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My 1966 Mustang's water pump blew 20 miles outside of Sedalia and I limped it home on a wing and a prayer
So about three weeks ago I finally got my 66 Mustang coupe running after a full top end rebuild, and I was feeling pretty good about myself. I took it out for a shakedown cruise on a Saturday morning, just a loop around the county roads near Sedalia to see if anything rattled loose. About 20 miles out, I heard this godawful squealing and then the temp gauge started climbing fast. Pulled over, popped the hood, and coolant was spraying out of the weep hole on the water pump like a busted fire hydrant. I didn't have a spare and no cell signal out there, so I let it cool down for 45 minutes, filled it with two bottles of water from my trunk, and drove it home in 5 minute bursts with the heater cranked full blast to pull heat off the engine. Got it in the garage with the temp needle sitting just below the red, which felt like a small miracle. Turned out the pump bearing was shot, probably original to the car, and I should have just replaced it when I had everything apart. Now I keep a spare pump and gasket set on the shelf, lesson learned the hard way. What's the dumbest breakdown you all have had right after finishing a big job?
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sean_cooper581mo ago
How'd you not cook the heads running it in bursts?
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kelly6381mo ago
How hot are you actually running it though? If you keep the bursts short and let the pump keep moving water the whole time, the heads stay wet and you won't cook them. The trick is not letting it sit still between bursts, because that's when the heat soaks in. I've run mine in short pulses for years and never burned a head. Just watch your temp gauge and back off if it climbs faster than normal.
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