Hello, I'm replacing the water pump, including the base. In the process of removing parts I noticed what seems to be excessive play (up & down) in the drive shaft that connects with the engine. The upper bearing that sits below the water pump base feels very smooth and the pinion feels okay as well when I rotate the whole assemble, so I'm not really sure there is a problem here since the upper bearing inner race is positioned so that the shaft is free to lift away (up) and the pinion below that is bolted to the end of the shaft is lifting with it away from the mating gears below; but then again what holds the assembly in place to maintain tolerances with the gears? Motor has always run perfect, just had my water pump fail as far as i can see. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks