Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Early V8 (1932-53)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-15-2018, 11:51 PM   #1
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Merc Radiator Swap

Working on swapping the better 53 radiator onto the 52 Merc. It is not going too smoothly. That belt tightening setup is driving me crazy. I remembered it was a miserable experience from 3 years ago and it has not got any better. Water outlets on the heads are a real b#** to stop leaking even though I cleaned them up. It was too much for one video so here is a condensed version of what I've done so far.
https://youtu.be/Bn9YyBPu1UI
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 10:23 AM   #2
rotorwrench
Senior Member
 
rotorwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,346
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

The trick I learned on the generator belt is to adjust is close on the cradle with the Gen out then adjust it till you can put the gen in the cradle and pull it down to seat with the belt tight. It's easier to move the cradle by itself and install the generator & tighten the strap. The fan can be levered up but the cradle is not so easy that way.
rotorwrench is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 12-16-2018, 10:46 AM   #3
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorwrench View Post
The trick I learned on the generator belt is to adjust is close on the cradle with the Gen out then adjust it till you can put the gen in the cradle and pull it down to seat with the belt tight. It's easier to move the cradle by itself and install the generator & tighten the strap. The fan can be levered up but the cradle is not so easy that way.
Mine is a little different than stock. They sent me water pumps with matching pulleys unlike original which has one extended pulley so each pump is driven by a separate belt. So My pumps and fan are both driven by one belt. Separate belt drives the gen. Biggest hassle is that little square spacer/washer under the big nut holding the gen in place. It is almost impossible to align with the slot in the fan base. I've got it almost in place but not quite as when it is tightned down the fan is mis-aligned. I've shaved down the corners a bit on that square washer but maybe not enough.
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 01:43 PM   #4
scicala
Senior Member
 
scicala's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Detroit suburb, MI
Posts: 3,696
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Maybe it's me and something I don't see or have thought about, but why was it necessary to remove the belts and fan to swap out the radiator ? Couldn't it just be pulled straight upward after removing the hoses and mounting bolts ?


Sal
scicala is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 03:01 PM   #5
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Quote:
Originally Posted by scicala View Post
Maybe it's me and something I don't see or have thought about, but why was it necessary to remove the belts and fan to swap out the radiator ? Couldn't it just be pulled straight upward after removing the hoses and mounting bolts ?Sal
Yes, it probably could have been done without removing the fan and belts but I wanted to be extra careful and not damage the radiator by hitting the fan. I tried just removing the fan itself but it was firmly stuck to the hub so that didn't work. It also gave me extra room to work on removing the lower hoses. And they were stubborn too. I've seen damage to those lower outlets if you get too rough trying to get the hoses off.
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 05:39 PM   #6
scicala
Senior Member
 
scicala's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Detroit suburb, MI
Posts: 3,696
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
OK Ralph, I understand now. I've actually never swapped out a radiator on a flathead V8 with the two short hoses on the bottom.


Sal
scicala is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 05:50 PM   #7
rotorwrench
Senior Member
 
rotorwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,346
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

I'm not all that familiar with the difference between the Canadian Mercs and US models but I would think the cooling system accessories would be the same. The right side pump was part of the fan drive but the left pump is driven along with the generator. Someone may have put a right side pulley on a left side pump there since they don't generally align unless Ford of Canada did it differently.
rotorwrench is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 07:16 PM   #8
34PKUP
Senior Member
 
34PKUP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 794
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorwrench View Post
I'm not all that familiar with the difference between the Canadian Mercs and US models but I would think the cooling system accessories would be the same. The right side pump was part of the fan drive but the left pump is driven along with the generator. Someone may have put a right side pulley on a left side pump there since they don't generally align unless Ford of Canada did it differently.
Read post #3 above.
34PKUP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 07:23 PM   #9
tubman
Senior Member
 
tubman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,247
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

When I put the Mercury motor in my '51 Ford, I dug through my stash of pumps and grabbed the best two 8BA pumps in the bunch and bolted them on to the engine. I installed the engine and found that both pumps had the "flat" pulleys (one should have one that is substantially dished). I don't have Ralph's creative genes, so I found a pump with the proper pulley and installed the regular two belt system. To tell you the truth, I never considered trying to make the pump with the wrong pulley to work. I still think it was the right way to go.

If anyone needs a left side 8BA water pump with a flat pulley, I have just what you need.
tubman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 07:25 PM   #10
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Yes, Napa sent out the right new pumps but one pulley was wrong. Rather than send it back and wait I just went with the alternate belt drive system where both pumps and the fan drive on a single belt off the crank pulley. Works ok.
I just finished getting it together and finally got the fan aligned. Prior to that the fan was always much closer to the rad on the driver side. As if the base was not tightening down even. Took it off, and loosened the gen belt again and this time, it tightened up straight and even. Don't know what I did different but its looking ready for a test now. (If that top hose on the head will seal up.)
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2018, 09:44 PM   #11
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Quote:
Originally Posted by tubman View Post
I don't have Ralph's creative genes, so I found a pump with the proper pulley and installed the regular two belt system. To tell you the truth, I never considered trying to make the pump with the wrong pulley to work.
If anyone needs a left side 8BA water pump with a flat pulley, I have just what you need.
I'm pretty sure it was on this forum that somebody gave me the idea of using the pump with the wrong pulley rather than send it back. So I can't take full credit for the idea. I've got a spare (well used) pump here with the right pulley on but would probably break it trying to get it apart so will continue with the setup I have now.
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2018, 11:39 AM   #12
rotorwrench
Senior Member
 
rotorwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,346
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

I've pressed the pulley sheaves off many times from all of the 8BA family of engines and they come off without too much strain. They were being reproduced at one time but the last time I tried to buy a driver side sheave to fit a Merc/Ford car, all suppliers were out of stock so I had to dig up a good used one. Finding belts that fit a non-stock arrangement must have taken a while. I'm surprised the generator belt doesn't rub on something when used for that type application.
rotorwrench is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2018, 01:56 PM   #13
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Those water pump pulleys I have here are good spares but somebody had warned me they were difficult to remove without breaking so I did not get into that.
Maybe I got lucky finding the right belts to run this setup. I can't be sure if they were from my "good used" belt inventory or if I actually bought new ones at the local Co-op store.
No problems with belt interference with this setup. You can see it a bit in this video from 2015 at the 5 minute mark. I see I was having a misalignment problem on the fan pulley back then too.
https://youtu.be/uSfwls3nto4
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2018, 02:46 PM   #14
51 MERC-CT
Senior Member
 
51 MERC-CT's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: East Hartford, Ct
Posts: 5,898
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Pretty obvious.

Attached Images
File Type: jpg 1a 52a pul.JPG (87.2 KB, 51 views)
__________________
DON'T RECALL DOING SOMETHING FOR MYSELF BASED ON SOMEONE ELSE'S LIKES OR DISLIKES
51 MERC-CT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2018, 07:35 PM   #15
RalphG
Senior Member
 
RalphG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sask. Canada
Posts: 2,418
Default Re: Merc Radiator Swap

Quote:
Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT View Post
Pretty obvious.
Yes, the misalignment was quite obvious but the solution was not. I guess I learned to live with it but am happy to report that as of today it is running straight. I got the anti freeze back in and fired it up for a test. Very happy with the radiator as it shows no leaks. Belt alignment is right on. Only problem is the top hoses are questionable. They appear good , not brittle, but so much corrosion on the head outlets that has stuck to the rubber it is not sealing too well. I've drained it and removed the worst leaker to clean up again. It still has the original style clamps on it.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_1156[1].jpg (31.2 KB, 14 views)
RalphG is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:59 PM.