[DeTomaso] Electric Water Pumps, The 21st Century of Water Circulation

[Chris Difani]

Folks:

I have a Meziere electric water pump in my 5.4L SOHC supercharged engine.
I did this for a number of reasons, the two most important are the quality
of the Meziere pump, and the output of the pump.

*http://www.meziere.com/ps-1158-1126-wp346s.aspx*

or

*http://www.meziere.com/displaycategory.aspx?d=244,388,128,312,332,302,249*

Meziere got their start building electric pumps for NASA.  They were the
first to use rare earth magnets in their electric pump motors.  They went
into the aftermarket automotive world as a natural growth area for their
products.

All of their electric pumps are guaranteed for 2000 hours of use, or more.
That's a long service life.  Second is their GPM output, which is rated at
35 or 55 GPM.  While OEM mechanical water pumps may out flow that rate at
high RPMs, that extra flow isn't necessary, it's just a horsepower sink.
Your radiator can process only "so much" coolant per minute. In fact there
is an optimal water flow speed for radiators, too fast and the coolant
can't exchange its' heat, too slow, and the coolant is cooled too much
before exiting the radiator.

Radiators are designed to "radiate", or exchange a specific heat load.
That's why there's large radiators, and small radiators.  Radiators are
also designed for specific water flow rates.

The point of this is that an engine cooling system is a *system*, and it
takes all the pieces to operate as an effective system.  Plus the pieces
need to be matched; from the radiator cap, to the hose size, to the
radiator flow rating, to the thermostat, to the air flow circulation, to
the pump.  The pump is critical, but so is the radiator cap, the coolant;
all the pieces.

Personally not only do I have an electric water pump, but I also use a high
temperature coolant (Evans since it won't cause dissimilar metals
corrosion- Al heads, iron block, has a boiling point of 370F, and does it
at atmospheric pressure), a double row Fluidyne aluminum radiator, a 3 PSI
radiator cap, a high flow thermostat specifically designed for my coolant
and system, and so on and so forth.

My Meziere pump is an outstanding piece of engineering.  When my ignition
is "On", I can *not* hear my pump in operation, and I can not feel the
operating pump.  I can *barely* hear it with an electronic stethoscope.
It's incredibly smooth too.  If it wasn't for my electrical
instrumentation, I wouldn't ever know the pump is operating.

Plus, *when my engine is idling in traffic, or creeping along in gridlock,
my coolant is circulating at full speed. *

Now I do admit that the Meziere is more expensive than a premium mechanical
pump. But being able to know my coolant is circulating as soon as I flip
the switch is a really nice feeling.  Plus I don't have to worry about fan
belts either!  If my serpentine belt fails, my AC stops, my alternator
stops, and my Meziere and Bosch pumps will operate for 9 hours (at a
minimum).

My pump (as all the Meziere pumps designed for Ford engines) draws 12 amps
at start.  After startup, the amperage draw drops to about 8 amps.  And it
stays there.  It is a complete replacement for the OEM mechanical pump, as
are the 351C pumps.

One other factor in favor of electric pumps is the horsepower savings.
According to Meziere, electric pumps save 11 to 14HP, especially at the
higher RPM levels.  I can't recommend them highly enough.  At least the
Meziere pumps.  There are other brands, and they have good reputations, but
I only have personal experience with the Meziere models.

So, no fan belt issues, no circulation issues, significant HP savings, and
excellent service life.  I don't think you can go wrong with the Meziere
pumps... especially if you're living in the 21st century....

Chris

Chris Difani
'73 L #5829 "LITNNG"
Sacramento, CA
Email: csdifani at gmail.com

PS: "Water pump" pliers were developed by Henry Fords' engineers, and were
included in the Model A factory tool kit in the 1920s.  They can be very,
very helpful, and a 24" pair of water pump pliers can open just about *
anything*.