Hi all,

I'm looking for any REAL WORLD experience or numbers by people who've tried different water pumps and/or experimented. (I'm not talking about electric pumps, but streetable stock type belt driven mechanical pumps)

I'm wanting to get a good quality water pump for my smallblock that will cool Great and last forever. All I've ever bought in the past were the cheap-o parts house "remanufactured" pumps. I need a little insurance, because I'm don't want to overheat engines anymore. So, no more cheap-o pumps, I'm looking for a good one.

Are there any advantages to an aluminum waterpump, besides weight, that you can't find in an equivalent iron pump?

What is the best pump to buy (in your experience)?

thanks for any insight,
Clem


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SCCA TransAm Series Race Mechanic/CrewChief
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1983 Z28 with LG4, 5 speed, and (unfortunately) T-tops
1983 Z28, NO T-tops, (unfortunately) Auto Transmission (hopefully not for long)
http://communities.msn.com/clemsprojects

 

Hi Clem,
Try Stewart Components:
http://www.stewartcomponents.com/water_pump.htm
A drag racer friend of mine introduced me to this company.I guess they're pretty popular with the NASCAR guys.Check out where they compare their pumps to Edelbrock's!
http://www.stewartcomponents.com/ede...comparison.htm
Almost 20 GPM more flow at 5000 RPM!
Anyway, I've been using one of their Stage 2 pumps on my Camaro for while now and though my car doesn't need a ton more flow than stock,it's held up well in day to day traffic and my temp never gets above 190 with the stock radiator.
They sell direct and have pumps in cast iron or aluminum,even polished.
-Rich-

 

I went with a Stewart Stage1 pump (like $69 I think) and have nothing but praise. It lowered my average temps at least 30 degrees (and I didn't have some crappy system either, I had a new stock style radiator, all new hoses, new 160 degree thermo, new cheap-o water pump). I was having alot of problems trying to keep this sucker cool prior to the Stewart pump. I highly recommend it. If you want to spring for more money they have even better pumps.

I'm sure if you have other problems in your cooling system that are screwing it up, the Stewart won't help as much. But I had everything new and still couldn't keep cool with a pair of cheap-o waterpumps that I tried. Initially I didn't buy the company advertising hype, but the Stewart pump really did have more effect on my average temps than I was expecting and lived up to the claims.

And so far (knock on wood) it has lasted longer than most cheap-os I've had... Now if only I could find an affordable alternator that wasn't a piece of sheite.

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Ray87Z
-Vortec headed 350.
86 IROC w/ a cammed 305 TPI.
Formerly Ray86IROC.
www.inter-scape.com/Ray

 

I agree, maybe we could convince Stewart to start making alternators.These !@#$%&* Kragen alternators!
Remember: A lifetime warrantee doesn't mean the part will last a lifetime..............
it just means you'll be able to replace it for a lifetime.
Sorry, just ranting....
-Rich-

 

Thanks guys,

I appreciate your info. I also appreciate all the people who would post "I'm gonna get..." or "been working great for two whole weeks..." or "Everybody says good things about..." etc. for not doing so

I had read a post about the Stewart-Warner pumps (most likely posted by one of you two ) and will look more into them.

Anytime I have a motor out from now on, I'm replacing every piece of rubber in the cooling system (along with new thermostat and radiator cap...of course). I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who suspects the parts house "remanufactured" units of being shoddy.

thanks
Clem

 

I have had a Stewart Stage 3 pump for a short time, it has been excellent so far, but it's barely broken in yet... probably only about 18,000 miles... I can definitely see more coolant moving in the radiator than with the pumps I had been using (usually either new Airtex or TRW)

I mostly got it for the HP and weight savings. I didn't have a cooling problem before and I don't now either, it's hard to tell if it made any improvement to that, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.

OBTW it's Stewart Components, no connection to the gauge company

www.stewartcomponents.com

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

RB do you ever run your engine at high loads for any extended length of time? (Such as road racing)

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91 RS 5.0 TBI....LT4 cam....Edelbrock headers....3"Dynomax exhaust....5spd.... 3.08.....Ultimate tbi....afpr...ZR 255-50's...Koni's

[This message has been edited by DM91RS (edited November 16, 2001).]

 

Well you guys got a stage 1 and a stage 3 opinion, I might was well be the stage 2 guy. Nothing but good things about the pump. Stage 2 is like the edelbrock unit but trust me when I say the quality is far superior. Just looking at the two you can tell the Stewart unit is better. The tolerances are tighter and everything about is perfect.
Two thumbs up

 

No, I mostly just drive it to work... no road racing I wish Talladega had a "public day"

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports