MTFCA Forum

Got a call from a friend this morning who does not do internet and I did not have the answer to his question for him. He has a Henry Auto Parts Milwaukee accessory water pump on his T. From the sound of it, he thinks his radiator is fine but it was on the car when he acquired it and he has left it alone. Too much alone, I think. The bearings are grinding and he will need to address them or remove the pump entirely. But he can't get to it for a while and wants to drive the T. He has the original fan belt and his question is . . . can he remove the water pump belt, install the original belt bypassing the water pump pully and get adequate cooling?
I don't know how the pump is designed to work and don't know if it will actually restrict water flow if not rotating, or if it will be OK.

Appreciate any insight. I have read about the water pump pros and cons and the decision to remove it completely and/or replace a defective radiator will be his decision, not mine.

Thanks in advance.

The pump has an impeller inside which would restrict the flow of coolant. He needs the original type input to the block and the two hoses with the pipe between them. Then remove the pump and install the original equipment. Then he can try the car without the pump. If it cools OK, just leave it off. They tend to run too cool with the pump in cold weather anyway unless he also has a thermostat.
Norm

Most water pumps have enough clearance between the impeller and the housing to allow water to pass if the pump is not moving. I'm confident they were made that way to protect the engine from over heating if the pump failed due to any number.of reasons. However I saw one pump where the impeller was a perfect fit inside the machined inner surface of the pump. Don't know about that type.

^^^^^^^^^
Richard has it right! Very few accessory T “pumps” are actually pumps. They are circulators, that simply promote water circulation thru the intentionally oversized cooling system. The impeller will no doubt cause some restriction in the system, but may not be enough to matter

Hi Robert,
I had the belt come off my speedster once. It did run warmer going down the road but did not over heat. It did over heat at stop lights( maybe
because the fan was not turning) I didn't have a T radiator in my speedster & I was concerned about it running hot because of the smaller
radiator so I added the pump. I would suggest he try it & stay close to home, if it runs cool then start going farther away till he has a good idea
how it will work out. This time of year I would bet he can get away with it. I would carry extra water.
Craig.

I think he will do some diagnosis when the weather gets warmer and drier down here in Atlanta, but just wanted to know if he could test run or occasionally dire up the engine during the winter with the water pump bypassed.

Now, for my question. New T owner working on a project right now. You have mentioned running hot and running warm and running cool. Is everyone running motormeters? Watching steam boil out the radiator? Just gut feeling or timing feel? How are you gauging engine temp?

I'm no where close to a purest, but have been a mechanic my whole working life I find that accuate information is needed for the opperation of
a internal combustion engine. I personally run Stewart Warner gauges on my T's & check them for accuracy with a good infared thermometer.
I have no confidence in motometers for anything other than a confirmed reference. I have seen Ter's claim their engine was hot with no steam
& cold with steam blowing out of the overflow because that is what the motometer indicated. No mater what you use a good infared
thermometer should be used to confirm it's reading.
Craig.

I’m with the “there’s a restriction but not a blockage” guys. It’s worth a try with keeping a close eye on the temp and the orig belt turning the fan.

I recommend running a temperature comparison test using an infrared thermometer. I always carry one in my car. It gets used quite often on other cars that are on tour with me.

Art M

The answer to his question is yes. Remove the water pump and install the original metal pipe from the bottom of the radiator to the water inlet and install the old fan belt to see what it does. If your radiator is good, it will cool the engine through the thermo-siphon system without a water pump. The thermo-siphon system works in the following way: As the hot water leaves the engine block through the water outlet at the head, it enters the radiator and flows down through the radiator. The forward movement of the car and the pulling force of the fan forces the wind through the fins of the radiator, cooling the water. The cool water leaves the radiator through the bottom and flows up into the block through the water inlet where it cools the block. The water moves through the system in a continuous motion as the water is heated and cooled, forcing the water ahead of it to flow through the system through convection.

If you need a water pump to circulate the water and cool the engine, then it is time to get your radiator flushed and serviced, or spring for a new radiator. I believe there is a waiting time for new radiators so, if your radiator is bad you might have a long wait before it arrives. In that case, if you must use the water pump, do so, but when the new radiator arrives, ditch the water pump. Jim Patrick