Electric chargecooler pump installations

[nicknick68]

Hi,

I heard that, if you replace the impellor with an electric pump, the new one must be installed in a low position, even lower the original impellor, because if yoiu leave it high (for example same level of radiator tank) it wont pump correctly or not at all.

IS THAT TRUE?

Nick

[Bibs]

The pump needs to be primed to work and the easiest tool to help with that is gravity. The more water above the pump too, the harder the force pushing water into it so the lower the better, just to prime it. Mine's attached under the cross member below the boot floor, the pipes are easy to fit in that position too.

[ragingfool35]

right about here is good

[s4simon]

Don't forget to check out this thread for differing ways to install the lecky pumps

lecky pump thread

[Jonathan]

Mines actually bolted onto the plenum using a longer bolt and it's higher than the original pump.

It dont matter where you put it as long as you can bleed the air easily - the ones I have seen which I would copy are the ones that have the T piece on the pump where the air can be very easily bled using a small pipe from the T fitting.

Thta would be more of a concern to me as opposed to where to fit the pump.

remember you can also do this from the chargecooler (you fill from the chargecooler but...) if yo disconect the small tiny hose, ensure the port is clean (most ae bloked after this long in service)

Put it back on and disconnect it from the main water tank and direct it higher than the chargcooler itself - instant air bleed.

I would also recomend a decent pump like the johnson pump

http://www.johnson-pump.com/JPMarine/products/circulation/cmco.html

I never had any issues bleeding it because it's so high powered, a lower, cheaper pump wont be man enough to move airlocks and also gives less cooling performance.

[Vulcan Grey]

Here is a good comparison of some pumps

http://www.mez.co.uk/turbo13.html

I have the centripuppy btw.

[incautious]

my post from way back. don't know if the pics come up anymore

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/index.php/topic/5444-wc-cc-pump-problems/page__st__15__p__57672#entry57672

very easy to mount up front of the car. don't even have to drain the coolent out.

[Rearwheelaction]

Hi everyone,

I need to change my chargecooler impellor and have read the different topics on just changing the impellor or changing to the electric pump.

Can anyone tell me who has the best kit package for the electric pump and how much it costs and how much it would be approximately for a mechanic to fit this...Thanks

[Bibs]

There are at least 20 topics about this in this section of the forum, there's even one answering your question directly with everyone saying which pump they have. Have a read.

[s4simon]

Mmm

Yess

Listen to the wise one. Many good topics on chargecooler types and replacement scenarios.

For me it was a tail of woe.

Chargecooler no worky. remove chargecooler + a pint of blood. Find problem and order expensive parts.

Fit parts - charge cooler works but leaks.

Remove charge cooler + 1 pint of blood, locate bad bearing and replace.

Fit back together - 1 month later chargecooler leaking

Remove chargecooler + 1 pint of blood.

Get fed up and order electric pump.

Install

problem solved

So moral to the story is... Go Electric

[96 Blue]

The chargecooler pump is no longer working on my esprit and I am looking to replace it with an electric water pump using the guide from LEW.

Is there any reason why the chargecooler pump cannot be left in-situ and piece of hose connected from the inlet to the outlet spigot to 'blank off' this part?

Also, if anyone has done this conversion how did you get the chargecooler pump out? mine seems very tight.

[96 Blue]

Ok, pump is off (just needed to tap it sideways and get it to spin in order to remove)

Fins on the impeller are slightly damaged, however, I also notice that the cavity the impeller spins in is not circular. It is kind of squashed at one end so the fins rub on that end and don't even touch the walls at the other end. Is that normal?

Still don't understand why I I can't leave the chargecooler pump in place and just take the impeller out. The pump will be spinning nothing and with no water coming in or out I shouldn't even need to run a hose from the inlet to outlet spigots.

Or am I missing something?

[dodge1979]

Is there an oil feed to the punp, if so...what if it starts leaking? Blanking plugs are available and not expensive..also if your going the electric route, ive got the bosch unit fitted, supplied by chargecooler.co.uk I think...theyre on ebay too. The one which the car came with which had been fitted by a lotus specialist hy previous owner not long before the car was laid up, lasted about a week after my rebuild of the car...naff make..buy a good quality pump..the bosch one is a higher capacity than needed so wont struggle..

[andydclements]

Ok, pump is off (just needed to tap it sideways and get it to spin in order to remove)

Fins on the impeller are slightly damaged, however, I also notice that the cavity the impeller spins in is not circular. It is kind of squashed at one end so the fins rub on that end and don't even touch the walls at the other end. Is that normal?

Still don't understand why I I can't leave the chargecooler pump in place and just take the impeller out. The pump will be spinning nothing and with no water coming in or out I shouldn't even need to run a hose from the inlet to outlet spigots.

Or am I missing something?

That odd shape is normal, it's how the pump works. It allows coolant to enter around the point the fins are allowed to extend outwards, they then pass the inlet port and are squashed as they go past the outlet port. It's a bit like the induction system on a two-stroke engine.

You could run a pipe from inlet to outlet but I doubt the pressure would be constant so that would give a small amount of resistance unless there's no impeller fitted. Best idea is just get the blanking plug and retaining plate from Lotus for the ones fitted to the non-charge cooled ECU controlled engines, it's a standard part, or a non-genuine supplier also does them (I think JAE).

[96 Blue]

That odd shape is normal, it's how the pump works. It allows coolant to enter around the point the fins are allowed to extend outwards, they then pass the inlet port and are squashed as they go past the outlet port. It's a bit like the induction system on a two-stroke engine.

