Aha! ... huh?

[Milt Atkinson]

Ever since I built the T-Bucket I have had a slight issue with overheating. I had the engine built by a shop that has since closed due the retirement of the owner. During the build process, they put a new timing chain cover and water pump on the engine. Stopped or driving a short distance, the engine seemed fine. Would get up to temp and the fan would kick on. At highway speed for a prolonged period, the temp would keep creeping up and up and up until I would pull over, sit for five minutes and take off again. Now, I was not running a thermostat ... did away with that long time ago to see if that was my heating up problem. Well, I decided that the lack of a thermostat might be letting the coolant travel too fast thru the radiator to cool down.

Pull the thermostat housing and put in a new thermostat. Oh, while you are at it, why not fix that vacuum cap issue? On a Ford water pump you have to cap off the lower outlet which was used for the heater ... I had been using vacuum caps which will, over about six months, deteriorate and start to leak. So, I pull the water pump, pull out the lower heater hose pressed in fitting, run a 1/2 pipe tap into the hole and stick a brass pipe plug in. No more vacuum caps! Good job ... now, go get a new water pump gasket and put it back together. This is where the wheels start to fall off. I take the pump down to the parts place and they bring out the gasket that fits. On the package for the gasket it says "for reverse rotation\flow installation" ... I tell the parts guy that is the wrong gasket because I have standard rotation ... no 'idler arm, serpentine belt, power steering carp' ... parts guys looks at the water pump I brought with me and says "no, right gasket ... wrong water pump". Five years ago the engine shop had put the wrong water pump on. I am surprised that I haven't toasted an engine or something. The reverse rotation pump was pushing water, but at a very reduced rate\efficiency.

Now the fun part ... finding a standard rotation water pump for a Ford 302 when you are not sure of what year it is and what it came out of ... hmmm, what about electric?

[Krovette]

If i'm not mistaken the 4 bolts that hold the pulley and fan on has a different bolt circle so that means changing the pulley also. It never ends when you try to do a simple repair it always goes haywire on you.

[Big Bill]

I think you will discover that all Fords that run a V belt have standard rotation so pick a year that used V belts and check the length of the pump to make sure that it is the same as yours. Your pulleys should fit.