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What are you running for a high flow water pump?

handloader90

handloader90

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Been looking around on Summit racing and habe seen a few aluminum ones, some people complain of metal chips in the pump and having to pull them apart, clean them then reassemble.

Others I've looked at aren't sealing up right against the block or the weep hole is leaking.

Looking to stay under say $140 or so... saw some of the Edelbrocks in the $220 + range and I'm not trying spend that much.

Also, truck is v-belt driver, clockwise rotation long water pump.
 
That was the exact one I was looking at on Summit.

It has a lot of good reviews and then a few that made me think twice about ordering it...

Screenshot_20180305-090640.png
 
handloader90 said:
Just checked it out.

Did you use the aluminum from Rockauto or the 8 dinner impeller "HD" from AutoZone that was linked in from another site?
Click to expand...

Looks like one of the guys had to make a spacer for the water pump pulley for the RA aluminum one.
 
I got the one from Autozone, https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/water-pump/duralast-new-water-pump/701783_647755_0?checkfit=true

But I paid $65 because it was mis-labeled/price marked. Way more now. Which is why I'd investigate the other options.

If there are some quality concerns, if the price is reasonably close, I'd definitely go with a local retailer so the return would not be as difficult. Had this issue with my radiator, glad I could take it back to a local place to get a replacement.
 
dyeager535 said:
I got the one from Autozone, https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/water-pump/duralast-new-water-pump/701783_647755_0?checkfit=true

But I paid $65 because it was mis-labeled/price marked. Way more now. Which is why I'd investigate the other options.

If there are some quality concerns, if the price is reasonably close, I'd definitely go with a local retailer so the return would not be as difficult. Had this issue with my radiator, glad I could take it back to a local place to get a replacement.
Click to expand...
Dang... that thing is $150 now.

Might go with that proform Aluminum one.

Is there a mfg that will sell an impeller for a SBC water pump by itself? Like an HD or High flow impeller.
 
I believe they are a press fit, so somewhat of a bear for most to change out I'm guessing.

I did see this on Flowkoolers site...I can't believe they can't just sell an impeller: https://www.flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/restoring-pumps-with-a-hi-flow-impeller.html

As applications go, the SBC has got to be their #1 seller, if the impellers fit on a stock diameter shaft, should be relatively easy to do. But cost of impeller, shipping, and then your time...how much is that worth vs. just buying a high flow pump from the get go?
 
I know what you said about Edelbrock units, but I put a short one on the SB in my '72 C10 because I wanted the cam stop bolt. It works fine.
My fat block got a long unit due to problems with a new NAPA one.
Both went on with no problems , no spacers and work fine.
 
What brings the need for anything other than stock replacement? (coming from a 400sb owner)
Isn't it the T-stat that slows flow down? Or is it when the sucker is wide open that you're trying to cram more water through the engine? Hoping the radiator can cool it down quick enough before heading back in?
 
I figured if I was gonna buy a new water pump I'd get something a little more than stock.

Ordered the Proform 67265.
 
K85 Octane said:
What brings the need for anything other than stock replacement? (coming from a 400sb owner)
Isn't it the T-stat that slows flow down?
Click to expand...

Tstat sets the minimum engine temp, that's really it. The efficiency of the rest of the cooling system (radiator, fan, water pump) are the factors that determine whether the coolant can stay at thermostat temp or runs away.

Theoretically improving any component would create a larger margin before coolant temp could become a problem. Theoretically. For the most part as-is these systems seem pretty well designed, when in good shape.
 
