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Engine block 389244D Water pump pulled out says 31290 ACIHi again,
So am attempting to change my water pump along with a few other things. Engine os a bit of a Frankenstein job. Engine block code and head combo lead me to think it is a 425. Engine block number 389244 D. Water pump has a number 31290 with letters ACI on it. Heads have the C stamp. That combo I have seen claims of it being a 67 425 engine.
Wouldn't bug me but this after market part appears to be wrong. But wtf do I know, that is just what my google tells me when hunting around. Have the high flow water pump coming so will see if they match or not, just looking to see if anyone has any ideas.
From what I have read this block can be a variety of things, from 88 to a tornado and could already be converted over to a 455 internally. I just dont know for sure. Have read some things about a drill mark but javent noticed one. The water pump threads I read all kind of come down to some combination of the three different length water pumps and pulleys being possible.
I just want the right one for the engine. Dont really mind getting different anything but determining what I should get is not simple so far.
If its a 67 425 i think it should be the same as a 67 442, just slightly over 5 inches. Sorry i dont know the exact number. Also depends on if you have the original brackets for your alternator, powersteering pump, A/C, etc. All must match.
That is how to measure, someone here knows the exact amount. I dont have my car or spare pump here to measure it now.
Good luck
Steve
Thanks for taking a peak. Not sure it is a 67 425 at all, just to be clearer. That is just my best guess so far. Ahhh the Joy's of a Frankenstein engine, everything comes with some mystery.
So if Iam measuring it right, which one is it ya think?
Apologies as always for my dumb questions, just a hobby I am getting into and trying to figure things out.
And if I am measuring correctly, then looks like I need the 1775 flowkooler. I doubt any item on the car is original at this point so dont want to figure out a whole new setup, just replace the pump. Despite my earlier harping on getting the right one, settling into, getting the easiest one, got enough work to do! We shall see. Part should be here Friday, will take a pic of them both next to the one I pulled out for the next poor soul that stumbles along thread. Murphys law says for sure my engine will need the third length though right?
The right one is the one that works with your pulley setup. Change the length of the water pump and the pulleys will never line up.
Measure the water pump length from the mounting surface at the block to the outer face of the flange for the fan.
Thanks guys, based on both of your comments, I am thinking that second one will do the trick! The clarification that it is to the top of the round thing puts it at 6"! Hopefully can put it all in Saturday and reassess where I am at.
The right one is the one that works with your pulley setup.
This is what you should be focusing on. It doesn't really matter what the engine came out of, what really matters is what the engine is going into.
So what is this engine going into?
Are you using the pulleys and brackets that were on the engine originally? Or are you using brackets and pulleys that were with the vehicle it's going into?
Also be aware that Flowkooler water pump is made to go on 1971-up vehicles that use a smaller diameter water pump inlet and matching radiator hose. If you are using it in a 1970-older vehicle, you will need to adapt the smaller diameter water pump nipple to fit the larger diameter radiator hose/radiator outlet nipple.
It is a 72 cutlass supreme, but has been gutted by prior owner and setup as a sleeper type drag racer as far as I cann tell. Engine not original in other words but strong, but already rigged prior with electric fans but ran hot aka 230 if at a light for 10 minutes. Not terrible but enough to cause me worry. Initially did the things I read to do, replace thermostat, flush the system (did that twice actually), and looked for leaks, found nothing. Then I actually pulled the radiator and saw a pin hole leak. So replacement of radiator was needed. So I may be wasting time and money on the water pump and newer bigger fans, no doubt, but I am the type that replaces things in bunches because that is how my schedule works out best for. This can easily be taken as a cautionary talefor others to just fix what is broken and dont make your life harder but I think of it as, when you already have things pulled apart do what you can, similar to with newer cars where you just change the water pump when you change a timing belt, you dont have to but since already in the muck, handle it. Just my way of doing it, not the right way.
