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Cast Iron vs Aluminum Water Pumps

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    Cast Iron vs Aluminum Water Pumps

    Is a cast iron water pump preferable over an aluminum one? I know that the tow package cars came with the cast iron one but what was the reason for this?

    My water pump needs to come off due to a leak around one of the ports. I read that the cast iron pump uses an extra bolt around each port. I’m considering switching to a cast pump because of this. Is that the only functional difference between the pumps?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    I think the impeller is a bit larger too. More water flow.

    run a tap in those extra holes if you don't have an iron pump now. Fair bet they will be packed with dirt and corrosion.
    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

    Originally posted by phayzer5
    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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      #3
      Thanks! I’ll be sure to clean those holes out with a 5/16 tap. I found a gates cast iron pump for less than 30 bucks so I’ll give it a try.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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        #4
        I had an old cast iron one laying in the scrap pile so I measured the impeller. Six blades, diameter 3 7/8". This was an original never remanufactured part. Now I need one of you to crack open an aluminum one so that my mind can be at rest.







        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
        1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
        1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

        GMN Box Panther History
        Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
        Box Panther Production Numbers

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          #5
          Is the cast iron considered the heavy duty pump where the extra mounting points are used and the aluminum pumps are considered standard duty and the extra fasteners around the coolant ports dont exist or is there more to it?
          ~David~

          My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
          My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

          Originally posted by ootdega
          My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

          Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
          But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

          Originally posted by gadget73
          my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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            #6
            extra bolts = heavy duty. Should provide better clamping on the gasket so its less likely to blow. Or something like that. How much of a problem it truly is I don't know
            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

            Originally posted by phayzer5
            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

            Comment


              #7
              I had an aluminum one lying around for a while.. now I’m curious as well. The weight difference is substantial... I put a newer aluminum one on my performance build... for what that’s worth
              -Phil

              sigpic

              +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

              +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

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                #8
                I gotta buy a water pump for this 347.
                Any recommendations? I'm likely going for the cast iron severe duty version IF I can find one.
                All FORD All The Time

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                  #9
                  I went through a bunch of them a while back, whats been on the car for years now is just a common off the shelf unit from Advance (or Autozone, I don't 100% remember). I know one of them was a reman Cardone, that one fucked off in about 5000 miles, puking water out of the seals. One popped the back plate gasket, blew all the coolant out, and overheated the engine. Another one had bearing problems, wasn't leaking but it sounded like a cat stuck in the fan. I think I did 4 pumps in about 25k miles on just my car. Whatever is on there now has actually been re-installed a couple of times now.
                  86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                  5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                  91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                  1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                  Originally posted by phayzer5
                  I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Bless you and your patience man.
                    I'm trying to avoid that experience with all I have.
                    As it seems, nobody has a pump preference with a part number and manufacturer anywhere online that is ideal for our cars.
                    I'm going to call the Ford dealer and see what they'd give me just for kicks.
                    All FORD All The Time

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                      #11
                      Back in the late '80s, I stripped two junk yard F-150s of everything AC related to add AC to my non AC 1977 F-150 4x4 with 351m. It ran hot afterwards, so I put in a HD 400 F-350 radiator, it still heated. Then I discovered Flow-Kooler thermostats and water pump. I saw they offered an upgraded water pump, and they offered a up grade kit. I ordered just the up grade kit and T-stat. The upgrade kit was a 4" stainless steel disc and six 1/8" pop rivets. I had a new water pump already. The disc attaches via the six rivets and prevents coolant from spilling off the vanes. I used a picture from above to illustrate. Mine is still in use on that water pump, but would be easy to transfer to another once the rivets are drilled out, then just use new pop rivets. Truck never ran hot with AC on again.

                      If using a 351m or 400, they take a thermostat with a restrictor "hat" that closes off the bypass hole in the block off increasingly as the thermostat opens. If a regular type thermostat is used, coolant is just bypassing the radiator uncooled and temperatures just keep rising.
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by tbear853; 05-06-2021, 12:23 PM.
                      No ... I'm not arguing with you ... I'm just explaining why I'm right ...

                      Now go ... and whatever you do ... have a safe trip!

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                        #12
                        I'll look through my receipts to see what brand pump that I got for the 351W; I know that they are different from the 8.2 deck blocks; but maybe that brand makes pumps for them. Though, I just sent my Dad out to get M8 x 1.00 bolts because the water pump pulley flange doesn't accept the stock pulley bolts. Hope this is not an indicator of how it runs :-/

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                          #13
                          FORD garage and I had a nice discussion about owner serviced vehicles versus dealership serviced vehicles. Guy said nobody has called them about ANYTHING prior to 1999 in at least ten years. So anyway..
                          Proper P/N for my '86 is E6AZ8501 B
                          Obsolete and no cross reference.
                          He recommended Napa, as they source parts for the dealership owners collection of 50's and 60's F series trucks there with no issue.

                          I'm aware of the flow-Kooler mod and I might look into that. Good idea.
                          All FORD All The Time

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I was thinking of upgrading my water pump the next time I'm in there and was thinking of this one:

                            https://flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/pro...let-water-pump


                            88 Country Squire
                            86 Colony Park, non-op'd
                            89 Mark VII LSC, non-op'd

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                              #15
                              what that disc would do is take up clearance between the impeller and the back plate. If the pumps were designed properly in the first place that spacing would be tight enough that you couldn't fit a plate in there. Since you could fit a plate, obviously its not all that tight. I can definitely see how closing the back side of the impeller up would improve pump flow. High flow centrifugal pumps have fairly small clearance between the impeller and the housing.
                              86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                              5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                              1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                              Originally posted by phayzer5
                              I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                              Comment

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