Busted Water Pump....replacement suggestions?

[AnthonyRosas]

Hey guys...couldn't find a thread in here that talks about replacement Water Pumps.

my 03 cobra - 87k miles ( factory ported blower pulley/tune) - is leaking water out from above the crank pulley when i pressurize the system (we only did 12-13psi)
(car was overheating) - fans are good, radiator popped a small leak as result of running too hot (its a aluminum aftermarket so i will attempt to get it repaired)

So looks like we will be replacing the water pump
any recommendations on types? given the mods on my car (and no plans to go a whole lot higher on power) i should be able to go with a OEM replacement? or high flow?
thanks for the advise!

 

[Quick Strike]

Stewart pump.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bubblehead93]

^^^^^^+++++++++++++

r/
Andy

 

[MalcolmV8]

What's your reasoning for not using OEM?

 

[AnthonyRosas]

Im not opposed to OEM at all

just looking for some recommendations if OEM replacement worked well for people..who much they paid for OEM
and if there is other aftermarket pumps out there for same'ish money and provided solid results

 

[bubblehead93]

so a brand new ford oem pump, not remanufactured will cost about $100. The stewart pump is about $130. Google both, look at the impeller... nuff said... it is a superior pump... it flows more... and is relatively cheap as far as mods go, especially if you look at the incremental cost versus buying a new pump... and it is a PIA to get to, so do it once, do it right...

r/
Andy

 

[MalcolmV8]

so a brand new ford oem pump, not remanufactured will cost about $100. The stewart pump is about $130. Google both, look at the impeller... nuff said... it is a superior pump... it flows more... and is relatively cheap as far as mods go, especially if you look at the incremental cost versus buying a new pump... and it is a PIA to get to, so do it once, do it right...

r/
Andy

A brand new Ford pump is $78 from Tasa. I'm just asking because I've been using OEM Ford pumps for over 13 years now on my 03 and never found a reason or need to use anything else. I'm just asking because it appears to more than do the job at hand with no complaints. Just curious what you're getting out of the aftermarket pump that the OEM is falling short on?

I've had customers cars that didn't want to spend the money on OEM and got $45 parts store pumps and honestly they looked the same as the Ford units. Noticed no difference in cooling on the car either. I suppose one could assume they won't last as long but I've never had any feedback from customers to support that so just guessing there.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

Malcolm - I believe Ed over on Mod Fords has linked to the Ford/Roush paper on cooling the Ford GT and the 55 gallon per minute magic number. From the skimming Ive done it looks like the Stewart pump is designed much more like the GT pump. At the same time Ive also seen that it appears the stock oil cooler assembly is a big restriction on coolant flow, I dont know that an increase in flow would be seen without cleaning up some of those restrictions.

I would love to see someone with an opened up cooling system do a comparable test between oem and the Stewart. If somebody isnt having cooling issues Id have a hard time arguing against a $78 stock pump...if youre like me and having some issues thats another story

 

[MalcolmV8]

Malcolm - I believe Ed over on Mod Fords has linked to the Ford/Roush paper on cooling the Ford GT and the 55 gallon per minute magic number. From the skimming Ive done it looks like the Stewart pump is designed much more like the GT pump. At the same time Ive also seen that it appears the stock oil cooler assembly is a big restriction on coolant flow, I dont know that an increase in flow would be seen without cleaning up some of those restrictions.

I would love to see someone with an opened up cooling system do a comparable test between oem and the Stewart. If somebody isnt having cooling issues Id have a hard time arguing against a $78 stock pump...if youre like me and having some issues thats another story

OK so the Stewart pump flows more volume and the theory is our stock pumps don't flow enough volume to cool as effectively as it could?
Or so the theory goes. I mean if it actually does drop temps and works then that's great. I too would love to see that tried and compared to stock.
If I haven't seen before and after results by the time I'm in there taking things apart again I may try it myself and report back.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

basically yes, it appears the stewart and evans pump (discontinued I think) were pretty similar and they always talked about the high flow rate of the evans.

I dont know what to think, too much time in the radiator because of low flow doesnt help but too short of time in the radiator due to too much flow isnt good either. I feel like in an otherwise stock (cooling system wise car) its not going to do much, if anything and in a stocl to mild bolt on car setup where the owner is fine with operating in the stock temp range the stock piece is fine. Those of us trying to run as cool as possible may benefit but I have yet to see proof. Most threads end up a "discussion" about it taking less power to drive than stock and that vs power savings of an electric pump... Then theres the whole issues of temps achieved with various intercooler/heat exchanger setups drastically messing with air flow and coolant temps.

 

[MalcolmV8]

I'd never do an electric water pump on a street driven car. I read about their limited reliability all the time. Then a buddy put one on his big block mopar to save on parasitic loss and sure enough a couple years later its dead and he barely ever drives the thing. Like here and there to car shows is about it. Cost him a pretty penny for that pump too. With that said my BMW has a factory electric water pump. It made it to around 100 or 110k miles before stranding me. The replacement is a revised unit supposed to last longer.

If anyone has proof of said pumps increasing the cooling I'd love to read up.

 

[Quick Strike]

OK so the Stewart pump flows more volume and the theory is our stock pumps don't flow enough volume to cool as effectively as it could?
Or so the theory goes. I mean if it actually does drop temps and works then that's great. I too would love to see that tried and compared to stock.

Malcolm, I have some anecdotal evidence. When I had my car tuned, my tuner asked me what pump I had because it cooled down exceptionally fast after dyno runs. This is a guy that has tuned literally thousands of 03-04 Cobras and has a vast experiential understanding and feel for what is and is not normal for them in combination. He certainly wasn't trying to sell me a pump. So, it seems significant that he would ask. The only differences between my car's cooling system and a stock Cobra cooling system are the Stewart pump, the Richie thermostat and the larger LFP radiator.

 

[MalcolmV8]

Malcolm, I have some anecdotal evidence. When I had my car tuned, my tuner asked me what pump I had because it cooled down exceptionally fast after dyno runs. This is a guy that has tuned literally thousands of 03-04 Cobras and has a vast experiential understanding and feel for what is and is not normal for them in combination. He certainly wasn't trying to sell me a pump. So, it seems significant that he would ask. The only differences between my car's cooling system and a stock Cobra cooling system are the Stewart pump, the Richie thermostat and the larger LFP radiator.

It could definitely be the pump but also having a larger LPF radiator probably played a roll in that too. I see why you said anecdotal evidence.

The hugest most crazy cooling mod I made without even realizing it was switching to an aluminum block. My engine heats up and cools down significantly quicker than ever before. That's not exactly a practical cooling mod though lol.

 

[AnthonyRosas]

quite the discussion i stirred up op:

but like i said earlier..the only reason why im considering and aftermarket water pump...is yes its a PITA to replace the water pump...so i might as well go out ans ask the community whats worked well for them
we have some hot summers in NC and sometimes sitting in traffic to and from work (when i decide to drive the cobra) so im all for a pump that doesn't cost much more that will keep temps down

Im 100% with you Malcolm on the no electric pump for the street...i have read the same thing you have...not super reliable for a street car. and i really don't have the need to run the water pump when the car isn't running

i'll be sure to post up my results of the new pump once i have it installed!

 

[Brutal Metal]

oem has kept mine running cool in the 100 degree Florida heat for years.

 

[AnthonyRosas]

good to know guys

new stewart water pump is going in this weekend!
we will see the temps after install.
excited to drive my car again!