I am going to replace the water pump, when i change out the opti. I was thinking of going with a electric pump. Is it worth it ??? or stick with stock. I like the idea of better cooling and a little more hp.

Thanks.

 

Do it if you want to run double roller timing sets.

Do it if you want to eliminate the leak potential above the opti.

Do it if you want the extra HP.

Don't do it for "extra cooling". It won't cool any better than the gear driven pump. In fact, if you keep the engine near redline for extended periods you could see lower circulation than with the gear driven pump.

 

I installed a Meziere HD electric water pump a few weeks back on my LT1 (part no. WP118HD if I remember correctly) - at the same time I replaced my opti-spark.

The water pump install was a relatively easy and straightforward mod to do. What I noticed immediately afterwords was that there WAS in fact, a drop in coolant temperatures.....but ONLY noticeable in stop-and-go traffic. Temperatures at highway speeds did NOT appear to change.

I knew this when I decided to go electric and it was actually the main reason for me wanting to go electric to begin with. My '92 has always run a bit on the hot side whenever it got stuck in traffic or had to sit their idling for more than a few minutes. I realize that these motor's were designed to run hot for lower emissions purposes, but I was never really comfortable watching my temperatures climb so high and in such a short period of time.

The biggest advantage of the electric pump is that it flows the same amount of coolant regardless of the RPM your engine's spinning, meaning it doesn't matter if you're just idling, or going flat-out, the amount of coolant it's pumping, remains virtually the same.

For comparison, the gear driven factory pump's flow, depends entirely on the engine's RPM. The higher your RPM, the more coolant it flows. What that means is that it's not very efficient at low speeds as the engines turning at a low RPM (think stop and go traffic).

That is the single biggest advantage of the electric pump. FULL coolant flow at ALL RPM's....and with this particular model (the HD version) - that's 55 gallons a minute, which if I'm not mistaken,
is even more than what the factory unit can flow.

------
------


Some of the other advantages would be:

- Easier to replace than the whole water pump if it ever goes bad
- Hook it up to a switched 12v source and you can turn it on whenever you want without actually having to start the car
- Help's "burp" the coolant system whenever your changing out your coolant making it easier to get rid of air bubbles in the system
- You can eliminate the "weep hole" under the housing thereby eliminating the possibility of coolant dripping onto your opti-spark
- Free's up some horse power and gives "slightly" better throttle response
- 2 year, unlimited millage warranty
- 3000 hour life expectancy


All in all, I'm happy with mine. Just be sure to carry a few spare fuses with you in the glove compartment just in case the "in-line" fuse that comes with the pump goes bad for whatever reason. You can never be too cautious.


If you want to see some pic's of the pump I went with and a small write up/how to of the install, I created a thread about my install you can find here.

I still haven't gotten around to wiring it up the way I want to, but when I do, I'll post pic's. Right now, the power wire is just kind of laying across the engine compartment, through the door and into the fuse box. When I get the chance. I'll stick it into some convoluted tubing and slide it through the firewall for a more "factory" looking appearance, but for now, the car's running just fine.



Here's the link to my install.

Hope it helps!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...-pictures.html

 

I also run an electric water pump. Just be aware if you decide to run one, that when it fails you are dead on the road. The factory water pump will always give you signs of its impending death.

 

There's some good insight

 

That's very true. An expired pump would leave you dead on the road. But so would a flat tire, a bad ignition coil, a fried starter, or a screwed-up MAF sensor etc. etc. etc.

There are a number of different things that could potentially leave a person stranded and "dead in the water" but generally we don't like to think about things like that, otherwise we'd always be worried about driving our cars.

Should "MP6" choose to go with an electric pump, he'll no doubt be nervous at first and it wouldn't surprise me if his eyes were glued to the temperature gauge for a week or two after the install. I know I was the same way, but I got over it pretty fast. As soon as I turn the key to the start position and hear the pump come on, I know all is well. Just in case though, as I mentioned earlier, I carry a small pack of fuses in the glove compartment just in case the in-line fuse on the water pump fails. It's cheap insurance in my opinion.

Good luck either way!

 

those are good points, but let's be fair. Are you comparing a new electric pump to an old worn gear driven pump.

And many will claim that on old pump "works just fine" when in fact an old wallered out pump is not pumping as efficient as a new one.

If we are not addressing issue raised in Post #2, I'd like to make the point that this Mod should only be looked at if you are thinking along the lines of post #2

As far as just addressing heat issues, First, pull the radiator and have it boiled our or replaced with new.

Then replace that old 100K water pump...even though the weep hole is dry, the optimal pumping capabilities left you long ago.

All I'm trying to say here is that I'd like folks to maintain their system first before looking to modifications ( and god forbid snake oils) for high temp situations.

 

Thanks alot! looks like ill be goin with it! i wonder if the jegs model is any good?