Electric Coolant Pump

[Mel_Boss]

The electric coolant pump has begun to leak following a change of coolant. I may have overfilled the reservoir. Could this have caused the pump to leak (doesn't seem logical).
Cost to replace?
Advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Mel

[Doug]

no logic there ? ?

http://www.lotuselancentral.com/repair/commonparts.htm#cpump

[Mel_Boss]

Okay thanks. I will followup on this lead and also check the US price of the Lotus part and get back to you all on this issue.

Back to my original question. Has anyone experienced a problem with this electric pump leaking coolant? Apparently, the pump does work in my car - I heard it running, but it drips coolant for a few minutes after the motor is shut down, and I expect that it will get worse rather than better over time.

[Mel_Boss]

I just emailed a second inquiry to APE (Jabsco pump and Johnson pumps) for verification of the application to the Elan. The Jabsco pump is no longer available and there is no recent update of the APE website.

Either the CM10P7-1, 12V, 10-24502-03 or the CM30P7-1, 12V, 10-24504-03 look like it would work. The lotus pump has 3/4" hose connections.

In studying the specifications, it would seem that either 12V pump would be a suitable replacement for the Lotus part at 1/3 the price ($125). I am looking for clarification from the folks at APE, but it appears that only CM30P7-1 is currently available. Overall size and weight are a bit more than the Lotus part, and the flow is 3x the Lotus part.

I report on my findings.

Any thoughts or experience here?

[Ashaman]

Nevermind, I see they no longer offer the $65 Johnson (it worked fine and is a drop in replacement aside from the electrical connection). Bummer.

At any rate, both of the others have been used, so if you can confirm the dimensions are the same as either of these two, I would think you should be fine.

[Mel_Boss]

Agreed. I have emailed them twice and left one message and so far no response. Customer service is obviously not a priority. Even at $125, it's still a bargain compared to the $390 quote I got for the Lotus part.

I will post my result when this is complete.

Thanks.

[muley]

If you get stuck, the products these guys have may help.

http://www.thinkauto.com See under 'water pumps'

Let me know if you want to research further,

Jim B a.k.a. muley

[Mel_Boss]

I ordered a Jabsco 59500-0012 from Progress Pumps, Houston for $123 (total cost). http://www.progressivepumps.com/ 1-(800) 811-4997 Steve Carnes is the contact.

I also spoke with Ron Gregory at APE (Auto Performance Engineering) - http://www.autoperformanceengineering.c ... tml#C030P5 - 1(877) 427-3872 - about the pumps available through them. The Johnson CM30P7-1 pumps about 2X fluid of that of the Jabsco (Sweden), is a similar size and cost the same but is currently unavailable/backordered (this is a temporary situation).

Since the Jabsco pump has worked so well according to user reports, is a better pump than the Lotus (Bosche??) pump, cost a third and it's available now ~ I figured that it was worth a shot.

[Mel_Boss]

I ordered a Jabsco 59500-0012 from Progressive Pumps of Houston, 1(800)811-4997, Steve Carnes for $123 (less than a third of the "Lotus" part). It may not arrive in time for me to install it for the ride to Laguna Seca and this year's Historics.

Question. Is it advisable to remove the existing leaking pump and replace it with a 3/4" tube for the drive to the event? The purpose of the pump as I understand it is a "fail-safe." That is, if the engine gets HOT, and the driver shuts it down w/o letting the engine run to cool itself down, the electric pump intervenes to continue circulating the coolant to keep the turbo protected. Therefore, if the engine does not get HOT, all is well, and if it does get hot, I just need to keep it running until the electric fan brings the temperature down to a safe level (I noramlly let the motor idle after a hard run anyway as a precaution).

Comments???

Mel Boss

[John_W]

Mel,
sounds OK to me. You know what the pump's there to do so you're not going to abuse the car by letting it sit and cook after a hard run.
John

[muley]

Mel,

I completely agree. The fans cool the engine down quite quickly in my experience. If the car is hot when you stop, let the fans do their job then shut down the engine, should be fine.

As you say the pump is only there as a fail safe - kicks in after shutting down when the engine is hot. I'm thinking of removing mine altogether to simplify the hose runs??

Jim B a.k.a. muley

[Ashaman]

Agree/Think it is fine. I had no worries doing this very thing while I was locating a replacement for mine.

[Mel_Boss]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I'm hoping that the part will arrive in time, and I didn't think that my proposal was risky, but it is comforting to hear from you nevertheless.

[Monty]

U could always put the fans on a manual switch so u can cool the engine down below the halfway mark.

[Mel_Boss]

A manual switch is an excellent idea! I have one on the S4 Sprint (but it runs a bit hotter than the M100 )... I drove to the Monterey Historics last Saturday, and all was well. The gauge never registered beyond the half-way mark (I'd sure prefer a "real" gauge w/numbers on it) - ran cool as a cumcumber, even when I got bogged down in San Jose traffic coming home. Saw Sterling Moss and Jim Hall drive from on top of the "big hill" near the corkscrew that overlooks turns 10, 11, 1-5. The "old guys" drove perfect lines! Bobby Rahall drove a perfect race to win the 5th heat. A very good day that started w/calamari and a beer for breakfast!

[appspaul]

after finding a big pool of coolant under my car that was dripping from the electric pump, i got on to LAC and found the imfo i needed to fix the problem. i tracked down a jabsco 59500-0012 electric pump. it was real easy to fit just needed to take the wire with the plug off the old pump and solder them to the new one . seems to be working very well .the marine shop i bought the pump from had another 10 in stock so there are still a few jabsco pumps around . thank god for this website

[Doc Fizzix]

Found this source from Top End Performance:

http://www.racetep.com/tneticatolic.html

[UK123d]

Re: M100 Electric Coolant Pump

The electric coolant pump was only ever put on M100 so that with the engine stopped, coolant would circulate and not cook the turbo. Originally we used the std fans, but the battery would quickly flatten. There were additional worries about fingers getting in the way!

If the turbo is allowed to cool down ( say 5 minutes of Idle before key off) after a thrash, you would be OK without the fan. Otherwise any 12V pump that fits will do the job.

[ailwyn]

UK123d

How about an introduction?

[Gazza]

Original ones are still available from Germany, but there are only 10 left apparently, 9 now .

If you need one phone Sinclaires and ask for Andy, price was about £120

Gazza