GM water pumps

[Donald Whisnant]

>
>From: steve ravet <steve at imes.com>
>Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 14:52:24 +0000
>Subject: GM water pumps
>
>I need to find a water pump that fits a GM smallblock V8, reverse
>rotation, with a heater core return fitting.  My V8 conversion S-10
>Blazer sprung a leak in the water pump some time ago.  The motor came
>from a '91 Caprice.  That car had some kind of system where the hot
>water can be shut off from the heater core completely.  The water pump
>doesn't have the usual heater core return fitting.  When I swapped the
>motor I just teed the heater return into the lower radiator hose.  Now
>that I have to replace it, I want to get a pump with a return water
>fitting.  It's a serpentine belt system which means it's also reverse
>rotation.  Can someone give me an application that uses a reverse
>rotation V8 water pump with a heater return fitting?  I'm thinking that
>an early 90's full size truck might be the thing, but the parts guy
>didn't seem too anxious to let me go digging through stock.
>
>Anxiously waiting,
>
>- --steve
>

Steve...

It sounds to me like you want just a standard smallblock V6/V8
water pump setup for reverse rotation for serpentine belts...
The front and rear of both the 4.3L V6 and the 5.7L V8 are
pretty much identical -- same front cover, same water pump, etc...
(In fact, they literally just cut two middle cylinders out of the V8
in a "Z" shape to make the V6)...  I know that the water pump for
a 4.3L V6 on a '94 Astro van is a conventional V6/V8 pump
that has the heater return line (the V6 blazers around that year
also used the same pump as did many of the 5.7L trucks such
as the C series 1500)...  That engine uses a serpentine
belt so the pump is setup to rotate in reverse... ....  So you
might try asking for that pump -- take a look at it before getting
it and you should be able to verify the direction of rotation by
looking at the impeller and can probably tell pretty easily if
it will bolt on with no problems...

Good luck...
Donald Whisnant
dewhisna at ix.netcom.com