Joe C

85 L98 - any alternatives to an ACDelco water pump? I've been shopping around, and the ACDelco seems a bit pricey. any suggestions???

c4cruiser

$41 and change at RockAuto for an AC Delco pump. $39 and change for a Bosch pump, same place.

Joe C

OK, this has me a bit confused - delco OE pump (real GM part) - $232, -- delco "professional" (3rd party replacement) - $43. I would really like an OE part, but at 5X the price - ??? for delco, professional, I've had good and bad experiences. not sure I want to take the chance, since it's a bunch of work replacing that booger!





has anyone had experience with airtex HD pumps?

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...nid=477&jpid=6

WVZR-1

If I had an original casting water pump I might actually consider a rebuild from a couple of the quality rebuilders that specialize in water pumps. They use premium bearings, seals and impellers - I believe I might have more confidence in their product than any of the product sold as NEW - OE equivalent.

Stewart might be an exception or one of the other performance pump suppliers.

c4cruiser

The AC Delco 252-664 pump looks like a good deal at $43 with free shipping. A lot of auto repair shops will use AC Delco Professional parts as well as Bosch, Airtex, and even A1 Cardone. Most all of these will be remanufactured parts, not just rebuilt.

You didn't say how long you intend to keep your car or how much it is driven, but the 252-664 pump should work fine. While the description on the Amazon page doesn't indicate if it comes with gaskets, chances are that it does. In any event, any good parts store should have Fel-Pro gaskets for small block chevy water pumps.

HAD2HAV2

I’m running a FMI cast iron water pump on my 88. Need some black hi temp paint before installing. Got tired of replacing a higher dollar Aluminum pump that didn’t hold up.

John A. Marker

Joe,

I changed out the stock WP on my 85 to a FlowKooler Hi Flow Mechanical Water Pump from Summit and really liked the results. Kept the temperature down much better than the stock pump.

ex-x-fire

I'd pay extra for an edelbrock, mine's nearly 20yrs old & has never leaked.

gerardvg

Brand does not really matter when it comes to water pumps, the pressed tin paddles cavitate and cannot pump coolant like a cast or cnc curved impeller.

Look around for some performance water pumps, they are designed to flow better. With the cast or cnc machined curved impeller and pump volude design/ shapes for best performance and larger 3/4'' bearings.

Unfortunatly there is a cover over the water pump impeller so is out of sight and most never really look at the woefull pressed tin paddles

vader86

I run a Stewart

colter

What brand did you go with? Been looking for a NEW L98 water pump but not one of the fancy pumps. i.e. just a stock replacement that will last.

Joe C

took John Marker's advice and went with FlowKooler Hi Flow Mechanical Water Pump from Summit. seems to me it was a tad over $100 w/ free shipping. been in the car for close to 1K miles - no issues so far. pricing, a bit more than a delco "professional" but much less than genuine GM.

John A. Marker

Joe,

Did you find that this pump keeps your temps down much lower?

John

Joe C

can't say for sure. i'm running a 180 stat - seems to hold about that temp while driving just fine. I still get the, sitting in traffic, temp creep, but, the best I can tell, the creep is slower. I did see north of 220 in traffic once - i'm guessing the primary fan kicked in - the temp seemed to start coming down quickly, so i'm guessing this puppy flows pretty good.

mtwoolford

not all GM pumps are created equal; corvette, heavy duty/truck applications typically have a 3/4 inch shaft; others have a smaller shaft (5/16ths inch ?); check the i.d. of the water pump pulley or the o.d. of the water pump shaft to make sure you get the right pump.

mtwoolford

these pumps are worth the price of admission; they flow more at low rpm, allowing use of under drive pulley's without loss of cooling at low engine speeds and at high engine speeds don't cavitate and disrupt coolant flow; just better all the way around.

Joe C

- I can say the impeller on the flowkooler was not some stamped steel POS. I did open it up - it appeared to be cast aluminum (i'm guessing), machined, and anodized. here's the on-line description/specs -

http://www.flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/...duct_info.html



looked just like this....