I plan on using what is currently on the engine. So my working theory being if all things stay the same lengthwise with the water pump, the existing brackets and pulleys should be adequate.
Well the 6" flowkooler is the winner. Gave the thermo housing thin silicone gasket and used a little blue silicone around both sides of the water pump gasket and followed instruction on the jb weld. Tightened till saw some come out, waited an hour and tightened another turn.
The radiator was simple, only due this not being this cars first electric fan rodeo. Reused the relay and everything just fit which was nice.
Biggest pain was a surprise, tensioning the power steering pump! Not really hard once I found the bolts to loosen under the pulley. Changed the belts too since they had some cracks. Alternator belt tightened up easy with leverage bar. Will toss old ones in the trunk for emergency replacements on the road as someone here said to do, thanks for the good idea, emergencies happen!
Went with 180 degree thermostat, modelon or something. Wasnt the cheapest but wasnt the most expe dive either, supposedly "high flow". So with that all said and done, after a 30 minute drive little highway, little traffic filled roads and I never cracked 190, so happy to see the new parts working out.
Will give it a final coolant level check when she cools down later and try and burp any remaining air out. End game, was up to 230 and now 190, is the high end with normal temp when rolling 170-175.
Oh,
radiator is champion mc161 4 row aluminum and shroud and 14" fan combo from Ebay. Was not terribly cheap but compared to what summit or jegs wanted for a similar all around name brand setup it really was cheap. Overkill but hoping it allows for any further toys added to engine or if I pull the engine and rebuild it if I ever get that ambitious.
Just wanted to put a picture in of it installed now.
Waiting on a new 1/2" NPT temperature sensor thread in power switch to arrive. Bought a 200-185 and a 195-175 version to try out to see where the sweet spot really is. As far as I can tell the setup that came with the car turned the fans on at 160 (according to my little IR tester thing, it is more like 155), which was fine for the underperforming radiator/water pump setup but now that it is cooling so well, this needs to be changed to a more standard setup. Will try the 195 on, 175 off version first as I like the idea of having a few extra minutes before bad things happen and that cushion seems ok. Suppose i should have just got a whole new kit but if the $20 part does it instead of the $50 kits (and the ripping out of old and wiring the new no less) then will consider it a win.
That is going to the power steering belt. At some point this car had A/C also, so you can kind of see where that third belt would be if it still had it (front pulley has the third slot closest to the radiator fans, if A/C was still in it would occupy the area to the left of the engine if looking from the front of the car back).
Oh and I settled in on the 190 on, 170 off from American Volt. My initial thought was oh wow, it will hit 200 and then plummet down instantly and that wasn't a good way to think about it. While the fans turn on and the temp drops, it does take a little bit to start working, so my flawed thinking was it would never get over 200 with the 200 on, 180 off setup. Well it would creep up to 205 maybe and then plummet down in real world scenario. So went with the lower temp option. Took another 50 mile drive and seems to be working as imagined. Next up lowering springs and shocks and replacing any other suspension parts that need it. Think this will also force me to get new tires and wheels a bit smaller or rather closer to stock size just so it will fit and will be nice for the speedometer to actually be somewhat accurate.
What belts specifically did you use. I went to Advance Auto and had them order me the belts for my 1971 Cutlass with 455 and AC and the ones in their system are incorrect. My AC belt is still good... but the ones they sent that should be for power steering pump and alternator are wrong. Thanks!
7575 - Fan, Alternator and Power Steering; w/ Air Conditioning (13/32 x 58 1/8) 7445 - Fan and Power Steering; w/ Air Conditioning (13/32 x 45 1/8) 7603 - Fan and Air Conditioning (13/32 x 60-5/8)
The above assumes that your car has the pulleys that match the application. If those have been changed, you will need to measure around the pulleys to get the correct belt lengths.
Last edited by Fun71; June 19th, 2019 at 10:59 AM.
July 31st, 2018, 07:39 PM
