Water pump replacement

[88_AHB]

Hey guys,

I need to replace the water pump on my 318. What brand did you go with and have good luck? Also, did you choose aluminum or cast iron, standard or high volume?
Wasn't sure if it was worth going with a high volume, afraid of the heater core giving up. I put a milodon pump on it when the motor was rebuilt a few years ago and its already giving out, which is disapointing.
Thanks

 

[Duke5A]

Water Pumps

Only two really are Milodon and CVF. Never heard of CVF.

Is yours leaking from the weep hole? How is the belt alignment? Clutch fan seated properly?

 

[Remow2112]

I don't know about Milodon and CVF. I thought Milodon onl;y made oil pumps. On these cars the water pump is aluminum and come in 2 configurations. 6 and 8 blade. One is used on AC cars the other non-AC.

If you want to spend a little cash 1958-1991 Chrysler Dodge Plymouth 318 340 360 water pump

8 vane is the non-ac pump. has more blades because the non ac pump spun slower.
6 vane is to prevent cavitation due to the higher speed the a/c pump was driven at.

if you removed the a/c and swapped pulleys to a non-a/c car, then the 8 vane should be fine.

HTH. If you are talking about an oil pump that is a different beast.

 

[88_AHB]

Water Pumps

Only two really are Milodon and CVF. Never heard of CVF.

Is yours leaking from the weep hole? How is the belt alignment? Clutch fan seated properly?

Appears to be leaking from the weep hole. The whole motor and pump have around 5k miles ,belt alignment seems fine this whole time. I’m running an electric fan. The current pump is a milodon and I’m disappointed that it’s already crapped out. I’m thinking of trying another brand that’s decent but that’s hard to find these days.

 

[88_AHB]

I don't know about Milodon and CVF. I thought Milodon onl;y made oil pumps. On these cars the water pump is aluminum and come in 2 configurations. 6 and 8 blade. One is used on AC cars the other non-AC.

If you want to spend a little cash 1958-1991 Chrysler Dodge Plymouth 318 340 360 water pump

8 vane is the non-ac pump. has more blades because the non ac pump spun slower.
6 vane is to prevent cavitation due to the higher speed the a/c pump was driven at.

if you removed the a/c and swapped pulleys to a non-a/c car, then the 8 vane should be fine.

HTH. If you are talking about an oil pump that is a different beast.

Milodon makes water pumps for these and I have one on the motor now. I’m disappointed that it’s giving out with not many miles on it. I’m not running ac or it’s related pulleys, have aftermarket pulleys on.

 

[Aspen500]

You shouldn't need a high volume pump if it's the stock engine. Regardless of the pump, you'll have the same max pressure of 16 psi.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Unless new isn't much more then rebuilt I go cheap with them and get whatever one is the best price with a name I recognize. Not necessarily for these cars but i don't know how many water pumps I've paid up for only to have the cheaper ones last as long or longer. Now if I had a high end engine build I might be a bit more picky...
That's been my experience with them anyway.
And it's one case where NOS isn't worth it, aged seals don't last long.

 

[AJ/FormS]

I installed a Hi-Flo Milodon on my HO 367 in 2001 or so. She's still going strong. Jus saying.

 

[88_AHB]

I installed a Hi-Flo Milodon on my HO 367 in 2001 or so. She's still going strong. Jus saying.

I currently have the same mildoon pump about 3 years old and is already leaking at 5k miles. Just about all replacement parts these days aren't the same quality as back then imo.

 

[LSM360]

That really stinks that the Milodon pump has failed already. Hopefully it's an isolated early failure. I have a Milodon with anti-cavitation plate for many years without problem but the mileage is low. If it were me I'd probably go with a Milodon again and hope the other failure was unusual.

 

[88_AHB]

So...it's amazing what a pressure test of the system does. Come to find out my leak was actually at the bottom of the radiator and was shooting upward towards the underside of the pump/pulley. I bought this aluminum radiator about 2 1/2 years ago and I thought this company had decent quality. My question is what would cause this leak at the bottom? The rad is bolted down to the core support and I don't think it would be from vibration? Or is it simply cheap or poor quality?. Once the system was pressurized, I noticed a second new leak (not until this was done), about half way up on the driver side. I pressurized the system to about 15lbs. At this point, I thought of going with Griffin,Becool or Afco,but they're all around $800 and up. See the generic picture of the radiator and the spots of the leaks.

 

[Duke5A]

Holy Hells. This is what you want: Champion Cooling Systems CC374: All-Aluminum Radiator 1970-74 Mopar (26" Core) - JEGS

I've been using a CC374 in my Fifth for over a decade. Started off cooling a 360 and now a 512. $250 at the time and now $284. Free shipping.

Here are a few shots of it installed when the car was still a small block. I did an electric fan conversion at the same time, but my Dad used this same radiator in his car and adapter a factory shroud. You'll also need a piece of aluminum or flat stock steel for the driver's side mount. If you can drill a couple holes this fits.

 

[Duke5A]

Also, if you have a radiator shop close it's really simple for them to repair aluminum radiators. Depending on where the leaks are could be as cheap as $100 to have tig welded.

 

[88_AHB]

Which sort of electric fan are you running in the first picture? Is your radiator directly bolted to the support and should there be any concern for vibration?
I'm just curious why a 2 year old radiator would be leaking in those two spots in my picture and trying to figure that out.

 

[Duke5A]

Which sort of electric fan are you running in the first picture? Is your radiator directly bolted to the support and should there be any concern for vibration?
I'm just curious why a 2 year old radiator would be leaking in those two spots in my picture and trying to figure that out.

I had the same reservations at first, but it's been directly mounted to the core support for the entire time it's been in the car. Never had an issue with the radiator.

Fans are from late 90's Ford Contour with a V6. Two-speed controlled by the Holley Sniper EFI unit. They fit the 26" radiator perfectly. Made mounts on the side from flat stock aluminum.

 

[Aspen500]

Because of expansion and contraction rate of aluminum, wouldn't be a bad idea to use rubber insulators at the mounting bolts. Should reduce the possibility of a leak from metal fatigue, since it woukd be able to expand and contract freely. That's only my theory, for what it's worth.

I'm meaning the type of insulator that pops in the hole with the metal sleeve in the center that the fastener tightens against.