Water Pump Recommendations?

2SteelHorses

Founding Member
Oct 24, 2002
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Well its time to replace my slowly dying water pump in my 93LX 5.0. The car is pretty much stock and I want to change the thermostat to a 160F since I'm upgrading part of the cooling system. Is there a water pump that you ladies and gents can recommend? I know I want a higher flow water pump, but not sure of what to use. Edelbrock, Flowkooler, Summit, etc.?
 
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Do not use 160 degree thermostat in an EFI engine. It will not do anything positive for the performance, and will decrease your gas mileage and engine life. The engine was designed to run at 180-195 degrees, so that's the thermostat you need to be using.
 
JRichker is right on. Since you are upgrading the system, all the more reason that you dont need that 160.

The Ford pump from Diversified seems to be well liked, and I happen to like Stewart's stuff, though I am not sure of the differences in their lower-end pumps.

Good luck.
 
Summit Racing pump here. Very happy. Save your money, get one of theirs, and use a 180 degree thermo.

Good luck. Install was a breeze - first major job on my 'stang. Just make sure you use gasket maker...and enough in the right places.
 
jrichker said:
Do not use 160 degree thermostat in an EFI engine. It will not do anything positive for the performance, and will decrease your gas mileage and engine life. The engine was designed to run at 180-195 degrees, so that's the thermostat you need to be using.

(an emphatic) +1!

As far as water pumps go... I prefer ones that pump water. Broken ones suck! :rolleyes:

I haven't heard of much difference on brands.
I purchased a FlowCooler Pump several years ago and it seems to have heald up well. I think that was the brand name?

A little more discussion on the coolant temps.
There is no reason to run a 160F stat.
Here is an explanation of how hotter is better (to a point naturally).
Everything in the combustion chamber, including fuel, air, cylinder walls, piston, and valves, will take on heat during combustion. The heat is what causes the air trapped in the combustion chamber to expand. The expansion of the heated gasses is what pushes on the piston. If you are putting more and more heat into the cylinder walls because the coolant keeps taking away more and more heat, then you lose power and efficiency.
There are trade-offs. Cooler intake air is denser in O2, but it will soak up more heat energy before it may combust. Obviously running too hot will destroy the motor.
The best answer for power/efficiency is probably the stock 195F stat, but 180F seems to be everyone’s favorite, as a happy compromise.


Also consider that as coolant temperatures decrease, cylinder bore wear will increase exponentially. That means that a relatively small drop in coolant temp will result in much more rapid bore wear.

jason
 
I would get a 180* t-stat from Mr. Gasket.

I am replacing my pump with a stock aluminum piece (not heavy duty) water pump. As JT said, you can get them from diversified for just over $40 bucks and they will do what you need them too...
 
I replaced mine with a new (not reman) one from Advanced auto parts or Autozone (cant remember which) It had a lifetime warranty and was priced right. Seemed like a nice piece too, I didnt see a single flaw anywhere in the casting and it has held up well. Hope this helps.
 
HISSIN50 said:
I happen to like Stewart's stuff, though I am not sure of the differences in their lower-end pumps.
Yes, there stuff is top notch. I do not have one personally but a lot of co-workers run them on there race cars (mostly BBC people though) and they survive very well. Edelbrock also makes a very good pump, but you pay for it.
 
Ok, got a Flow Kooler water pump from Carolina Mustang along with a new thermostat with gasket, Ford Motorsport chrome thermostat housing, and some new tubing.

So how hard is it going to be for me to install these parts myself? Is there anything I should know or do during the install? Thanks again for help.
 
Ok, got a Flow Kooler water pump from Carolina Mustang along with a new thermostat with gasket, Ford Motorsport chrome thermostat housing, and some new tubing.

So how hard is it going to be for me to install these parts myself? Is there anything I should know or do during the install? Thanks again for help.