I've been chasing overheating issues since last season and I've replaced everything but the water pump. So my question is not if I need a new pump it is what do all you guys think of the flowkooler pumps?? Pros and cons?? Or are alot of you guys using the TA pump and what's their pros and cons?? I would like to get as much real world info and opinions as I can before I just order one.
Talk to Larry the Wizard on here to sort out your overheating problems... Things that come to mind are... Timing & distributor curve and... Condition of distributor Radiator type Radiator shroud Thermostat 160, 190 etc. Intake type Carburetor Spark Plugs Have the cylinders been bored if so... to what? I'm sure there are other things to know and address that I'm unaware of... Larry talked my temperature down from 200-210 average to...170 to 180 average and this 464 cid runs smooth as silk with never a hint of detonation even in the hottest of summer.
I 'm using the FlowKooler pump on my new motor. I have great success with that pump, I'm having the opposite affect, trouble keeping the motor at temp with a 180* stat. But again everything in the cooling department has been modified or replaced with new, like radiator, Stewart Thermostat (highly recommend), pulleys, correct shroud, fan and clutch, oil cooler, eliminated and sealed all openings around the radiator, homemade aluminum belly pan to force all the air to go thru the radiator and not escaping around or below. I wanted a car that I would not worry about over heating in Florida summer, and still run low tens. If you have checked everything like Eric says then you are going to like that pump.
I added one late last fall as part of my timing cover replacement. Bolted right on. I knew it was working well as radiator started leaking about a week after I installed it... ) I do see it pushes a lot of water thru the new radiator - champion ae 161. I replaced every hose and the heater core (it leaked) so every bit is fresh. I think it was a smart investment...
Thanks guys for the feed back I think I will be ordering one soon. As for the list Eric suggested above here's my info: - Timing is at around 18° at idle @ 500rpm when I rev it up to 2000-2500rpm the timing mark is no where in sight?? - the dist. Is a DUI HEI that is 3 years old and I haven't opened it up to check the curve -Champion AE 161 2 row aluminum rad and aluminum shroud with dual elec. 14" fans with relays, sensor that turn on at 200° off at 185 and a 180° T-stat distilled water mixed with antifreeze -edlebrock performer intake with a fully restored 7042240 (1972) Qjet from ken @ everyday performance -NGK UR4 6630 plugs (recomended by Larry the wizard) with Taylor Spiro pro silicone 8mm wires -Star wars air cleaner with K&N air filter - The tranny is on its own seperate borgs&Warner cooler with a 7" elec. Fan so it's not adding any heat to the system. I just did an oil change and I am going to do a tranny fluid&filter change and installing a Derale deep pan with cooling tubes built in. All the cooling system stuff is brand new the only thing used/older is the distributor and intake. The timing cover is a Proform (3yrs old) with an unknown year, make and model water pump on it. With all that info maybe somebody can point out something I missed or something else to look for??
I haven't checked the pullies to make sure they're the right ones. Does it matter if they were from the 430 that was originally in the car? I didn't do the swap/build so maybe they put the 69 430 pullies on the 72 455 motor?
Sometimes some simple additives like water wetter or purple ice help the cooling. I personally like to use Evans cool. Since you have water/antifreeze in the system now, you would need to to drain, flush, and use their prep fluid. You can't mix water or antifreeze with it. You don't need to pull it at winters. Has a better boiling point and thermal conductivity than water/antifreeze. Seen several cars drop 20 degrees for just swapping it over.
I had to wait 2 1/2 months until they got some sent to the polisher,but I am in no hurry. It was well worth the wait. I have a standard unpolished on my Stage 1 motor as well..I am mocking up my motor and couldn't resist this..
Hey Ben99 I didn't have any additives mixed in just deionized water and antifreeze. I picked up some water wetter today to add to it to see if it makes a difference.
I use a regular old parts store new one on my street car. 600 hp, 10’s and drive it anywhere on the street, no overheating issues whatsoever. Stock fan, fan clutch, and shroud. 20 years this way. The key is the radiator. Spark plug type, coolant mixture, water wetter, EVANS, timing, etc all don’t mean much if the radiator is sized properly. Timing should already be checked. A little late won’t both anything, except power and economy, so you (hopefully) would already realize something is amiss.
Well I really appreciate all the feed back from everyone and thank you all for the good tips and advice! I did check check and triple check everything and that led me to pulling off the water pump and to my surprise there was some good chunks of rtv silicone wdeged in there from the build (which I didn't do) I assume that didn't get pushed through when I flushed the system..........twice. So I put it all back together and she's running cool as a cucumber! So I don't actually NEED a new water pump now but I may just get one in the near future for just incase. Plus after seeing bignastyGS motor well who wouldn't want that shiny piece on there!!
Interesting that the pump in Pat's photo is a "GMB". I feel FlowKooler may buy the pump bodies from GMB and install their impeller on it. GMB pumps are made in China, Thailand, Korea, or Japan and average retail price is about $25-$30 new. The FlowKooler version of that pump is $139-$219 depending on if you want them to polish the body or not. Not that it is any big deal, ..... I just find it interesting that adding a 16 blade impeller jacks the price over $100.00. Larry
