A common service item on the Ferrari Testarossa, 512TR, F512M and many other 80s-90s Ferraris is the replacement of the water pump seal. When researching the correct replacement seal, you will see several different part numbers referenced. Figuring out which is appropriate can be a headache, so we wrote a quick guide. While we use the Tesarossa as an example here, these part numbers were also used in many other Ferrari models (360, 456, 550, 575M, 355, Mondial t and others).
There are three options for the water pump seal
The 120948/121553 water pump seals were originally installed on a Testarossa from the factory. These were also used on 308, 328, Mondial 3.2/QV, 208, F40, and 288 GTO. The original 120948/121553 is a two piece seal, consisting of a plastic/ceramic ring that presses into the pump impeller (121553), and a spring-loaded ceramic ring (120948) that presses into the pump body. There are multiple supercessions of this part. 130932 was a later revision introduced with the 512TR, and is a one-piece design that presses on to the pump shaft and body. It does not contact the impeller and seals along the pump shaft. To make it even more complicated, when ordering direct from Ferrari, they no longer supply 130932 and instead will provide 183759, which was introduced to supersede 130932 much later. This is also a one-piece design that seals along the shaft but with some minor design changes.
Please keep the following considerations in mind when choosing which seal/tool to use in your car
- In vehicles where 120948/121553 was original equipment, changing to the 130932 or 183759 requires swapping out the internal 121066 shaft spacer for the later 130931 shaft spacer. 512TR and other cars, from 91-on, had this setup from the factory and should therefore use 130932 or 183759. So if one wants to retrofit an early TR to the later 512TR type seals you need to budget time/cost for a spacer replacement along with the shaft seal and tool.
- Proper installation of 120948/121553 is significantly easier and does not require special tooling to press onto the pump shaft/body.
- A different installation method and special tool is required to install 130932 (see the tool we make for this on our site here). This is due to the different way these seals interface with the shaft/spacer.
- 183759 also requires a tool to install, which is different from the tool used for 130932 (see this other tool on our site here). The installation method is the same as used for the 130932, just the seal has a different shape of ceramic elements which require a different tool to be installed without damage.
- All three styles are functionally identical and the later revisions are no more reliable in our experience, so there’s not much benefit converting 120948/121553 to the later version.
We stock all these pump seals and many other items
We keep in stock all items required for a major service on a Testarossa or 512TR, as well as for many other vintage Ferrari and Lamborghini models. Contact us today for a quote.