Re: 6 and 7 series water pump on 320 engine

Posted by Mal120NZ On 2012/11/29 22:20:03

Hi David, thanks for your reply - I have just PM'd you.

I would love to know the real story about the side mounted vs the front mounted water pumnp on 626 cars. I have read two contradictory stories. Beverly Rae Kimes book, which many people call the Packard 'bible', states on page 285: "The pump at the front of the block had to be compressed,[/b] leaving no space for the Alemite fitting to grease the fan and water pump bearing, this solved by providing a hole in the fan hub to receive an Alemite fitting which would have to be removed and a pipe plug screwed in. "Important", warned the Information Book, Do not leave the Alemite fitting in pulley as it tends to throw the assembly out of balance. A small point to dwell upon, perhaps, but a clue to big trouble. The fan belt could not be replaced except by loosening and tilting the radiator forward, rather a chore. Packard was soon aware of it's mistake and changed the pump location mid-model to a left side position on the bottom radiator hose. The following year the engine would be relocated, twinfan belts installed and the redesigned pump put back into it's original position." This paragraph would indicate that the front mounted water pump came first and the side mount water pump was Packard's fix for the rest of the model year. Now consider the statement in the Turquist book which on page 41 which states: "The first standard eights had a side mounted water pump to save space between the fan and the radiator. The pump proved very unsatisfactory and a conventional pump was installed after two months of production." This short statement by Turquist contradicts Kimes, by indicating that the side mounted pump came first, and the front mounted pump was was then fitted to later models in the year. Which is correct? Looking at some engine numbers, it does appear that the earlier engine number seen to have the side mounted water pump with later engine numbers having the front mounted pump. I would love to hear from drivers of both types of pump as to the effectiveness of the cooling provided by each type of watrer pump. Please let us know your experiences. Cheers Mal