My 72 Cutlass convertible 350 4bbl has a leaking water pump I need to replace. Are any better or worse than others? I am much more familiar with Pontiacs and there are some definite water pump issues (divider plates, shaft length) that need to be considered. Mine is totally stock with factory A/C. Anything I need to be aware of that isn't in the manual?

 

I would probably go to NAPA. Be careful putting the new pump on because it is easy to strip the bolts on the timing cover.

 

The water pumps for 1971 and 1972 are the same as long as the car had factory A/C. The job may take up to 2 hours.

I have an NOS 72 waterpump for A/C that I never used and I no longer own the car. Let me if you are interested.

 

I would strongly recommend a new vs. rebuilt pump if you can find one. In my experience, the rebuilt pumps with one year warranty will fail at 13 months.

As noted, pay particular attention to the 1/4" fasteners that hold the pump to the sheet metal front cover. These are self tapping screws that go into sheet metal only. DO NOT overtorque them and be very careful to get the threads started correctly so as not to cross thread them. Also, since you must remove the power steering pump bracket to remove the pump, pay attention to the two spacers between the pump bracket and the block (one bottom front cover and one on the lower side of the block). Failure to reinstall these spacers correctly has lead to many posts about pulley alignment.

 

What, if any issues arise from changing the water pump on a non A/C car to a heavy duty pump with fan clutch like you find on A/C cars? The bolt pattern should be the same, but the pulley would have to be changed, right?

 

Exactly. In this particular case (1972) the A/C pump is about 1/2" longer than the non-A/C pump. The pulley needs to be changed to avoid belt alignment issues.

 

Thanks for the responses. I have always had good luck with parts I have purchased from NAPA, and they usually have the part or can get it by the next day.