Chargecooler Pump Pieces broken up into Cooler

[Chris89turbo]

I cant imagine I am the first person to see this. Apparently the old mechanical Chargecooler pump in my 1990 Esprit SE broke up and pieces of the propeller broke away and made it through the coooler unit and I found these pieces lodged up against the exit fitting when I took the fitting off. I would imagine there are more pieces inside. I took it to an auto shop that flushes radiators and the look on the mechanics face and the 2 page waiver they wanted me to sign told me I prefer to do it myself... Anyone out there seen this before? Are there any pressure rating on the cooler? I am open to any feedback anyone has.. thanks

Edited April 21, 2018 by Chris89turbo

[jonwat]

This is normal if the impeller hasn't been changed in a while, they're regarded as a service item.

Most owners replace the mechanical pump with an electrical one. 

 

[Chris89turbo]

Yes, I am looking at the electrical pump option, but the current issue is getting any potential blockage out of the cooler from the old impeller. Wondering what method people have used to back flush it... 

[CarBuff]

You could either just run garden hose water through it. I would first try compressed air.

 

If you are using water make sure you run a hose from the CC atop the engine to a bucket under the car.  Its messy if you don't! (And, DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS!)

 

If you feel that the system needs to be flushed better, you can use a CLR-type cleaner, recirculating via a pump on a drill, to dissolve any buildup that is a result of the coolant not circulating. Just make sure you flush THAT out well with clean water, as CLR isn't kind to aluminum.

[Jacques]

Personally, depending where and how eventual further bits may be inside the chargecooler, I'd take it off and not use compressed air, as it can be quite harsh, but slowly use a bit of MUC-OFF (pink bike cleaner dilluted 1:4), in a very mild flow of Water, to make room for eventual left over bits to come Loose. I would not use pressureised Water (at least only very low pressure).

So, I would make a liter of MUC-OFF dilluted in water and while closing one end, I pour say 1/4 Liter or at least just a small amount, into the chargecooler, then close both ends, and midly turning and twisting it around for the solution to get around, while still making room for any debris to loosen and move. Then I'd pour it out and repeat any number of times. Then I'd gardenhose it with very low pressure cold water or better luke warm water to rinse thoroughly. I'd repeat from the other end as well, doing the process all over Again. I'd start with reversed direction of normal flow direction, when installed.

Original Lotus branded Behr chargecoolers by Hella are made of unobtanium these days, so take good care.

MUC-OFF is a completely non-harmfull cleaning agent, and can safely be used on anything on your car engine. I usually by it undilluted in 1Liter bottles from Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK or cheaper from Germany. I am sure you have it in the USA as well. Bicycle shops or motorcycle shops usually sell this. Or just online. I've been using this for years.

I would NOT use anything like ordinary radiator-cleaner etc.

That is what I would safely dare to do to the chargecooler itself, with no second thoughts.

Kind regards,

Jacques

 

Btw. I find the Little two hose outlet on the end of the original chargecoolerpump very fragile in it's casting, and have seen a couple developing hole(-s), thereby dripping or even punping out coolant. When going Electric, you omit that part, so one less potential failure avoided. Time for that electric solution anyway.

[CarBuff]

To be clear, when I said to use compressed air, I expected not to use more than 5 - 10 PSI of pressure, that's all.  Even a garden hose induces more pressure than that.  (Our house has the water pressure restricted to 60PSI)

 

The nice thing about compressed air to get those large rubber pieces is that you don't have to guess to get the proper coolant mixture when you are done.

++++++++++++++

 

Oh, another thing:  Don't forget you need to obtain a sealed plug to put into the hole where the impeller pump was.

 

 

 

[Jacques]

And a small bracket that holds it

Jacques

[Escape]

I think you're getting too worried over nothing. Of course you need to replace the impeller or fit an electrical pump. But IMHO the debris isn't a huge problem. The chargecooler circuit is not that complex, compared to the main cooling circuit. It's just 2 heat exchangers (rad at the front and chargecooler on the engine), a header tank and a pump. No extreme temperatures or pressure, no tiny waterways that are critical to engine cooling, no risk of pollutants form the engine or head gasket problems... Especially on the SE with it's 2 completely separate circuits. So I would just reverse flush the radiator (from the front, connections are near the left wheel) and possibly the pipes running through the chassis, using a garden hose at moderate pressure. Then reconnect everything and check for a good flow (with a garden hose or similar at the pump output) through the system. Should be fine. 😉

Greetz,

Filip

[RS blu]

I had the same problem, I only removed the pieces left inside the pump and I mounted a new impeller.
I bought the impeller from Jabsco (part number 9200-0023B it's from boat engine).The important thing is to put the impeller blades in the right direction, (look at the manual) and put a lot of vaseline oil in the new one.

I had no problem, everything works fine.

Edited April 25, 2018 by RS blu

[Andy Esprit SE]

I've got a complete pump overall kit from SJ in the garage, couldn't clean the original one up so fitted an electric one instead. If you haven't bought one yet let me know I'll send it on and save you  few quid. I'll check it's all there first of course.