Another Flowkooler waterpump bites the dust

[lars]

Having learned a bit about FlowKooler water pumps since my last post... FlowKooler doesn't actually manufacture complete water pumps, or even have them made to their spec. They buy GMB water pumps, press off the impellers, then press on the ones they make.

 

[jamesroney]

Having learned a bit about FlowKooler water pumps since my last post... FlowKooler doesn't actually manufacture complete water pumps, or even have them made to their spec. They buy GMB water pumps, press off the impellers, then press on the ones they make.

So someone needs to look at a GMB impeller and tell me how FlowKooler removes that impeller without destroying the cartridge bearing. (actually curious)

I've destroyed enough 63-64 Ford water pumps to know that I'm no good at it.

 

[ntsqd]

Looking at this picture from the GMB page I know how I would remove it, hopefully w/o damaging the bearings and seals.

I would use an inductive heater to heat the impeller's hub and then use a puller to remove the impeller. I've had some impressive wins and a few catastrophic fails with this technique at work.

Seriously, if you've got the spare change then buy one of the chinesium inductive heaters off the jungle and try it out on various things. Some things it works dramatically better than anything else you've ever tried, and some projects are duds.

It may also be possible that they're buying them less the impeller in the first place?

 

[TonyPDX]

Looking at this picture from the GMB page I know how I would remove it, hopefully w/o damaging the bearings and seals.

I would use an inductive heater to heat the impeller's hub and then use a puller to remove the impeller. I've had some impressive wins and a few catastrophic fails with this technique at work.

Seriously, if you've got the spare change then buy one of the chinesium inductive heaters off the jungle and try it out on various things. Some things it works dramatically better than anything else you've ever tried, and some projects are duds.

It may also be possible that they're buying them less the

So I pressed it apart, but I felt like I was going to break my press it took so much force. They definitely use GMB water pumps and just swap the impeller. one other thing I noticed is the impeller design is really quite basic. The vanes aren’t full length nor are they curved nor are they any deeper than the stamp steel style. So I question whether it actually flows any more water than a typical water pump. Also, the impeller showed a lot of deterioration from cavitation which really surprised me. So after discovering that I decided not to try and press the flow cooler impeller onto the replacement water pump. The bottom line is I think flowkooler water pumps are just a gimmick.

 

[ba123]

I have a Flowkooler on mine and while I don't have a fraction of the miles you have on yours, Lars, I did not have any issues making clearance when I mounted.

I bought from Summit and from what I'm reading, this is a new water pump:

Summit Racing - FlowKooler Hi-Flow Mechanical Water Pumps for 1996-2001 EXPLORER, 1997-2001 MOUNTAINEER - 1666


Ooops, nvm, searching further, I found the GMB info...but still, I've had no problems. Do we have the same pumps?

 

[ntsqd]

Looking at the pic below from ba123's link the vanes appear to be angled and possibly curved. Hard to say for sure, blowing the pic up didn't really help much. How close the vanes come to the pump body will determine how much 'blow-by', how much coolant escapes the vanes. the pump will have. Just by machining the vanes to match the body's shape and then setting them close would yield a better pump than the GMB impeller below. Add in the full circle backing on the vanes and you get a bit more out of the pump.
All of which is to say that most coolant pumps do not set a very high standard, so improving on them doesn't take a lot.

FlowKooler:

GMB:

 

[Glass Pony]

Looking at the pic below from ba123's link the vanes appear to be angled and possibly curved. Hard to say for sure, blowing the pic up didn't really help much. How close the vanes come to the pump body will determine how much 'blow-by', how much coolant escapes the vanes. the pump will have. Just by machining the vanes to match the body's shape and then setting them close would yield a better pump than the GMB impeller below. Add in the full circle backing on the vanes and you get a bit more out of the pump.
All of which is to say that most coolant pumps do not set a very high standard, so improving on them doesn't take a lot.

FlowKooler:

GMB:

Ntsqd is correct.

Also, about the Vanes on the Flowcooler, there is more of them.