So i finally got a rear with 3.23 gears and wanted to see if i can dip into the low 13's. After 1 run the girl handing out timeslips told me my car is leaking coolant. I was like yeah right its someone else. So i ran afew more times and they told me i had to fix it before i run again. I couldint see anything leaking so i said forget it and left. On the ride home the car started missing like crazy. Then the temp started spiking and going back down. Finally got it home, jacked it up and turned it on. So the water pump is leaking out of the weep hole, on my opti and on my belt slinging crap everywhere. So my question, if i just go to summit racing and pick up a new opti is it worth it to get an e-water pump or just a stock one? Also, do you guys have the links to the e-water pump writeup? Thanks in advance.

 

definitly get a electric water pump. I had same problem twice in 2 years, and after blowing the gear on the timing chain that runs the water pump i just decided to get an electric one. More power, and less hassle.

 

wow dude. how does everyone else notice your car was leaking coolant and you couldnt? and you drove it home with spiking temps? your lucky if a bad water pump is all you ended up with. anyways, there are plenty of writeups on electric waterpumps. i dont have the link saved on my laptop or i would list it for you. do a quick search. shouldnt be too hard.

btw- read about the risks involved with electric water pumps. know what your getting into before you just go throwing one on.

 

I did a search and couldint find any links. I did however find afew replys from you on the subject. Like i said, it was leaking from the weep hole. On the track they could see it. When i turned it off and got under i couldint see anything. So 1 trip to the track killed my opti, water pump(which im sure was going out anyways)and tore up my clutch. During my second run i slammed second and got no tire spin though it felt like the tires were spinning. Kinda felt like the rear end was up in the air. Odd feeling. Anyways these are the parts im going to get, unless advised otherwise.

GM Performance Parts Vented Optispark: $289.95
MSD Coil: $41.88
Meziere Electric Water Pump: $199.69(2,000 hour seal life expectancy )
Granatelli fuel pump: $125.88

All this is in the Summit Mag and i will be picking it all up, otherwise i would order offline and save some $$$ but i dont have time since this is my daily driver. Will all this be ok and will i be needing anything else?

 

try this: http://ken.lowrance.com/projects/CSIwaterpump/

edit: also, what is the point of the fuel pump? i'm assuming you had a problem with that too then. and your coil went bad or just putting in a new one? oh, and why are you buying an opti? because it is actually bad or because you had some water leak onto it?

 

I bought my opti from Dal...........he's ALOT cheaper and faster to ship. Jason Chromer is another good GM dealer from what I've heard. Go to the all mighty shoebox's website for more info on the two.

 

No way I'd put an electric water pump on a street car. They don't have a fabulous reputation for street durability. Plus, if you half-@ss the wiring at all, then you just wasted your engine.

Don't buy a parts store water pump. Buy a new delco unit. You shouldn't have any of the durability problems. I've driven my LT1 Z 80K miles without water pump failure, and put 30K on my LT1 caprice without failure. Wasn't a new pump when I bought it, so who knows how many miles are on that one. If you buy a cheapo rebuild, you'll likely have problems, doesn't matter if it's an LT1, or a gen 1. Which is probably the source of the LT1 water pump's "bad reputation".

Good luck either way.

 

About 235 from Dal for my vented opti.

 

why does everyone hate on electric water pumps? I have gone through 2 stock water pumps, first installed by a dealership 2nd installed by me, both blew up within 2 years and took an opti out w/ it. There is no "half-assing the wiring" because its either wired in or its not. Great thing about electricity, it either turns on or it doesnt. if it doesnt turn on, dont turn your car on; its that easy. Street durability I find MUCH better with the electric water pump than w/ the stock one. Would you rather your timing set have a gear running your water pump? or have it run off the battery?

I guess it takes all kinds...

 

The Granatelli fuel pump is just a reboxed and further marked up Walbro. As for the electric WP do a lot of reading and decide for yourself wether the potential risks are worth the gains, as with most parts they have both.
As far as waterpumps the "new" delcos probably have the single worst track record if they are indeed new then they have been sitting in a warehouse since the LT1 was in production, no wonder they don't last the seals are shot before it is even installed. Want a good reliable mechanical pump at a attreactive price try thr $40 NAPA remanufactured unit which I have over 60K on after the origninal pump began weeping at about 96K, or Autozone has a lifetime warranty pump for like $55. Or you could do like the others and buy the Delco one with a bad track record pay over twice as much and then bitch when it goes out all because you had to put your nose in the air and avoid remanufactured parts with a better record just because they werent new.

 

just know that when the mechanical one goes out it WILL take your opti out w/ it, and the warranty on the water pump wont include the opti. Ive torn the gears out of 2 opti's just w/ the water pump dying. I hate to sound so anti-mechanical water pump, but I have never had one work right. Not to mention you have differing speeds of the pump w/ the mechanical one, which causes increased drag at higher rpms due to running the pump at the same higher rpm.

 

The risk of opti damage with waterpump failure are way way overstated. First if you put a little dielectric grease on the wiring harness connection seal and the plugwires water will have more than a hard time getting in. Second if it does the opti will usually dry out but the ignorant pitch it and complain about how bad it is when any distributor will run badly with water inside. When I used to run mud trucks it happened with HEIs, dry it out and you are good to go again.

 

Well, as for the fuel pump my car has 140k with the stock pump. I haveto prime it afew times before it will start. The motor in my car is about to turn 70k. When i did the cam i noticed the water pump drive bearings were kinda shotty. So an e-water pump would eleminate that and give afew HP. The wireing dosint scare me, just the life of it does. 2,000 hours? I never knew so many of you were against it. Though it seem's like quite afew of you use one. Honestly though, do you guys think anything is wrong with the summit e-waterpump?

 

The risk of the electric water pump is sudden failure. This almost never happens with the mechanical pump (there are usually warning signs like leakage). The amount of people that have lost head gaskets due to an electric pump failure is not just a few.

I wouldn't mind an electric pump on a race car, but on a street car, I prefer the stock pump. There will always be the response: "they should have been watching their temp gauge". True enough, but how often does anyone look at the temp gauge? A sudden failure can make temps skyrocket in a very short time. Everyday driving and distractions probably slow down the frequency of gauge checking.

Consider the risk vs. reward. More complexity, multiple sources of failure (electric motor and wiring circuitry, fuse, relay) vs. a few ponies, easier replacent if it does fail.

My new AC-Delco water pump has far outlasted the original pump. The original pump leaked and spewed off and on for a few thousand miles and did not ever bother the opti. Not everyone's experience is going to be the same.

 

On the CSR web page, they recommend a rebuild every 50,000 miles. I'm sending mine in this week for a $60.00 rebuild. They said they rebuild them in and out in the day they receive them.

ZMAN