Where to buy water pumps

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

My tank is listed as 1 1/2 qt. On an 80 degree day it will go from about 1/4 full when cold to about 3/4 full when engine temp is about 170 degrees. I didn't have it on the car during the hot summer, so don't have any feedback on higher temps. This is on a fresh flathead with a freshly reconditioned 4 row original '38 radiator. I understand the main advantage is keeping air out of the cooling system.

I never measured the amount of water in 38 radiator tank but in the 1.5 qts
range sounds reasonable. You didn't mention if you are using stats or not.
It seems you must have a pressure cap, Skips 3 lb valve or an over flow
tank that is not vented. Or it could be you already lost a fair amount and the
level dropped. Put a hose on the end of the over flow tube and the other
end in an open VENTED container so you can see how much water you
lost, start with a full, cold radiator. G.M.

[40cpe]

Originally Posted by G.M.

I never measured the amount of water in 38 radiator tank but in the 1.5 qts
range sounds reasonable. You didn't mention if you are using stats or not.
It seems you must have a pressure cap, Skips 3 lb valve or an over flow
tank that is not vented. Or it could be you already lost a fair amount and the
level dropped. Put a hose on the end of the over flow tube and the other
end in an open VENTED container so you can see how much water you
lost, start with a full, cold radiator. G.M.

I put 5 1/2 gallons in a bone dry system. I'm running 180 degrees stats, but the car runs at 160-170 in this cooler weather. The cap is not a pressure cap, only sealed to the fill neck. The coolant reservoir is vented. After running to operating temp and cooling down, I can remove the radiator cap and the coolant level is up in the fill neck.

[JM 35 Sedan]

I wouldn't leave the end of my driveway without having one of Skip Haney's rewound coils on my distributor, and I feel the same way about having a set of his water pumps on the engine. I have AAA coverage for more than 100 miles because I drive my old Ford all over this counrty, but who really wants to have a breakdown that requires being towed or loaded up on a roll back? I'm just very happy that we still have folks like Skip here in the USA supporting our hobby rather than having to rely solely on parts coming from unknown off shore sources.

[scooder]

Originally Posted by G.M.

The later year pumps like the 8BA type were designed with a longer
snout. These pumps were designed for the use of bearings. G.M.

The early pre 8BA "truck pump" with the double sheave pulley is also designed for a long bearing.
I'm guessing from your answer that your not talking about original Ford bearing type pumps, and your reference to not driving water pumps with bearings over 100 miles, that it's converted bushing type pumps with the little bearing that your talking about.?
Martin.

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by scooder

The early pre 8BA "truck pump" with the double sheave pulley is also designed for a long bearing.
I'm guessing from your answer that your not talking about original Ford bearing type pumps, and your reference to not driving water pumps with bearings over 100 miles, that it's converted bushing type pumps with the little bearing that your talking about.?
Martin.

There have been no problems with ANY of the 49 to 53 pumps other
than normal bearing failures in bearing type pumps. I would say even
on modern cars water pumps are the part requiring the most replacements.
The bearings in ALL 49 to 53 pumps except Lincoln all use the same shaft
and bearing except the shaft lengths vary. These bearings consist of a roller
and ball bearing combination. The roller bearing is the main bearing and the
ball bearing with the grove in the shaft for the balls keep the shaft from
moving. When rebuilding the various pumps Skip cuts the hard shafts to
the required length with a cut off blade. G.M.

[Mr. Will]

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Originally Posted by G.M.

He also uses a VERY small bearing from a air conditioner compressor.
This is very close to the seal and all seals leak. They need to leak some
because this is what lubricates the seal and seat. This water becomes
super hot and a small amount gets into the bearing leading to bearing
failures. I have seen a number of these pumps that were sent back to
the rebuilder 3 or 4 times before being sent to Skip who converted them
back to bushings. In the 20,000 or more bushing pumps Skip has rebuilt
we have only seen maybe a dozen with worn out bushings. These were
worn by the belt being pulled up to tight and some even wore through
the casting. Even then the pump didn't fail the, pump was changed
because the back of the pulley was dragging on the face of the pump
and making a loud noise. In a bushing pump there is a thin film of
oil between the shaft and bushing. The shaft rides on this film of oil and
NEVER touches the shaft. With pumps in service over 20 years NO ONE
has ever been charged for a repair if it failed. G.M.

Great information, thanks for that explanation.

