1960 FI water pump rebuild

[Wayne G.]

Has anyone used a shop that updates the older water pumps to newer standards, I have seen a few services that say they will bore and use more modern sealing bearings, shaft and all, they say then the pump will last at least 200,000 miles or longer?

Am I asking for trouble again if not, what is the lead cause of them failing?


I have 2 related questions, I have the fan thermo, should I leave or add a spacer and go direct for better cooling?

What temp thermostat should I run? She has none at the moment since it was leaking slowely. ( not what is factory but what do most folks in hot areas usualy run? HI? Low? Hi Flow? Performance? Whats a good one....

Save the Wave!

[Adam S.]

Re: 1960 FI water pump rebuild

Hi Wayne, go with 160 stat, if you are not going with a show car...... pump mods will be good for street use.............. as far as direct fan without thermo fluid clutch, either one will work, direct drive fan is noisy but seams to cool a slight bit better in stop & go traffic, fluid clutch fan robs less horse power & is quiet when in stop & go traffic................I am old school I personally like the old fan setup.........but if your year car came from factory with the fluid fan drive, may be better to stick with that set up, good luck , Adam.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1960 FI water pump rebuild

Has anyone used a shop that updates the older water pumps to newer standards, I have seen a few services that say they will bore and use more modern sealing bearings, shaft and all, they say then the pump will last at least 200,000 miles or longer?

Am I asking for trouble again if not, what is the lead cause of them failing?


I have 2 related questions, I have the fan thermo, should I leave or add a spacer and go direct for better cooling?

What temp thermostat should I run? She has none at the moment since it was leaking slowely. ( not what is factory but what do most folks in hot areas usualy run? HI? Low? Hi Flow? Performance? Whats a good one....

Save the Wave!

Wayne------


I do not know what sort of mods they could make to the pump. The 1955-70 waterpump castings cannot be over-bored to accept the larger bearing size used for 1971+. I know of no bearing size "in-between" the 1955-70 and 71+. Plus, I do not think the 1955-70 castings would accept very much of an overbore, at all, before becoming too thin to support the bearing.

The bearing/shaft assemblies for the 1955-70 pumps are a weak point. However, installed properly and of good quality, they will usually last for at least 50,000 miles. How many miles do you plan to drive your car?

An out-of-balance fan or fan clutch with bad bearings are a major cause of waterpump failures, especially for the 1955-70 waterpumps.

If your car was originally built with a fan clutch, I would keep in that way. However, I'd use a new fan clutch. A GM #3916141 is what you need.

I would use a 180 degree thermostat. I doubt that your cooling system is capable of maintaining a temperature much lower than that so a lower temp thermostat will do no good and might do harm by allowing operating temperature "swings" under certain conditions.

[Jim L.]

Re: 1960 FI water pump rebuild

Wayne,

If your car is injected, as your subject line suggests, and if you intend to drive your car (as opposed to making it a trailer queen) I would recommend three things:

1. Forget using your original top tank radiator. Buy a DeWitt repro instead. Besides cooling better than your ancient original probably does, it will be a lot more reliable. The DeWitt radiator has sufficient capacity to actually keep the engine at the thermostat temperature on all but the hottest of days, which leads me to....

2. Run a 160 degree thermostat. The cooler you keep the engine, the happier the Rochester FI unit will be. Yes, this runs counter to the excellent advice Joe gave. I would not ordinarily disagree with Joe, but in this case, you really do want the engine as cool as you can keep it.

3. Use the least amount of antifreeze needed to provide winter protection. Straight water (with corrosion inhibitors added) provides the best cooling, but this may not be an option for you if the car routinely sees freezing temperatures in winter.

Jim

[Jerry B.]

Re: 1960 FI water pump rebuild

Does anybody know where one could purhase the old style water pump lube? I understand the EPA discontinued years ago because it contained a particular dangerous ingredient?

[John H.]

Re: 1960 FI water pump rebuild

Does anybody know where one could purhase the old style water pump lube? I understand the EPA discontinued years ago because it contained a particular dangerous ingredient?

Jerry -

"Water pump lubricant" hasn't been needed for decades; water pump bearings are sealed and permanently lubricated.