Where is everyone running their coolant lines to water cooled turbo?

Wasn't sure if you guys who have water cooled turbos are going from the block driver rear to the thermostat housing or from the water pump driver side Allen plug to the thermostat housing was getting ready to plumb it up on my 292 just needed to pick your brains food for thoight

Hi lowboygmc . . .

I have not water cooled a turbo but have plumbed for intake heat:
Inliners post cira '13

I have plumbed from the back of the block - as you are planning:

But tapping into the thermostat housing will not get you any flow. You need to get to the input side of the pump:


This creates a peripheral circuit where coolant flows through the loop regardless of whether the thermostat is open - just like the heater core loop.

Also, since posting this originally - I have ditched all the brass and replaced it with galvanized steel. Apparently brass doesn't hold up to vibration and will eventually shatter where threaded :-(

That's what good idea I didn't think about going to the heater core hookup how hard was it to tap that end? Mine is the later where is have two hose ends not threaded is that how your pump was? Maybe I can neck down a hose to come around there

Thanks for the input 49

Hi lowboygmc . . .

The 250 water pump is different then the one used on the stovebolts:

On the later design the heater hose nipple is cast as part of the pump housing instead of the threaded nipple found on the stovebolts. The pipe threads made it easy for me to tap in. But you can still cut the heater hose and install a nipple-tee fitting there.

The key take away here is that ALL hose fittings on the water pump housing are 'inlets' where coolant is 'pulled' by the impeller action. The impeller action in-turn pushes coolant into the block where pressure builds against the thermostat until coolant temperature causes it to open.

Creating another passage for coolant to exit the block - via tee fitting at the block-drain petcock - allows the impeller to push/pull coolant into a peripheral circuit regardless of whether the thermostat is open or closed.

Why do you need heat in the intake manifold?

The so called 'hot spot' underneath the carburetor is designed into all chevy/gmc I6 engines. The stovebolt era engines had the intake and the exhaust manifold bolted together - with exhaust heat providing the hot spot. When eliminating either of the stock manifolds the provisioning for heat needs to be restored:

in this example bungs on a set of Fenton headers heating a stock intake.

The hot spot ensures proper atomizing of the fuel mixture and prevents fuel from falling out of suspension and pooling in the floor of the intake. This is especially important in temperate climates and more so in winter months - but even in the middle of summer the venturi effect in a carburetor can cause ice-up and cause fuel to puddle in an unheated intake.

thanks for the info !

I think I will tap for the heater line as I am not going to be using it and if I eventually do the hose will still slip over the Nipples for it easily enough