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Reply to "Aluminum Water Pump Issue"

Stock and some aftermarket 351-C water pumps have the port you show as an aid to faster warm-ups and less smog emissions. This goes along with the special 351-C thermostat that shuts off that port when it opens, by a thimble on the thermostat base that drops into the hole in the big brass washer just below it. If you don't care about fast warm-up (it actually only works for about 2 minutes), install the 'performance' aluminum pump. Then you can also use any old Ford thermostat rather than the special 192F degree 351-C unit. Some guys plug the brass washer's hole, or plug the stock water pump port, for the same effect.
Note that using 'any-old' Ford thermostat with the bypass port still operational will bypass the radiator with an estimated 20% of the coolant, resulting in overheating.
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