The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Water Pump Replacement

I am replacing the water pump on my '56 235. My shop manual says to remove block attachment bolts and remove pump/pulley/fan as one unit. One of the bolts is behind the pulley and I can barely get a wrench on it. Would it be ok to try and remove the pulley and fan first so I can get to the bolts easier?

oldblue,

If you have enough room to remove the bolts holding the fan and pulley on then it doesn't make any difference. Maybe you can just loosen the fan/pulley bolts enough to let the pulley move so you have a little more room for the wrench.

Heck I never knew that there is an "oldblue" and an "Olblue".

I had the same problem. I just made that the last bolt to loosen and as I got started I pulled the water pump out making a little more room as I went. It was tight but with some effort it worked.

Brian,

And bluebird too!

I don't believe I can get that last bolt started and tight with the fan/pulley installed. I'm going to put the pump on first and then try to get the fan/pulley bolted to the hub.

'Nuther question. I have a standard heater and the water pump has a threaded pipe that is screwed into a hole by the outlet that the heater hose attaches to. Will a new water pump have that pipe or will I need to remove the one from the old pump to put on the new pump?

You should save the threaded nipple. I have seen new water pumps come with and without it..

I picked up my new water pump this morning. NAPA ordered it for me. It did not come with the heater hose fitting. The part store guy was nice enough to remove the old one for me. Had to take it in the back and use a vice. Man was that thing in tight. He also recommended a silicone gasket sealer to use with the new gasket. He said to put a small bead around the pump side of the gasket and then stick it on the pump. Then put a small bead on the block side of the gasket before installing. Does that sound about right?

Yep, that's right, just be careful not to use too much sillycone.

I'll try not to. By the way, could I use this same silicone for replacing my valve cover gasket?

When I replaced my valve cover gasket, I used weatherstrip adhesive. I glued the gasket to the valve cover and let it dry. Then I bolted the cover to the head.

That way, if I need to remove the valve cover to adjust the valves, I don't need to replace the gasket each time..

Well, I got the new pump installed. No leaks so far. How can I tell if it's really working? I took the cap off and I can see the coolant moving, but the lower hose isn't getting as hot as I remembered. The upper hose and heater hose are both hot to the touch. My temperature gauge doesn't work right so I can't go by what it shows.

I haven't seen many water pumps that don't work. They can leak or not leak, but it is a fairly safe bet that if they are spinning, they are working..

The lower hose is supposed to be cool, it sucks cooler water into the block from the radiator.

That makes sense. I never really thought about the direction of the flow. So once the thermostat opens it flows top to bottom in the radiator? Or the whole circuit is... out of block through thermostat into top of rad out bottom of rad into pump and back into block.