Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

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Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Jesus_man » Tue Nov 15, 2022 2:48 pm

Been years since I've replaced these items. I do remember fooling with the thermostat once upon a time, but my engine rebuilder put the last pump on. It is seeping, so time for it to go. Also, the engine has been running hotter for the last couple years than previous to the rebuild. Looking at rockauto, I have the following choices:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/for ... +pump,2208

Also, what temp thermostat should I go with? 192 seems to ring a bell, but dang that was a long time ago! I might even have a spare in my stash somewhere, but it's not worth digging for. Is there an optimum temp for EFI to run properly?

Thanks!
1973 Bronco, 351 SEFI, Locked, discs, 35's ZF-5spd and Atlas 4spd. 235:1 Crawl Ratio. It may be ugly, but it's slow.
http://www.ucora.org
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby phyler » Tue Nov 15, 2022 7:29 pm

I've just run whatever Napa or AutoZone had in stock lately.

Last time I did my thermostat I went back to the 180 and should have done the 195. My engine always runs on the cold side though.

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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Gunnibronco » Wed Nov 16, 2022 8:01 am

195* is what I remember for EFI.

I don't want to jinx it but I bought a FlowKooler waterpump 20+ years ago and it's fine. Lifetime warranty if I remember.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." – Claire Wolfe
74-AWB 98", ZF5, Atlas4, TGW HP1060 and HP1014 axles, ARBs, 37's, 3.5" lift-5.5" front coil springs, Tahoe rear springs, EFI 302, h-boost, York OBA, 4x4x2, custom dash & gauges
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Jesus_man » Wed Nov 16, 2022 9:34 am

Flowcooler? That a new one on me! They are triple the price tho! Hmmm.
1973 Bronco, 351 SEFI, Locked, discs, 35's ZF-5spd and Atlas 4spd. 235:1 Crawl Ratio. It may be ugly, but it's slow.
http://www.ucora.org
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Gunnibronco » Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:58 am

Jesus_man wrote:Flowcooler? That a new one on me! They are triple the price tho! Hmmm.


If memory served I paid about 60 bucks for mine. But that was in like 1997. Lol

I was young and thought everything "aftermarket" was better than FoMoCo. That was before every failure I had was either Edelbrock or MSD stuff.

If I had to choose now, I'd probably go Motorcraft. It's what I try to buy when there is an option.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." – Claire Wolfe
74-AWB 98", ZF5, Atlas4, TGW HP1060 and HP1014 axles, ARBs, 37's, 3.5" lift-5.5" front coil springs, Tahoe rear springs, EFI 302, h-boost, York OBA, 4x4x2, custom dash & gauges
72 U15- Explorer Sport-Candyapple Red (1 of 141)
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Jesus_man » Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:06 am

I reached out to flowkooler. They say their pump is designed to flow twice the volume at low rpms, which is crawling territory... For my application, it's $149 and then a $27-$50 thermostat.

I don't want to throw money away, but this does seem appealing and I don't mind spending the extra dough if the benefit is there.
1973 Bronco, 351 SEFI, Locked, discs, 35's ZF-5spd and Atlas 4spd. 235:1 Crawl Ratio. It may be ugly, but it's slow.
http://www.ucora.org
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Gunnibronco » Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:17 am

I made the swap early on, so I can't speak to any improvement. I can say I've never had overheating issues and it is still not leaking 20 years later.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." – Claire Wolfe
74-AWB 98", ZF5, Atlas4, TGW HP1060 and HP1014 axles, ARBs, 37's, 3.5" lift-5.5" front coil springs, Tahoe rear springs, EFI 302, h-boost, York OBA, 4x4x2, custom dash & gauges
72 U15- Explorer Sport-Candyapple Red (1 of 141)
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Strike2 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:06 pm

I'm running a 302/EFI with a regular off the shelf water pump 192 T-stat with a 94 Explorer radiator, shroud and OEM fan clutch and haven't had a heating issue yet.
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Jesus_man » Tue Nov 29, 2022 1:12 pm

I rec'd my Flowkooler and their fancy thermostat last week. Great customer service and fast shipping! Hoping to install this weekend!

I am also hoping to add a drain petcock to my radiator so I don't make a huge mess each time I drain the system. Found a shop to do it, but upon closer inspection of my radiator, I am not sure he can.
1973 Bronco, 351 SEFI, Locked, discs, 35's ZF-5spd and Atlas 4spd. 235:1 Crawl Ratio. It may be ugly, but it's slow.
http://www.ucora.org
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Gunnibronco » Tue Nov 29, 2022 1:20 pm

Jesus_man wrote:I rec'd my Flowkooler and their fancy thermostat last week. Great customer service and fast shipping! Hoping to install this weekend!

I am also hoping to add a drain petcock to my radiator so I don't make a huge mess each time I drain the system. Found a shop to do it, but upon closer inspection of my radiator, I am not sure he can.


Just for fun I looked through my files and I bought mine in 1996 from Summit for $65 with a lifetime warranty. I think I replaced it once since then.

What's up with their thermostat?
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." – Claire Wolfe
74-AWB 98", ZF5, Atlas4, TGW HP1060 and HP1014 axles, ARBs, 37's, 3.5" lift-5.5" front coil springs, Tahoe rear springs, EFI 302, h-boost, York OBA, 4x4x2, custom dash & gauges
72 U15- Explorer Sport-Candyapple Red (1 of 141)
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Jesus_man » Tue Nov 29, 2022 2:39 pm

https://flowkoolerwaterpumps.com/collec ... thermostat

blah, blah, blah, hi-po, blah, blah, blah! In a nut shell!
1973 Bronco, 351 SEFI, Locked, discs, 35's ZF-5spd and Atlas 4spd. 235:1 Crawl Ratio. It may be ugly, but it's slow.
http://www.ucora.org
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Re: Replacing water pump & thermostat. What brand?

Postby Eck » Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:55 pm

It definitely has a 1000 word fancy dissertation to explain how fancy it is (seems a lot for a $26 part). But now I want one…


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