LOL, at doing it right

You don't run an electric pump so how do you know it will cause all these problems that you say it will? It takes seconds to remove or install a water pump drive, yet you don't run one. How exactly is it that you know again, without any experience with one?

I'm just asking because you seem so adament that unless you remove the shaft when doing an elec. w/p you are somehow doing the job half *** and are going cause leaks in the front cover and ultimately blow up your engine when the drive bearing shatters into a millions pieces and ball bearings fall into the motor.

 

No need to pull the intake to remove the water pump drive assembly. Attatch a Vice Grip to the shaft, and tap it out.

 

Please back up and read my replies again. I never said it would cause a problem. I stated it could cause a problem as a result of what I stated in post 10. I am looking at it from an mechanically ideal perspective.

This is simply my opinion from looking at the parts and trying to contribute to the discussion in the absense of actual GM data pertaining to the subject. I might be completely wrong.

Unless a GM engineer were to chime in and answer the question. I guess nobody will really know for certain. And FTR I am not aware of anyone really encountering a problem.

I am also not aware of anyone having a problem only running 3 out of 5 lug nuts on each wheel. What I am trying to say is, why take a chance.

 

Why is it so hard for some of you to NOT get the point wrd1972 is trying to make. It "might" cause a problem down the road.

 

It's not hard, I understand completely, but on the list of things to worry about and looking and the effort involved to pull it and the fact it limits your options in going back to mechanical should a problem arise, something like this should barely be a blip on the radar IMHO.

 

Re-read post #17, does that sound hard? Most guys that do the ewp also like the fact that a new one can be installed in minutes. Granted a mechanical will only take a little longer but in most cases this won't even be an option (timing chain conversion). And last but not least, did you forget about the weight savings?

 

i'm just going to say two things.....

take everything you read on the internet... especially on a car forum with a grain of salt. everyone is an expert here, everyone here has 9 second street cars, and everyone here is married to jessica alba.

2nd off.... i ran for two years with an electric water pump with the gear drive still in there. the car was daily driven for those two years.

 

That's true...after you take off the pump, opti, balancer and hub, lower the oil pan in front and remove the timing set.

 

"IF" your in there, then why not? Nevermind, you win.

 

Doesn't sound hard, but it is harder than just 6 bolts I would rather only pull the pump than have to pull the pump, opti, balancer, hub, front part of the oil pan, timing chain cover and timing chain just to pull out the w/p drive. It's just not worth it, esp for something that isn't an issue to begin with. Also most guys I know don't carry around a spare elec. w/p to swap out. Most people I know though do have a spare mechanical one or can pick one up fast from any local parts store.

 

I took it as the OP was thinking about a double roller. Guess I read over it to fast. I would take it out if that was the case, but do what you want. Then you and all these people you know can swap back to your manual pumps. Better yet, never put the ewp on to begin with. That way you'll most likely have some warning the manual pump is going out where as the ewp will leave you high and dry. Pun intended, although pretty lame.

 

you have to consider the life of both components when properly installed and maintained, provided they are quality units. both can last extremely long. The mechanical pump in my truck lasted 185,000 miles before going out. I haven't had long expiriance with an electric pump, but the mechanical pump on the lt1 is complicated. From an engineering/design aspect, the electrical pump is better. It runs a stable rpm, hermetically sealed, and less chance of leaks than the mechanical one. Another benefit is the reduced power drag, and ability to turn on/off, and run after the car is off. The mechanical is ok too, but is more sophisticated with multiple moving parts, chances of both oil and coolant leaks, and has to be meshed to the cam gear with the gear's own bearing. Lastly, the gear for the w/p is significantly smaller than the cam gear, causing a HUGE overdrive of the two gears, and subsequent power loss. I eliminated my mechanical drive for the electric pump to not only simplify engine operation, but to free up some power and to run a double roller for added resistance against the classic lt1 timing chain stretch. Just a thought...

 

Sorry if this was covered already (guilty of not thoroughly reading replies)

But without the load of the WP I don't think this is an issue. At 6000 engine rpm, the mechanical pump requires substantial power to drive - don't know, maybe some where between 5-10HP and that is a pretty beefy bearing back there. With an electric pump it is simply free-wheeling, accelerating and decelerating with very low loads. If the shaft is bent or you are concerned with runout - then you should be worried about this critical dimension regardless of what pump you have.

-Scott.

 

In addition to agreeing with your point, I think a GM engineer would also mention the mechanical water pumps effect at damping cam/valvetrain harmonics.

 

I never thought of that aspect, but I doubt it really makes a difference.