I am replacing all the belts and hoses this week. I installed a water pump 3 years ago. I bought it at auto zone and I'm sure I got the cheap brand. Should I go ahead and do the water pump while I do the belts and hoses? Also, what is the temperature sender? I searched water pump on this site and that turned up a few times. My car has always run cooler than the 180 thermostat that I put in it so I am wondering if mine is faulty.

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God took you away, then brought you back to me.

As long as your running antifreeze and distilled water I wouldnt worry about the water pump. If you are not you might get a gasket and check for corrosion. The other items I dont know about.
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

Water pumps are easy to replace on slant sixes, so I would wait until you need to replace it..............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

The temperature senders are thermistors and are very reliable - I've never seen one fail. The voltage limiter & gauges in those cars are not precision devices, but you can recalibrate them - I've never bothered. The sender is probably more accurate than the gauge.

Changing the water pump really is ridiculously easy in a /6; I was astonished the first time I did one.

I have seen thermostats go bad, but usually they were replacements, not stock. I always test even new ones by hanging them down into a pot of water on the stove and measuring the open and closing temperature.

If your car is really running 170-180F, consider yourself lucky and I wouldn't remove it. J.C.Whitney sells radiator caps with a thermometer built in - I'm trying one out now - so far, so good.