Positive Pumping: Installing a High-Flow Water Pump

3 Remove the A/C-compressor front support bracket to access thewater-pump mounting bolts. There are three nuts holding this bracket tothe water pump and three 13mm bolts retaining the bracket to the A/Ccompressor that will need to be removed.

4 There is an 11/16-inch nut on the end of thepower-steering-pump bracket stud and another bolt below the stud thatpasses through the power-steering-pump bracket. Remove both these piecesof hardware. This will allow removal of the A/C-compressor front supportbracket.

5 With the belt-tensioner assembly and A/C-compressor supportbracket out of the way, remove the heater and bypass hoses from thewater pump. Inspect all hoses carefully and replace any that arequestionable. For clutch-fan cars, the fan shroud, fan, and water-pumppulley can all be removed now as well. Our Mustang utilizes an SN-95electric fan, so we had only the water-pump pulley to remove.

6 To have enough clearance to remove the right-most water-pumpmounting bolt, our Paxton blower bracket will need to be loosened andrepositioned to allow the bolt to slide out of the water pump. ThePaxton idler and tensioner pulleys will have to come off to access theAllen-head retaining hardware for the forward-most blower-mountingbracket.

7 Once the Allen bolts and spacers have been removed, the frontblower bracket can be shifted forward, which will allow access to therear bracket and its retaining bolts. The tough one is the recessed9/16-inch bolt that secures the top of the Thermactor air pump.

8 Once the blower bracket has been shifted forward and to theright as much as possible, a swivel socket finally allows access to thewater-pump bolt we've been after. The remaining 5/8-inch water-pumpbolts are now easily accessible as well. Remove all the bolts and thelower radiator hose to free the water pump from the timing cover. Scrapeoff any remaining gasket material from the timing cover--but be gentlesince the aluminum cover is soft and can be easily gouged, causing aleak.

9 Here's how your timing cover should look when it's ready forthe new water-pump assembly. A thorough scraping of the gasket surface,followed by some sandpaper, will result in the clean surface you needfor a proper, leak-free installation.

10 To prepare the new Edelbrock water pump for installation,install the hose fittings for the bypass and heater hoses into the pumphousing, using thread sealant. You can use pipe plugs in these holes forracing applications or if you want to run a bypass hose but not a heaterhose.

11 The new water-pump gasket will properly line up only one way.Make sure the gasket is positioned correctly, then use a spare amount ofPermatex nonhardening sealer or similar product to adhere the gasket tothe water pump. Let the sealer cure enough so the gasket stays put. Thiswill prevent any problems with gasket shift during installation.