theedge

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...mp/index.shtml

My buddy sent me this link today... Anyone ever installed one of these? Its $250 for the pump itself, and the motor lasts 2000 hours. Assuming an average of 50MPH and the pump operating constant... Thats still 100k miles of life. I sure as hell wouldnt mind replacing a little motor every 100k miles!

Only problems I forsee off the top of my head are the hose work to plumb it in... And the MAIN issue of this, the timing belt. The only way this could be an advantage is if theres a way of totally removing the waterpump pulley, and having the timing belt stay at the proper tension. So if the tensioner and the rollers could be made to take up the slack of no pump pulley, the pump housing could be removed of its bearings and such, and the opening for the shaft simply welded shut. Would this be possible?????

Now the BIGGEST benefit I can see to this is that the temp at which it turns on can be controlled, as can the speed of the pump. How does 1300 gallons per hour at IDLE sound?

inactiveuser92616

I imagine this could be done, here's a few thoughts
*A shorter belt would probably be needed, there is probably an off the shelf part that will work, but someone would need to do the footwork to figure out what application its from.
*You would have to insure that there is enough current to run the pump, and not exceed acceptable alternator loads
*Modifying or finding a new site for water inlet and outlet would be moderately difficult
*Overall, if put together into a cohesive kit, this could solve one of the main T-belt failure points by preventing a seized water pump from shredding the belt.

theedge

The belt is the only major worry I think. Current shouldnt be too huge an issue, maybe for people running full boat lighting setups or huge stereos, etc. It pulls a max of 7 amps, so it isnt ground breaking in that regard.

For the hose issue, I think it may be easier to install it between the outlet of the rad and the block, but that could very well introduce flow problems to other parts of the system (ie heater core). That will be the tricky part I think, the hose work and mounting.

mroberts

Could you modify a stock water pump to act like an idler pulley - remove the impeller and seal the bearings completely outside the block. Surely they are less liekly to seize if they aren't in damnger of getting wet.

Dave951M

I've been thinking along these lines myself. If an old waterpump could be modified by removing the impeller, weld the hole shut where the old shaft went through and then drill and tap for a new idler, this might just work out well. I like removing the pulley entirely as it will save tons of time and labor in modifing wht waterpump.

theedge

Hmmm ya that idler idea seems pretty feasable actually. I think this might turn into one of my winter projects (goddamnit that list is getting long )

Dave951M

I'm going to look at an old pump this evening and start fabbing a plate in the next couple of weeks after I finish up a couple more aluminum torque tubes.

Big E

Interesting idea, funny that I was just looking at these pumps yesterday to see if I could find a cheaper alternative pump for the turbo. www.jegs.com (click on Cooling) has a ton of different electric water pumps.

Dave951M

From reading the literature on this pump and the electronic control, you can ditch the turbo pump entirely as the control can be set to do the same function after the engine is shut off. If anyone is interested, I'd be up for making adapters for Rennlisters when I figure out how to do it. We just need someone to check into the belt needed if we delete the pump and don't put an idler back in it's place.

KuHL 951

Interesting idea. I'd be a bit apprehensive of electrical problems we all seem plagued with being the weak link. With something as critical as cooling I think I'd would have an aux. battery on an isolator for limp home mode. No juice-no cooling.

hacker-pschorr

I was at Road America this past weekend looking at an electric waterpump thinking the same thing. Good luck on the project, sign me up for a "kit" when ready!

Now to get the 928 guru's on this same idea.

theedge

That might work ok at first, but if you go for long periods of time it would be a crapshoot if the backup works... And I think that if your alt dies or something along those lines, you wont be driving very far anyway...

I think for the turbo pump, it would work just as well to leave that in doing its own little thing. Makes it easier for the hose front of things (one less hose to figure out how to bypass/connect) and then theres the fact that the turbo pump is small and does its own thing pretty well. The turbo pump has its temp sensors at the turbo water lines AFAIK, whereas this big one would have them elsewhere, so it would be mean more sensors to wire in.

inactiveuser92616

yeah... if your car does run out of electrical juice, it will be shutting off in short order anyways. Fuel injection, engine management, and ignition dont run very well with low voltage. I dont think the pump would give out before them.

theedge

Well heres a crimp in the idea....

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=0569

Dave951M

Can't see the article, do you have a copy?