Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1939 water pump replacement

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: 1939 water pump replacement -- page: 1 2     supereal 12-07-2009 @ 8:26 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Be aware that nearly all vendors will tell you that no one, or a very few, have complained about parts that don't fit. It is baloney. When I found that Drake's trunk lid hinges didn't resemble the correct type in any way, they told me "you must have an odd car" because no one else complained. I don't, and had to remake the hinges using parts from the damaged pair, as they couldn't supply the correct ones, even though their catalog plainly states that they fit convertibles. Why they wouldn't confirm that the pump castings were correct before production is a mystery, but not entirely surprising. parrish 12-07-2009 @ 8:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 349 Joined: Oct 2009 Finally tested Drakes replacement pumps yesterday (working great) and I will leave this topic with my rookie advice: remove the grille plus radiator and USE ALAN'S HEADLESS BOLT APPROACH! If I hadn't, and considering the "bad fit" issue acknowledged by Drake, I would still be standing there swearing! alanwoodieman 10-22-2009 @ 8:05 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 Oh for the quality MADE in INDIA parts, makes you just to want to scream Ford had it right--spurious parts!! parrish 10-22-2009 @ 7:57 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 349 Joined: Oct 2009 Well...I called Bob Drake's tech support and they told me that they are fully aware of the "bad fit" issue. According to Drake, Ford actually had 2 blueprints for the water pump footprint. Drake claims to have consulted the other manufacturers (Carpenter was mentioned) and were advised to choose the least reported problem blueprint schematic. So Drake picked the least offensive according to the other manufacturers (Carpenter mentioned again). Drake claims that out of the roughly 475 water pumps they have sold, only 3 customers have called with this "bad fit" issue. What I don't understand (and neither could the tech) is that the passenger side pump bolt pattern was ok (I still had to slightly grind the inner top leg of the pump body to draw it up tight), but the driver side bolt pattern was off by about 1/16, which is the amount the tech mentioned early on before I had told him of my experience. I also had to significantly grind the inner top leg...much more than the passenger side. I had to ream the bolt holes on the driver side pump body to thread the bolts. Obviously Drake should forewarn potential customers or provide details of their chosen pump footprint... supereal 10-14-2009 @ 9:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 For the most part, the best you can do is back-flush the block to remove the suspended particles. You apply water thru the heads, and allow it to flush the junk out of the lower block inlets. Don't expect a whole lot of it. You can do this with the pumps in place. Rust and scale is usually firmly attached to the rough inner surface of the block, and must be mechanically dislodged when the engine is apart. Back flushing is also a good practice with your radiator, as much of the crud collects in the top tank. TomO 10-14-2009 @ 8:59 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 Flushing will remove most of the loose crud in the block and I would recommend that you do it before re-installing the radiator. I am disappointed to hear that Drake's new pumps did not fit correctly without minor modifications. I would write to Bob and let him know your experience. It will help him make quality control modifications. Tom parrish 10-14-2009 @ 8:27 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 349 Joined: Oct 2009 After all my concerns with that "hidden bolt", I used a six-sided socket and a big half inch drive long wrench for leverage and it loosened right up no problem! I had removed the radiator and grille (highly recommended) so I had plenty of muscle room and leverage. The bigger payback for the workspace was putting the Drake replacements back on as the driver side unit was slightly off on the inside leg and wouldn't flush up to the mounting plate. I had to round it off a little with a grinder. The other 3 bolt holes were also too tight and I had to ream them out just sligtly to thread the original bolts back in. Without the extra work room to see what the problem was, it would have been a much bigger headache. But being able to sit down in front with a flashlight and eyeball the bolt hole alignment made all the difference. I used Drakes stainless replacements for the hidden bolt and verified their length before threading them in. I took the radiator to a good shop and he recommended trying it "as is" because any alternative cleaning might make it leak. I'm going to test it for water flow top to bottom later today. There was a fair amount of rustly scale deposit inside the engine water intake port and I cleaned it out as best I could, but I am concerned about the condition of the water jacket. I thought about trying flush it out by routing water down through the heads before mounting the pumps, but wasn't sure if that would accomplish anything so I went ahead with the install...I can take them off easily enough if the flushing would make a difference??? fortyfordguy 10-13-2009 @ 7:27 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 27 Joined: Oct 2009 Go to SEARS and purchase one of their sets of bolt removers...designed for nasty, corroded, rounded-off bolt heads. They look like deep sockets but have special curved ridges inside. Pick the size for the bolt you want to remove. Tap it onto what's left of the bolt, then twist off with a socket wrench like normal. The tighter you turn (unscrew) the tighter the SEARS tool bites into the old bolt. I've used the tool on a number of badly corroded water pump bolts and never failed to get it out. No heat was needed. Some WD40 or other penetrant fluid never hurts. GM 10-11-2009 @ 6:02 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 15 Joined: Oct 2009 Make sure any replacement bolts are exactly the same length as the ones removed. There have been several cases of longer bolts being used that bottomed out in the threaded hole before pulling the pump up tight. Clean the mounting surfaces good and only use a thin film of grease on both sides of the gasket. I have also seen many cases of the oil hole plugged with silicon, stay away from that. G.M. parrish 10-10-2009 @ 4:07 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 349 Joined: Oct 2009 thanks, alan! I'm going to use the allthread bolt idea for aligning the gasket & pump. That's a good tip and I'll pass it along! Having the grille and radiator out of the way really opens up the work area and I think I'll have the radiator pressure tested as long as it's out of the car. I bought the motor mounts from Drake and they look like the right design and quality.

<< previous || next >>

PAGE: 1 2

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1