80/82 Chevy 454 Engine Cooling System

[oslo]

The impellar in the water pump {fan belt driven}has totally disintegrated into small pieces. There is around a quarter of the whole impellar fins left on the actual impellar. I pulled out a couple of big pieces that were too big to go through the 1 inch water pump housing. My question is how far would the pieces that got through the 1 inch housing go?<br /> THE WATER PUMP IS A BRASS 2 PIECE

 

[johnkc]

Re: 80/82 Chevy 454 Engine Cooling System

some will get caught in the oil coolers and may even get to the thermostat hsg.any distance of travel is possible.follow the hose that leaves the pump and locate it on the therm. hsg. and back flush.even flush from the drive to the pump. then when you get the new impeller installed ,do a test run,pay close attn. to the temp gauge.if the temp creeps up you still have some pieces of the old impeller blocking flow.

 

[oslo]

Re: 80/82 Chevy 454 Engine Cooling System

I removed all the cooling lines on this engine and only found one pieces of the impellar lodged in an elbow that goes to the oil cooler. I flushed the oil cooler from both ends and nothing came out.Would the pieces in the engine cause any harm, and how do i get them out? Thanks

 

[The Marine Doctor]

Re: 80/82 Chevy 454 Engine Cooling System

Its hard to say...there may not be any in the engine at all. You did not have water hooked up at the time, so its possible that the rubber just burnt.<br /><br />TMD