried to rebuild one. Walston says buy one from the parts store, but maybe you know already us '54 owners are in a pickle sometimes. I stood in the garage office and my favorite mechanic spoke to the parts guy on the phone and he said that '54's did not have 239 engines, cause he could not find a water pump for a '54 239. The problem is they do not rebuild water pumps for '54 Y-blocks since they are a single year water pump. I had mine taken out and shipped off to the rebuilder, so you want to try it rather than wait, you decide.
Hi Don. I rebuilt one and also found an NOS one for my 56 272 Y-block. The rebuild was not a problem at all, although I do have a hydraulic press I built. I'm sure you could do it with a big hammer and some appropriately sized sockets or pipe ends. Just take your time.
The big problem I had was that there are at least two different water pump styles for the Y-block, maybe more. The one I have on my 272 has the fan bolted directly on the water pump shaft. The other one I'm familiar with has the fan on a separate shaft. The innards of the water pumps are different - one has a 1-1/2" diameter bearing and the other is 1-1/4. In addition, the shaft diameters are different. Just make sure you get a rebuild kit for the water pump you have. I found several for the smaller shaft model pump, but had a hard time finding a rebuild kit for the larger unit.
I don't know much about the 239. I do have a rebuilt pump with a small shaft, I thought it came from a car engine and that is why it was smaller but that was jst what I read here somewhere. If it is for a 239, I can make you a real good deal. Let me know if I should dig it out and if there is some p/n I can look for or post a picture for ya, it is of no value to me.