Can you rotate a reverse rotation water pump the other way?

I've got a reverse rotation 5.0 edelbrock water pump. Can I run a grooved pulley on it and have it run the standard rotation?

Originally Posted by strtcar

I've got a reverse rotation 5.0 edelbrock water pump. Can I run a grooved pulley on it and have it run the standard rotation?

Nope. The water will not flow, and you will never get the pullies to line up, as they will be in contact with each other.

You will need to get the correct style water pump.

Oh sure you can. THat bearing is like Dbu5884, it spin's both ways

But it will NOT cool your engine....

Originally Posted by FEandGoingBroke

Oh sure you can. THat bearing is like Dbu5884, it spin's both ways

But it will NOT cool your engine....

...what he said...

its like turn a fan in the wrong direction, the blades are pitched to cup and move the water in the opposit direction. If you turn it in the worng direction you are getting very little benefit.

Oh, by the way you will, I'm pretty sure you will also need a different timing cover; on that matches the shape of the water pump, which matches the direction of the spin.

If you put the car on a rotisserie and run it up side down it will work with green fluid. Sorry you got a few smart asses in a row. You need a new pump.

It'll move a little water. But not enough to keep it cool. I ran a reverse 5.0 pump for years on a standard rotation 351w engine...always ran a little warm but I was running methanol, so it was OK. Once I swapped to a reguar rotation pump, I could no longer build heat in the engine.

It'll pump water no matter which way the blades rotate, but if the blades are shaped to work in a counter-clockwise rotation, it won't move ENOUGH. Remember, these ain't exactly positive displacement pumps...all they do is move fluid from one place to another. Just like a centrifugal supercharger or a turbocharger compressor. They don't work very well if you spin 'em backwards, but they will move SOME air.

As said above, the timing cover is different too.

I just went through all of this with the 347 I finished off with the March belt system.

When you put the two timing covers next to each other you can see the difference in the passages.

The water pump is not like a fan at all. Water pumps are centrifigal pumps and they move water by pushing it from the center to the outside of the vanes. It will still flow water in the reverse direction BUT it will not be as efficient. The vanes are at an angle that increases the pressure at the exit points of the pump. When you spin them backwards the vane angle will lower the pressure at the output area of the pump. That coupled with the problems associated with getting pulleys to line up and the difference in the covers will get you more headaches than you can take. Put the right water pump on for the "standard" rotation and then everything will magically line up (due to the length of the pulley mount shaft).

The centerline of the pump shaft is also different..... It is 3/4" lower, and slightly to the passanger side...