ok i have a weiand team G water pump that is supposed to be for a sbc but a guy at my local race shop says that it wont work and i need a new one. he said that is will only work with a V-belt only, not a serpentine what should i do i have a bare block that i am droping in a 89 RS the only things i need are alt, water pump, power steering, and i don't know even know if i need the power steering right now i just want the engine in and running. now what is the difference in water pump????? i would really like a fast response on this if anyone could help!!!

thanks
mcwille

 

V-belt is standard rotation, meaning the water pump pulley rotates the same way as the crankshaft (clockwise). Serpentine setups use reverse rotation where it rotates the oposite way as the crankshaft (counter-clockwise).

 

well could i mount the alt on the opposite side to make is spin the other way??

 

Then you are essentially switching to a v-belt pulley setup.

 

but i still want to use the serpentine pullies... in my mind they are less likely to slip

 

Look at how your water pump is. It runs by making contact with the backside belt. By moving the alternator, you are making the ribs of the belt make the contact, not the back of the belt, like it was designed. If the water pump pulley were to be ribbed, then it would work. But the pulley isn't ribbed. So you would only be making about 1/2 the belt to pulley surface contact, if that.

Just switch to v-belt and tighten it down snug. Do it right, it won't slip. But hey, if you want to use serpy pulleys, fine.