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SBC water pumps

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  66Caprice 
#1 ·
I would like some info on the difference between what I've read as to a long and short water pump,mines approx.7" in length is that considered a long or short and what applications use either one.I guess what I'm asking are they interchangeable? And if mine is 7" long how long is the other one? The block is a 92 350. Thanks for any help. Eric
 
#2 ·
Chevy used the "short" pump until the late '60s. You probably have the long pump, but what do you mean by 7" long? Is that the height sitting on the work bench, i.e. from the water ports to the tip of the front shaft?

Also, if you have a serpentine belt system, you may have a reverse pump.
 
#3 ·
Yes the height as you described it is about 7" I just see in descriptions some listed as short or long and was wondering about the lengths and compatibility,You mentioned reverse flow how would you check that out? it supposedly is a truck block 92. Thanks
 
#5 ·
What does the pump's belt pulley look like. Is it a V pulley or a flat pulley? A V pulley will be normal flow and a flat pulley will be reverse flow. A flat pulley has a serpentine belt running over it but with the belt's back side causing the pump to turn anti-clockwise against the clockwise rotation of the engine.
 
#6 ·
The short pumps had the alternator on the drivers side head, whereas the long had it on t6he passenger side head.

The 92 trucks I have seen have had the serpentine belts, so probably a reverse flow, which is a long pump.

Long and short pumps do not interchange, due to the pulley setups.....They will bolt on the block however.
 
#10 ·
I appreciate all the info, Probably a real stupid question but does the block care about pump rotation water flow? I don't have any idea what type of belt setup this block had in the beginning I got a bare block.Later I aquired a serpentine bracket setup mostly complete with a 100 amp alternator so I was leaning towards using that setup but I don't want to trash the engine I just finished assembling. If a v-belt setup would would be easier and would make the system more compact I'll use that what I'm trying to do is make the front of the engine as short as possible. So If I'm reading some of these post correctly a serpentine belt uses reverse flow pumps and v-belts use standard rotation as for short and long either will work with a v-belt but the serpentine needs the reverse flow. Thanks any more info appreciated.
 
#14 ·
Not all serpentine systems use reverse water pumps. If there is an A/C compresser on one side and an alternator on the other, then it is probably a reverse flow pump, but if there is only an alternator and a P/S pump, it could be a normal flow water pump. It all depends on the design.
 
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