[scooder]

Just to be clear, the early double sheave "truck" pump I'm on about isn't an 8BA pump, nor is it a 1949-1953 water pump. It's pre 1948 water pump that had a double row sealed bearing. It doesn't fit the 8BA style engine, only 59A and back to 1937. It was a "heavy duty" option, Big trucks, buses and that kinda stuff. These were/are fairly common over here (UK) as they were fitted on most Ford Pilots and Thames lorries. Think they were war time stock that subsequently got fitted on stuff after the war.
Martin.

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

My tank is listed as 1 1/2 qt. On an 80 degree day it will go from about 1/4 full when cold to about 3/4 full when engine temp is about 170 degrees. I didn't have it on the car during the hot summer, so don't have any feedback on higher temps. This is on a fresh flathead with a freshly reconditioned 4 row original '38 radiator. I understand the main advantage is keeping air out of the cooling system.

1 1/2 quarts?? No way. Would produce nothing but steam.

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by scooder

Just to be clear, the early double sheave "truck" pump I'm on about isn't an 8BA pump, nor is it a 1949-1953 water pump. It's pre 1948 water pump that had a double row sealed bearing. It doesn't fit the 8BA style engine, only 59A and back to 1937. It was a "heavy duty" option, Big trucks, buses and that kinda stuff. These were/are fairly common over here (UK) as they were fitted on most Ford Pilots and Thames lorries. Think they were war time stock that subsequently got fitted on stuff after the war.
Martin.

Any Ford 32 to 48 water pumps with bearings are subject failure 90 times greater than the ones with bushings. G.M.

[GB SISSON]

Sheesh... You guys are making me feel like I'll be driving around in a ticking time bomb with my new Bob Drake ball bearing pumps. They sounded great on his website. Anyone have experience with them. 59 ab style.

[GB SISSON]

Sheesh... You guys are making me feel like I'll be driving around in a ticking time bomb with my new Bob Drake ball bearing pumps. They sounded great on his website. I rarely buy new parts, but I was all out of used water pumps from my collection of cracked blocks so I decided to treat myself to some 'store bought' modern seal and ball bearing pumps. Anyone have experience with them? (59 ab style).

[40cpe]

Originally Posted by Lawson Cox

1 1/2 quarts?? No way. Would produce nothing but steam.

I was talking about the coolant overflow tank Lawson. I said my cooling system took 5 1/2 gallons

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

I was talking about the coolant overflow tank Lawson. I said my cooling system took 5 1/2 gallons

I believe most the early Fords had 22 or 22.5 quart capacity?? G.M.

[scooder]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Sheesh... You guys are making me feel like I'll be driving around in a ticking time bomb with my new Bob Drake ball bearing pumps. They sounded great on his website. I rarely buy new parts, but I was all out of used water pumps from my collection of cracked blocks so I decided to treat myself to some 'store bought' modern seal and ball bearing pumps. Anyone have experience with them? (59 ab style).

You gotta understand some folk are far to quick to dismiss something different to their opinion.
Sealed bearing water pumps have been used almost exclusively for 70 odd years, these cars are, believe it or not are used for distance over 100 miles without the need for a tow home.
And like I've said, when Ford wanted a heavy duty version of the 59A type water pump for longevity in severe conditions and higher belt loads, they upgraded from a sort of oil feed bush pump to a sealed double row bearing pump. This I guess was successful, as they then used the sealed bearing on the later 8BA engines, discounting the very early 8BA pump that had an odd bearing setup.
Martin.

[OHV DeLuxe]

A lot of cars I`ve worked on had Drakes pumps, one of them for over 10 years, driven a lot on long trips around 600 miles long and never had problems, they are cheap and easy enough to change so why not try.

[Talkwrench]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Sheesh... You guys are making me feel like I'll be driving around in a ticking time bomb with my new Bob Drake ball bearing pumps. They sounded great on his website. I rarely buy new parts, but I was all out of used water pumps from my collection of cracked blocks so I decided to treat myself to some 'store bought' modern seal and ball bearing pumps. Anyone have experience with them? (59 ab style).

I've been driving around almost daily for a few years now and no problems with those pumps.

[GB SISSON]

Thank you gentlemen. Little bit of something on the gaskets or dry? I will antiseize the bolts.

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Thank you gentlemen. Little bit of something on the gaskets or dry? I will antiseize the bolts.

Clean the mounting surfaces REAL good, use the ant seize on the bolls
and a thin film of grease on both sides of the gaskets. DON"T use
gasket cement, permatex or silicon. These sealants can plug the lubricant
passages on some pump. The grease softens the gaskets a little, seals
good and if you have to remove the pump the gaskets are still good for
use again. G.M.

[49r]

I have about 10000 miles over 6 years on Speedway 8BA truck pumps with no issues.

[Veeder]

I vote Skip Haney located in FL!!!!