Hole in water pump?

[Mortimer452]

Received water pump from Bernbaum today for my P23 motor, what's with this hole in the neck for the pulley/fan?  Looks like maybe for a grease zerk but it doesn't appear to be threaded, and the zerk from my old water pump is way too big for this anyway.

[Dodgeb4ya]

A weep hole.

[Jerry Roberts]

Weep hole is correct . When the pump goes bad it will weep there . Or elsewhere . 

[captden29]

I weep when mine weeps.are there any pumps available for these flatheads that can pump a higher volume of coolant at idle? mine needs that for stop and go traffic.    capt den

[Mortimer452]

2 hours ago, captden29 said:

I weep when mine weeps.are there any pumps available for these flatheads that can pump a higher volume of coolant at idle? mine needs that for stop and go traffic.    capt den

How hot does it get?

You could try switching to a 160* thermostat.  Some folks swear by WaterWetter and add a bottle or along with roughly 33% antifreeze

[Hubler13f]

3 hours ago, Mortimer452 said:

How hot does it get?

You could try switching to a 160* thermostat.  Some folks swear by WaterWetter and add a bottle or along with roughly 33% antifreeze

The lower thermostat temp might help but I thought I read somewhere on this forum that it is better to run the higher 180 to 190 thermostats in the flat sixes because running the higher temps allows more of the moisture to evaporate and reduces the sludge build up in the engine, especially in the valve train. That post I read was the sole purpose I run the 190 thermostat, because when I tore this motor down the valve train galleys were full of sludge between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch. If it's bad info then it's bad info, now I have to research more.

[Young Ed]

5 hours ago, captden29 said:

I weep when mine weeps.are there any pumps available for these flatheads that can pump a higher volume of coolant at idle? mine needs that for stop and go traffic.    capt den

can't you control that somewhat by changing the pulley size?

[Andydodge]

Capt......my understanding is that all the new sidevalve 6 water pumps now available use the later style impeller which is a circular piece with vanes around the whole circumference as distinct from the old style two bladed impeller.........the later style would pump more water..........do you know what your cars pump has?.........if its the new style then maybe give the car a good flush out, also check the thermostat, maybe it needs replacing........can you fit a more effective  or more bladed fan that should pull more air and lastly......if your car is 12 volt then I'd be installing an electric fan..........I have no mechanical fan on my 318 poly in the 1940 Dodge, just a 16" electric fan on the front of the radiator that only gets used in traffic, otherwise on the move plenty of air goes thru the radiator and the temp sits on 180-190.........the electric fan is that good that you can let the temp go up to 200, turn on the fan and watch it drop down to 160-170..........regards, Andy Douglas       

[mightmo52]

how much does he get for a water pump? i wonder if its made in usa?

[Dodgeb4ya]

I think most all the new pumps are chinessey  LQ.

[mightmo52]

but its stamped us, most parts i got from bernbaum were junk. i just bought a nice fuel pump on ebay

Edited May 28, 2017 by mightmo52

[captden29]

Andy, the water pump was bought and installed about 2 years ago, so probably the newer style. it does pump more than the old one, just not any at idle. I have flushed the block, new thermostat, radiator recored. I tried an electric fan but it was not much help. I have not found a fan with more blades that will fit as the clearance to the rad. is very tight. it will run right at the edge of the guage in hot weather in city trafific. I just avoid that driving when it is over ninety degrees. at idle there is no water movement at the top of the radiator. seems to me I should see movement. thanks for the advice. maybe drop the oil pan?    capt den

[Niel Hoback]

You need to determine if the engine really is too hot.  Use a thermometer to check the temperature at the top and bottom of the radiator.  Your gauge may be off enough to make you think its running hot when it really isn't.  My guideline; if its not losing coolant, its not too hot.  Water moving at the top of the tank would normaly be slow that you really wouldn't see much if any at all.

Edited May 28, 2017 by Niel Hoback
addition

[Andydodge]

Capt.........you mention that the electric fan didn't help much...........where was it mounted?........front or back, also was it an auto cut in or you had to switch it on?..........when I first put the 318 in the Dodge in the 70's I had a 3" core aftermarket radiator with huge top tank and the most fins per inch I could find..........I couldn't run a mechanical fan as the engine is mounted low in the chassis and there was no clearance for a fan so I used a front mounted electric fan from an Oz Austin for yrs, howver I was never really happy with it.....20 yrs ago I took the car to the local radiator shop and showed the guy, he reckoned that the radiator was actually TOO THICK with TOO MANY FINS which due to its size meant that the water wasn't getting through the radiator quick enough and also due to the number of fins air was not getting circulated enough to cool it.........he recommended a thinner, 2" thick core with a more open style fin and made up one using a late model car core on it side..........I also treated the car to a proper aftermarket electric fan that is the biggest I could find, 16" diameter, its mounted as the previous one was on the front and I still have a manual switch to turn it on when needed.........this setup works fine as I have said and I was wondering whether your recored radiator might have similar issues to the one I perservered with for 20yrs or so.............these are the only pics I could find that show the radiator & you can see that it doesn't have the original style fins, in the 2nd pic you can see that the top tank isn't as big even as an original...........and as the radiator guy said with one this size and fin design the water stays in the radiator only long enough to transfer heat, yet has sufficient air gap around the fins that the electric fan can do its job...........anyway I trust you can get this resolved...........regards, Andy Douglas            

[Mortimer452]

Installed new water pump this evening, everything went together great.  Fan bolts are a bit awkward with so little clearance to the radiator but do-able.  Filled 'er up with water and ran for a few minutes to test and no leaks!  Didn't even have to use any of the ol' silicon-carne which is a big plus in my book.

Decided to go with a 160* thermostat.  I've heard good arguments on either side on the 160 vs 180/190 thermostat debate.  The one I removed was a 180, temps stayed pretty well around 180ish but they would creep to 200 when stuck in slow traffic on a warm 85* day.  With July and 95-100* temps coming up soon, I decided I wanted the additional headroom.

[dale]

  Aluminum radiators make a huge difference..

Edited May 29, 2017 by dale