Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

You must have a waterpump problem. Just cause it was rebuilt, doesnt mean it was rebuilt right. The impeller spacing could be off, or the impeller broken.

The only other thing it could be is a collapsed bottom hose.

Collapsed hose bring back memories on a 53 Clipper. IIRC, there was a missing spring supposed to be inside the hose to prevent that from happening. Did they use one on the 50's?

This is a long shot but will ask anyway. What is the diameter of your water pump pulley?

Before I forget. The thermostat I have works correctly. Is there any difference between the "packard" thermostat and the one in Auto-Jerk ? I am going to reinstall it later if not.

Thanks
Kevin

Just got my waterpump back from Arthur Gould (631) 269-0093, exactly 8 days after I mailed it, $85 plus $17 shipping for 102. Haven't installed it yet on my 52 327. My pulley diameter is 7.5 inches. Is the transmission cooler allowing coolant to flow?

The timing is interesting, didn't think it would play into the temperature of the motor.

Talked to a packard authority (who rebuilt the water pump
transmission,carb etc)and he thinks my radiator is clogged. Interesting the radiator guy told me the radiator was "fine" on his bench test ($60). He says it is the water pump. Imagine that?

I plugged the bottom tube on the radiator and filled it with water then clocked how long it takes to empty. I was told that this is supposed to test if it is clogged or not.
Well it takes less than 3 seconds to empty. Doesn't appear to be clogged.

Does anyone have the internal dimensions and tolerances for the water pump on this car 1950 288?


Thanks
Kevin

I removed and dismantled the water pump and found everything looked pretty good and tight. The only part of the pump that I found interesting was where the impeller meets the front housing. This area is polished like a bearing race and the fins of the impeller rotate just above this area. I measured the gaps between the impeller fins and this race and found the dimentions varied between .026 and .036. This sounds excessive considering the pump doesn't move any water at idle speeds. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for this area ? or where I can look them up ?

Thanks
Kevin

Kev,

Pictures are worth a thousands words!

Only spec I find for a gap in front of impeller is for the prewar pump in the 38-42 shop manuals. A different design though and a fairly wide spec -- .012-.074.

Different part numbers, but believe the pump you have would be more similar to the 51-4's. That spec is at the rear of impeller and is .020-040. It's starting to sound like something weird is going to be the problem because clearances on the pump you have don't seem that bad.

Since you have the pump off, have you pulled the distribution tube and verified it didn't get crushed and the jacket around it is in good condition, and nothing foreign got in to block anywhere. Can you put a water hose in the block opening and have water come out the head without difficulty.

Attach file:

---

  (47.00 KB)

1938 to 1950 water pumps were basically the same body and impeller. Differences were in shaft & bearing assemblies and fan hubs, so your clearances look OK. Odd that the housing would have an appearance of being polished where the impeller rotates. This area is normally machined as opposed to the unfinished adjacent casting surface but not polished. Perhaps an impeller rubbed there sometime in the past.

Clearance to the rear backing plate should be a bit tighter, as shown in the illustration from the 1951-54 Service Manual posted by HH56..

Well had a busy weekend. Removed the radiator, water pump and distribution tube. Everything looks good. I started the engine with the top hose disconnected (should have done this before). There is a steady stream of water pushing out about 6-8 inches from the hose which is surpising since I didn't see any action in the top of the radiator in idle.
(still don't).The distribution tube looks brand new and is is clean.

Someone mentioned running it on pure water. Think I'll do that as soon as I get the radiator bolted down.

Bdeb the area is definitely machined at a slight angle. It
isn't real obvious why since the impeller is so far away from it. Well with flow like I am seeing I assume these clearances are close enough. Well after all this it seems I am back where I started.

The thermostat in this engine is being held in with a spring and I understand there is a metal tube also used for this. Is anyone using the tube instead of the clip on one of these motors? Why would they engineer the thermostat housing with the thermostat so far away from the block ?
One would think the metal tube would consolidate the heat.

Thanks
Kevin