Has anyone tried the Explorer serpentine belt system on a 289 with PS? I would appreciate all info, guidance and lessons learned. I have the parts fromn a 97 Explorer 5.0 and plan to try it this winter.
Explorer Serpentine on a 65 289
- Thread starter rsev216
- Start date
-
Sponsors (?)
rhyno9
Founding Member
If you are using the 289 balancer you will need to change that out as it only has 3 holes for the pulley. The explorer pulley will have 4 holes.
In 1970 ford switched the 302 balancer to a 4 hole so any balancer for a 302 from 1970 to 1981 should work. The 302 in 82 and up vehicles uses a 50 oz imbalance. The 351 w, 289 and 302 through 1981 balancers are 28 oz imbalance.
Good luck
It's not going to work on a 289. The accessory bolt holes are both smaller and in different locations than the Explorer heads. If you can get around that and the balancer part, you will also need to use the Explorer timing cover and water pump. It all works together, you cannot mix the parts of the front dress.
This seems to be a bigger problem than I expected. Most of the things are easily dealt with except the hole patterns not lining up. That could be a deal breaker.
calpolymustang
Member
heres what i found when doing my Lincoln Mark VII 5.0 swap:
what power-steering pump are you running? i had to adapt my hose to fit the 5.0 pump. i ended up brazing the original hose with the 5.0 fitting together
you may need to bend the dipstick to clear a serpentine-style alternator. are you going to run the 289 distributor? then you may have clearance issues with the vacuum advance hitting brackets.
the 289 thermostat housing points right at the belt tensioner, so i used the 5.0 thermostat housing with a lower radiator hose from a 2.9L bronco.
if you are buying a new radiator, then you can just buy one for a 5.0 swap. i kept my brass radiator and the reverse rotation water pump required me to move the radiator outlet to the drivers side. i used autozone 1316 flex hose with the built-in anti-colapse spring.
dont forget: 17" reverse rotation fan, or go electric
more powerfull voltage regulator if you use high-output alternator (i used Wells VR749)
its a lot of work, but should be low maintenance once you get it all together. my a/c pump used to squeal with the v-belts, but the serpentine is nice and tension'd
what power-steering pump are you running? i had to adapt my hose to fit the 5.0 pump. i ended up brazing the original hose with the 5.0 fitting together
you may need to bend the dipstick to clear a serpentine-style alternator. are you going to run the 289 distributor? then you may have clearance issues with the vacuum advance hitting brackets.
the 289 thermostat housing points right at the belt tensioner, so i used the 5.0 thermostat housing with a lower radiator hose from a 2.9L bronco.
if you are buying a new radiator, then you can just buy one for a 5.0 swap. i kept my brass radiator and the reverse rotation water pump required me to move the radiator outlet to the drivers side. i used autozone 1316 flex hose with the built-in anti-colapse spring.
dont forget: 17" reverse rotation fan, or go electric
more powerfull voltage regulator if you use high-output alternator (i used Wells VR749)
its a lot of work, but should be low maintenance once you get it all together. my a/c pump used to squeal with the v-belts, but the serpentine is nice and tension'd
I am running the MSD distributor, electric fan and a 3G alternator. If the bolt hole pattern issue is solvable then the rest should work. This was planned as a winter project. Once the car goes up on blocks for the winter I will see how things fit before I powder coat the Explorer parts.
You have to run the timing chain cover to get the pump to work. even if you get it to work, you have no provision in it for a dipstick.It does give you a ton more room up front I used it to get my 3.5 in down pipe to fit. What a pain
A guy on another forum told me that I can get a reverse water pump from Ford Racing that bolts right up the existing timing cover solving several problems.
12sec67
Active Member
Don't know about that. All of the stuff is just much shorter. Throwing a pump on, I can't see fixing it. Just look at the crank pulley. rather than coming out 2in, then the belt width, you have a pulley that is RIGHT on the dampner.
A guy on another forum told me that I can get a reverse water pump from Ford Racing that bolts right up the existing timing cover solving several problems.
That's not going to work. You HAVE to use all the Explorer parts or none. The Explorer pump's pulley is about 1-3/4 inches closer toward the motor than all others. The T-Bird/Cougar (88-93) and 94-95 Stang pump is 1/4 to 1/2 inch longer than the Ex/Mtn pump, although they share the same timing cover. Once again, you cannot mix and match the parts from different accessory drive setups in this case.
You have to run the timing chain cover to get the pump to work. even if you get it to work, you have no provision in it for a dipstick.
The dipstick isn't an issue, all that's needed there is drill the hole in the timing cover for a front mounted dipstick tube. No whether the tube will clear the accessorys, that's something I couldn't say.
If it doesn't clear, couldn't you just remove the oil pan and weld in a provision for the dipstick like in late-model 5.0's?
I've got a complete Explorer setup that came with the engine I put in my '70, and I believe that the way the accessories are laid out, the A/C compressor will hit the left shock tower.
I ended up using the accessory drive brackets and accessories from a Fox-body instead, and went with GM F-body electric fans on a Fox-body radiator.
I ended up using the accessory drive brackets and accessories from a Fox-body instead, and went with GM F-body electric fans on a Fox-body radiator.
Similar threads
