Aluminum pulley problems. Suggestions?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
Aluminum pulley problems. Suggestions?
I got a set of aluminum pulleys and of course they don't line up like everything else on this freakin car. You go and try to upgrade and 4 other things don't line up or work out. The pump is an Aluminum Weiand pump. Why doesn't this stuff work the way it is supposed to. Everything is custom once you start changing things. Other than throwing the pulleys as far as I can what else to do with them.
.jpg)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
Looks like you need to put a spacer behind the crank pulley. Don't know if there is a way to slide the wp pulley flange back on the wp shaft or not. It the distance from the block surface to the pulley flange the same on the weiand pump the same as a stock unit?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
If I space out the crank pulley then I have to space out the PS and Alt. pulleys also. I thought of milling the back side of the WP pulley but it will get pretty thin by the time it will line up.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,248
Likes: 48
From: westland mi
it's a pita but u gotta do what u gotta do, space away. u could always send the pulleys back, another pita. i've had to do this 3 different times, i screwed up and got the march under drive pulleys. 1st i had to change back my alt pulley due to dead batteries and then the crank pulley due to running hot.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
One other thought I just had. What is the difference between a WP pulley for a short WP vs a long WP pulley. If it were going to push the grooves back around .300 inches towards the engine it would work. Anybody know what the difference between the two is?
Unfortunatly I chucked the old WP so I can't measure the difference between the old iron WP and the new aluminum pump.
Unfortunatly I chucked the old WP so I can't measure the difference between the old iron WP and the new aluminum pump.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,412
Likes: 792
From: Redondo Beach, California
Look at where the water pump mates to the block. In the photo it looks like the water pump casting it has a thick shim molded into the the castingpump. if you have to mill anything, perhaps you could mill the pump water tube stand off so that the pump became a shorter pump. (Although milling the pump standoff so that it became a shorter pump doesn't sound like a fun thing to do. And by the way have you compared the dimensions of the water pump flange/pulley distance to the block? Is it the same as the "short" SB water pump.) Good luck!! Looks nice though.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
From: Denver Colorado
You might look at machining a little off of the water pump where it meets the block. Just enough to get the pully to line up, make sure there is enough space between the back of the pump and the timing cover.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
I can't mill the pump as it will hit the timing cover. It only has a slight clearance as it sits now. I put the stock pulleys back on and it all lines up. I think these are going to go back. I did a bunch of measuring and these would not line up without considerable work. Oh well bad purchase. I'll try again
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
Gordon
If the pulleys are for a short water pump and not specifically a "corvette short water pump" they will probably be misaligned. The corvette pump is different from a regular short water pump. I don't have the exact specs at my fingertips but I believe the dimensions from the mounting flange to the pulley flange are different. Check with the pulley supplier to see if the pulleys are specific to corvette applications. Good luck.
If the pulleys are for a short water pump and not specifically a "corvette short water pump" they will probably be misaligned. The corvette pump is different from a regular short water pump. I don't have the exact specs at my fingertips but I believe the dimensions from the mounting flange to the pulley flange are different. Check with the pulley supplier to see if the pulleys are specific to corvette applications. Good luck.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
Found it!
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0207vet_thebigchillb/
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0207vet_thebigchillb/
During the first two decades of the Chevrolet V-8, a great variety of water pump configurations were utilized. The one constant, at least through the 1968 model year, was the length of the leg, i.e. the distance the body of the pump stood away from the front of the block (this appears to hold true for '65-68 big-blocks as well as for all small-blocks). All the various and sundry water pumps were of a "short leg" design. Starting in 1969, with the sole exception of the Corvette, the pumps were changed to a "long leg" design--Corvettes used the short leg water pump through the end of 1970. The '71-82 (the latest for which we have reference data) Corvettes used a shorter long-leg pump than other small-blocks.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 530
Likes: 0
From: Victoria Texas
If all else fails you can take the back off the water pump and support the back of the shaft in a press and press the pulley mount flange onto the shaft further.
I have done this and it is the same as when you rebuild the pump and install a new bearing and seal kit.
Just get the amount that you need to go back and make sure that you have that much distance behind the pulley flange before you start.
Mark G
I have done this and it is the same as when you rebuild the pump and install a new bearing and seal kit.
Just get the amount that you need to go back and make sure that you have that much distance behind the pulley flange before you start.
Mark G
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 7,739
Likes: 630
From: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
Exactly! Also ... look closely at that weiand pump's hub ... some have a setscrew in them ... my weiand P/N 8222 does.
Originally Posted by Skid*MARK
If all else fails you can take the back off the water pump and support the back of the shaft in a press and press the pulley mount flange onto the shaft further. I have done this and it is the same as when you rebuild the pump and install a new bearing and seal kit. Just get the amount that you need to go back and make sure that you have that much distance behind the pulley flange before you start. Mark G
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
Originally Posted by SanDiegoPaul
switch to a short water pump. 
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
They guy who suggested milling the mounting face of the water pump might have a good idea. Check that the pump clears the timing cover by a sufficient amount. That would be easy to do.
Turning the inside of the pulley is another but you already said it would make the pulley pretty thin.
I get around all this by just hogging out my own pulleys.
Turning the inside of the pulley is another but you already said it would make the pulley pretty thin.
I get around all this by just hogging out my own pulleys.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
They guy who suggested milling the mounting face of the water pump might have a good idea. Check that the pump clears the timing cover by a sufficient amount. That would be easy to do.
Turning the inside of the pulley is another but you already said it would make the pulley pretty thin.
I get around all this by just hogging out my own pulleys.
Turning the inside of the pulley is another but you already said it would make the pulley pretty thin.
I get around all this by just hogging out my own pulleys.
If I had a Bridgeport and lathe I would be making lots of parts. I'm lucky to have one side of the garage no less a machine shop.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
I had those same pullies they are for long water pump, I sold them and bought the correct set of March underdrive pullies for my Vette 