Thread: Which high flow water pump?

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I need a good quality high flow water pump for my Small Chevy. Summit has many by various brands including their house brand (imported). I want aluminum, but which too choose?

Flow Kooler makes the claim that theirs outflows all other pumps, but I'm not so sure I can believe that.

Despite the arguements back and forth, I am looking for max flow at all rpms (especially at low rpm, but at all rpms when possible).

Also, Same question for T stats. I want a high flow fail-safe Tstat. So many though. Any opinions?

I've had good luck with the Edelbrock and Weiand pumps, can't say about the Flow Kooler, never ran one. No such thing as a fail safe thermostat, if you want something that can't fail, use a restrictor in place of a t-stat--works great on a race car..... It will make for a longer warm up, but that's about the only drawback....

[QUOTE=Dave Severson] No such thing as a fail safe thermostat

Dave, they've been making them for a few years. By fail safe, it doesn't mean it won't fail. If the heat capsule fails, they lock in the open position. They run 2 1/2 to 3 times the price of a standard thermostat. I had one on a van that went out and it did work. The only way I knew something was wrong was the length of time it took to warm up. I think even Stant is making them now. Cheap insurance especially if you're running aluminum heads.

Oldman (startin' to inch up on seven decades)

Originally Posted by pnut

I need a good quality high flow water pump for my Small Chevy. Summit has many by various brands including their house brand (imported). I want aluminum, but which too choose?

Flow Kooler makes the claim that theirs outflows all other pumps, but I'm not so sure I can believe that.

Despite the arguements back and forth, I am looking for max flow at all rpms (especially at low rpm, but at all rpms when possible).

Also, Same question for T stats. I want a high flow fail-safe Tstat. So many though. Any opinions?

Pnut, The shop building my small block right now swears by either the new Edelbrock pumps or the old Weiand ones. I have a pump from the early 90's that is a Weiand. He says this is as good as an Elelbrock but if you've got to get a new one, then get an Elelbrock..... bill

the edelbrocks are good.... and dont waste money on a fail safe tstat, they're all marketing... all tstats fail open now adays, just like all fuel injectors fail closed

Originally Posted by thesals

the edelbrocks are good.... and dont waste money on a fail safe tstat, they're all marketing... all tstats fail open now adays, just like all fuel injectors fail closed

my point was, if it's mechanical, it can fail.....Remember the old saying, if it has ____ or wheels it is going to give you trouble and cost you money....

The idea of the fail safe thermostat is that if it fails, you can still drive the car home. If it failed shut, the car would overheat in minutes.

My question has always been, why do you need a high flow water pump? If you have an overheating problem, it probably stems from a poorly designed cooling system and not the water pump alone. You're probably running electric fans and having problems with overheating in traffic, no?

Originally Posted by 76GMC1500

My question has always been, why do you need a high flow water pump? If you have an overheating problem, it probably stems from a poorly designed cooling system and not the water pump alone. You're probably running electric fans and having problems with overheating in traffic, no?

That is like saying that the stock cylinders are fine, why not run them? The answer is that as we modify engines to create more power and stress, other components need to be modified as well to accomodate.

Your point is well taken, though. I do have a 2 core cross flow 24 x 20 aluminum radiator, and dual electric fans with a proper shroud. I need a new water pump, and I have determined it is cheap insurance to buy a quality water pump for many reasons. Despite the arguements otherwise, a high flow water pump will aid a bit in cooling. So it can't hurt if I need to buy a water pump anyway.

Because I drive my Jeep offroad, both in low speed situations, and on the dunes causing continuous high stress on the engine (excessive heat with less ariflow than highway driving), all additional cooling I can get is helpful.

I have a Flow-Kooler pump on the 350 that was in my Studebaker and found it to work well. It was on the car when I got it, so I don't have a basis for before/after comparison. I will say that my model Studebaker can be a challenge to run cool with modified engines because of the limited air flow and the Flow-Kooler pump, along with the rest of a stout cooling system, did the job well in crawling traffic and pulling long hills over the Sierras at 90-100 degree air temps.

Pat

I vote for Flow-Kooler. Had one on a 429. Worked great.

pnut, you'll find that most of the guys on here have been there, done that with cars and trucks. When someone suggests that maybe one type of system will work better than the other, he has usually experienced that system and is giving you a heads-up to save you time, grief and money. The guys will sometimes make a statement that may seem to you to be putting you down for what you chose on your ride. They're not, it's just that they know what works (bulletproof) and what doesn't.

yup, and some of it goes to the always on going type arguments like whats better, holley or edelbrock, they're both carbs, so whichever you've had better experience with is probably the better choice for you...

My preference would be a Edelbrock ED8810 Victor Series Aliminium water pump-55-72 small block chevy 5/8 pilot. You can get it from most shops or on-line at Pace performance and others.

have you thought about going with an electric pump i am a 4wheeler myself i had a 87 k5 blazer with a 350 i had a electric water pump and 2 puller fans and with the ac running it never got over 180 ever on super hot days crawling through the rocks just a thought

The little research I did on electric water pumps (on the archives of this board) is that the electric pumps simply don't move enough coolant to compare with a mechanical pump.

Is this false? In looking at some of the Edelbrock numbers on their website (to promote their product), the flow is 14 GPH at 2000rpm and 37 GPH at 5000 rpm. This sounds NOT as good as the electric ones (proform, CSR) I saw at Summit, which output in the range of 35 GPH +.

So I guess WHY NOT do an electric water pump? I certainly have the alternator and battery to support it. ALso, why is Proform about $140, and most of the others $100 more? I'm just wondering if there is something I don't know.

PRoform at Summit
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Edelbrock water pump page
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...mps_main.shtml