Thread: 350 with long water pump

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I got a quick cheap replacement engine for my truck. Its got a long water pump and fat pulleys instead of the old v pulleys that the old engine used to have. I gave away the power steering bracket off the engine which also housed the alternator and the old style bracket doesn't work. I don't know if I should change out the pulleys or get a short water pump. There is no power steering, air conditioning, or any other peripheral equipment that will be on the engine.

Eventually I am thinking about putting electronic fans on and getting rid of the fan blade completely. Any thoughts on the situation would be greatly appreciated.
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If it were me, I'd find/make the bracket needed and keep it the way it is. For sure I would never ditch the mechanical fan and clutch package if there's room for them because they are the best you can get for cooling with the proper shroud, hands down better than going electric IMO.

The kicker on this set up is the alternator bracket you have on the engine. The bracket is for trucks and Corvettes with the short water pump and requires the short pump and pulleys to get the belts to line up.

The pulleys for the short pumps are getting a bit scarce......their still out there but it takes a bit of digging to find a set. More readily available are the brackets and pulleys for the long water pump. The problem is the long WP setup places the alternator on the other side of the engine so your wiring will have to be changed around to hook up the alternator.

You can usually pick up a set of LWP pulleys and brackets for about $100 (new/chrome), which will probably be close to the same cost as the pulleys and and short water pump needed to work with the alternator bracket you currently have on the engine.


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also in your pics you have a reverse rotation pump/fan assy and you ll need to address that

Thanks for the pointers! I bought the engine for $500 I should still have the old water pump off my old engine laying around I should be able to just steal all the old parts to get it up and running again. I was just trying to use what was currently on the engine.

So my short water pump has some sludge in it from the oil and antifreeze mixing what's the best way to clear that out?

I would put on a new pump if that one has been off for awhile. They are prone to leak after they have been off for awhile, sitting around. Usually rust and crud dries on the seal and after running awhile you have to change it any way. They are not that expensive, but can be if you are out on the road and break down. Just my opinion

You can probably just wash it out with a hose.....but before you do check around the weep holes and see if there is any tracking indicating the seals are seeping. Desert dog is right about the pumps being prone to leaking after they have set for a while even if they didn't leak before.

I did a lot of engine swaps/changeovers back when I was running my shop and usually recommend to my customers that unless the following had just recently been replaced that the water pump and fuel pump be replaced, the alternator pulled apart and the bearings and brushes be checked and the starter brushes checked and the bushings lubed, and possibly rebuilding the carburetor (especially those with fiber floats like Rochesters). Additionally if it was an automatic I'd recommend the front seal be replaced, and if it was a stick, the clutch and throwout bearing be checked. If you capable of doing an engine swap all these operations are within your abilities.

Yeah I had some customers who thought I was just trying to pad the bill, but as I explained to them it was far cheaper to do it when I was doing the engine swap that it would be down the road when they came back for the parts to be replaced in car. Some customers decided to roll the dice and take their chances. For some it paid off but more than a few found out just how aggravating (and expensive) it was to have the car come back once a month or so to have those parts replaced.

Just my 2 cents on your used motor. Unless you personally know the history of it, at a minimum I would check for any seepage at the rear main seal, pull the valve covers and replace the valve seals and pull the timing cover and check the chain. If it still has the nylon upper gear even if it’s in good shape replace it with a new timing set (with metal gears). If the valve seals are hard brittle and broken or if it has a nylon timing gear and the teeth and starting to break off, plan on pulling the oil pan and cleaning or preferably replacing the pickup. If you’ve never seen the crap that builds up in the pickup when a timing gear or valve seals go away this is what you typically find (and this was just valve seals).



I know this is more work and money than you probably want to go thru, but how much work do you want to go thru AFTER the engine is in the vehicle?????


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I certainly appreciate all the advice! I have several alternators on hand if necessary, my neighbor that sold me the engine took the engine all the way down and built it back up including the carb. Its either a 600 cfm or 750 cfm edlebrock performance marine carb I am going to look up the numbers on it and the intake so I can get a little more info on it.

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***The more i find on this engine the less of the things I think he actually did that he said he had done.***

Turns out this engine was a complete bust any ways. Things I've found in the past couple days antifreeze in the oil, sludge has been dripping out of my oil pan for the last 2 hours, intake is cracked and being held together with some sort of sealant, I had to use a 3' pipe wrench just to break the oil filter loose, and a large breaker bar to break the oil plug loose. ]

Long story short don't buy an engine from some one who you don't know, and experience is expensive.

Sorry to hear of this! Yes, the experience can be costly. "Maybe" the neighbor will feel guilty???

5.JPG4.JPGActually he dropped his pressure washer and ran over to the garage to help me tear down the engine and inspect every thing. It looked good so I rebuilt the top end. Got the engine in my truck and installed by my self which was not fun, but it could have been much worse. Its not pretty but it should be running this weekend assuming I can get my throttle to fit onto my carb, and figure out what wires go where.

The intake was so crusted with dirt and grease that it took a wire wheel and 4 cans of brake cleaner to get it cleaned up and its still dirty.

that takes a common rubber piece should be able to find one easily

Yeah your parts store should have them