K85 Octane said:
What brings the need for anything other than stock replacement? (coming from a 400sb owner)
Isn't it the T-stat that slows flow down? Or is it when the sucker is wide open that you're trying to cram more water through the engine? Hoping the radiator can cool it down quick enough before heading back in?
Click to expand...
Personally I rarely see an improvement over stock in these trucks.
The faster you run the coolant thru, the less time it has to cool down.
The only time I think it could benegit is if you're rock crawling for hours with a doubler so you are always at idle.
But still I never had a problem with overheating and always have stock components that are 20-30 years old.
 
imiceman44 said:
Personally I rarely see an improvement over stock in these trucks.
The faster you run the coolant thru, the less time it has to cool down.
The only time I think it could benegit is if you're rock crawling for hours with a doubler so you are always at idle.
But still I never had a problem with overheating and always have stock components that are 20-30 years old.
Click to expand...


I've never used a high flow water pump either--like you,the OEM water pump always seemed sufficient on all the GM engines I've had,and many had water pumps that were the originals from the factory that had a lot of miles on them..

Sometimes you don't really need all this high performance / hot rod stuff,especially on street driven vehicles..some parts can create issues where none existed before,like stated above,too much flow might not be a good thing in street driven vehicles..
 
I'll try it out and see how it goes. If it gives me issues I'll swap back to a factory style pump.
 
A lot of these aftermarket parts simply aren't needed or even desirable in many cases on street driven vehicles..

A friend of mine had a '62 Nova he built,had a small block in it--he wanted to get an HEI distributor for it--I told him I had a few kicking around and I'd give him one,but he insisted on buying a new MSD "billet" HEI distributor for it..

It ended up running better with the original points distributor in the end!--he had ordered one that was "race only" with no vacuum advance,only mechanical advance,and the timing was "wrong" for most of his street driving...

The place he got it from refused to take it back,despite them being the ones who said "this is the one you want". --"no returns on electrical items"...wouldn't even give him credit towards another distributor with a vacuum advance...

I gave him a stock HEI and he put a advance curve kit from Mr,Gasket on it and the engine performed MUCH better..

He also made a few other poor choices as far as aftermarket parts--he put a set of roller rockers on it,they were not that great at holding an adjustment,and he also bought a camshaft that was simply too "full race" for street use,the engine was a lopey dog anywhere under 3000 rpms,and the torque converter stall speed being stock made it even worse..

After about 3000 miles,the roller rockers had side to side play bad enough to start letting them hit the valve retainers instead of squarely on the valve stems too--needle bearings dont hold up I guess under long hours of use,I guess racers are expected to replace them often ?..
 
The way I look at it in a way that seems pretty easy to understand (with some hypotheticals, but scalable) is that if you double the speed of the coolant through the system, you've effectively doubled the size of the radiator. If the thermostat is doing it's job, coolant entering the radiator is always going to be ~195*, ambient temp will always be less. You'll find even some of the big names quibbling about the physics, but you can find some testing that was done and documented in a laboratory settings that indicate increasing coolant velocity has no negative impact on cooling.

My suspicion is that the stock setup is likely only going to be improved at low RPM's when the thermostat is fully open...otherwise any increase in flow is going to be hampered by the thermostat. This might be an opportunity to increase efficiency (underdrive a better flowing pump) but the cost/benefit is not there for 99.9% of users.
 
dyeager535 said:
The way I look at it in a way that seems pretty easy to understand (with some hypotheticals, but scalable) is that if you double the speed of the coolant through the system, you've effectively doubled the size of the radiator. If the thermostat is doing it's job, coolant entering the radiator is always going to be ~195*, ambient temp will always be less. You'll find even some of the big names quibbling about the physics, but you can find some testing that was done and documented in a laboratory settings that indicate increasing coolant velocity has no negative impact on cooling.

My suspicion is that the stock setup is likely only going to be improved at low RPM's when the thermostat is fully open...otherwise any increase in flow is going to be hampered by the thermostat. This might be an opportunity to increase efficiency (underdrive a better flowing pump) but the cost/benefit is not there for 99.9% of users.
Click to expand...
In theory maybe if you double the flow you double your cooling but in realty if your cooling is not fast enough the coolant will just pass thru and stay warm.
It's been proven to happen more often than not
 
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