I remember reading on the pre-crash boards that the old lads soldered a copper penny on the plunger end when it wore through but I’ve never seen or tried the repair. I think you would want a fairly soft metal to slow wear on the eccentric.

As an aside the last few years our one cent coin was actually copper plated steel and would rust when it was exposed to salt. They gave up on a one cent piece altogether so we may have to import those too for water pump repair 🙂

Kev

I believe that J-80 uses the same plunger and drive shaft gear/cam as the A, A-25, J-25 and J-65. If so I may have the parts you need. I think that sometimes water got into the gearcases causing that cam to rust which in turn chewed up the brass plungers. I have some that were so badly chewed up that they totally went through the botom of the plungers. I had some plungers made a few years ago. If you are interested I would send you a photo of the parts I have. If they look like what you could use, I’ll sell you both for $20 including mailing.

I guess if you have a lathe, I don’t really understand why you’re asking the question. Make a new piston, and move on.

Best,
Chris S