You could run a pipe from inlet to outlet but I doubt the pressure would be constant so that would give a small amount of resistance unless there's no impeller fitted. Best idea is just get the blanking plug and retaining plate from Lotus for the ones fitted to the non-charge cooled ECU controlled engines, it's a standard part, or a non-genuine supplier also does them (I think JAE).

Thanks guys, I have tried getting the blanking plug (4 months no sign of it) I am only aware of one place in the US that supplies these and my plug went missing in the mail (money refunded) apparently this happens a fair bit for items to Australia so I gave up with that supplier and hence was thinking this may be a cheaper/reliable? alternative.

Didn't know Lotus supplied a blanking plug and retaining plate but will do a search. Thanks.

Do you think there needs to be some resistance on the impeller? It is run off the oil pump which would supply resistance in itself.

Worst case scenario I can think of is if oil passes into the impeller housing and feeds grit back into the lubrication system. There will be no coolant in there, just a worn out impeller.

dodge1979, I am using the Davies Craig electric booster pump I have seen others using (supporting Aussie manufacturers).

[ramjet]

Lenny,

If you are not going to use the pump, take it out and put a blanking plug in. The blanking plug is simple. Find a machine shop where you live and give them your old pump, tell 'em what you need and they'll be able to make one easily with an o-ring groove in it. A retaining plate is also quite simple to fabricate if you're at all handy with tools.

The original pump has two lip seals in it. One that keeps the coolant out of the oil area and one that keeps the oil out of the coolant area. In between them is a weep hole so you can see if one seal lets go. If you run the pump without coolant on one side, the shaft will burn on the lip seal (due to no lubrication) and will transfer the heat through the shaft to the other seal and help it to fail far sooner than it should. Then you'll be in there again taking the pump out again to fix the oil leak.

Bite the bullet, get a plug made up, install your electric pump and you'll be away. Having said that I had my pump repaired when mine failed and haven't had a problem since, but when it goes again, I'll probably change to an electric pump.

[ragingfool35]

http://www.wcengineering.com/esprit/plug.html for the blanking plug

however, the supplied o ring is too small. need a slightly fatter one

[Qavion]

With these electric pump installations, does it matter which direction the water flows? If water is circulating continuously, I can't imagine it matters which direction the water is flowing.

I'm just about to wire up a water pump kit I got from Lotus Marques and wondering if polarity matters. I assume DC pumps suck instead of blow if you change polarity?

I don't want to bother Steve at Lotus Marques with trivial questions as he has recently had some serious health issues.

Thanks.

Cheers

Ian

[Qavion]

P.S. The pump has no in/out indications.

Here is a picture of Lotus Marques installation, but on a non-Chargecooled car (as far as I can see):

http://www.lotusmarques.com/parts/datasheets/612-esprit-charge-cool-pump-con

Is the inlet the axial pipe or the one off at an angle?

[dodge1979]

The inlet should be the one that comes straight in on the top, the outlet the one thaf comes off the side..the pump should pump the water into the inlet on the chargecooler and the feed to the pump should be the cooled water returning from the radiator.. These are electro mechanical pumps ifim right so they should go one way? Just get two wires and connect it straight to a battery terminals to determin which is positiveand which is negative..darren

[Qavion]

Thanks, Darren.

The inlet should be the one that comes straight in on the top, the outlet the one thaf comes off the side..

I'm assuming, by "top", you mean the one on the axis of the pump (in the picture above). The one angled "off the side" is pointing up in that diagram.

Is this referring to the picture in the link?

I just found some markings on the pump for polarity, so that part should be easy.

I might just get a bucket of water and see which outlet sucks and which blows

Cheers!

Edited January 7, 2012 by Qavion

[dodge1979]

Yes it is, the flow goes in the top and gets spun around and thrown out the side exit...normally there is a tiny arrow moulded into tye casing to show the direction of flow out of the pump....

[Qavion]

Yes it is, the flow goes in the top

In the picture, the tube which points upwards at an angle is the one I would call "top" outlet. It is at right angles to the axis of the pump. In my tests, water appeared to be being pumped out of this one.

The other outlet in the picture is horizontal and points towards the side of the vehicle. This, I guess, will be my inlet hose from the radiator/coolant tank.

I need to remove an old hose from the car (the one which goes from the area of the coolant tank to the inlet of the pump). It has a metal clip on it which I can't figure out how to remove. It's not like a jubilee clip which can be removed with a screwdriver or small hex socket. I'm wondering if these can be removed with circlip pliers? I have none, so I'll probaby end up hacksawing it off.

I stand to be corrected

Cheers

Ian.

[ramjet]

Ian (Qavion),

Yes you are right, Steve has had some health issues, but trust me, he is as keen to assist people as he always has been. Getting back to working on cars and dealing with people has helped him immensely in his recovery. That is straight from the horses mouth as well.

Steve considers the only silly question to be the one that is not asked.

[dodge1979]

The one that is inline with the body of the pump is what I meAn as the top inlet, the one that comes out to the side at 90 degrees to the body is the outlet. The pump outlet goes direct to the chargecooler, the pump inlet direct from the chargecooler radiatior. Cooled water is drawn from the radiator into the pump, pushed through the chargecooler, then exits back to the radiator where its pulled back by the pump once cooled...follow me?

Oh and the clip you mention im guessing is a crimp type hose clip...cut it off and replace with a stainless steel hose clip...as with all hose clips!