Rick pulled the water pump, and the bearing - although not seized - is shot. We looked at the one off the old engine, and that's the same, plus it's leaking through the seal. Between them they've only done about 9000km - which is singularly unimpressive.
I've looked into electric pumps. A so-called 'high performance' electric water pump is available as a bolt-on replacement for the standard mechanical one, but it only shifts 55 galls/min. This compares with 85g/min on a stock mechanical unit, and 100g/min on the high-flow one. Of course the electric will pump 55g/min at any revs, whereas mechanical ones are rated at around 3000rpm, so the electric probably has the edge at idle. However, at (say) 4500rpm a mechanical one is pumping three times what the electric can manage, so it's pretty clear to me that electric is not a viable option for our sort of usage.
Word from the Autodrome is that they had the same problems with mechanical water pumps on the V8 Luminas - one actually exploded (the pump, not the Lumina)! So now they've gone over to the pump used on the Corvette which has double bearings, and this appears to be reliable. So that's what we're getting.
Rick has fabricated a fan box to fit to the radiator, and the fans (ordered yesterday) are being collected from the Pacet factory today. How's that for customer service? Now I just have to hope TNT don't lose them....
These are the voyages of the starship 'Newtrix'. Its multi-year mission: to compete in any rally within striking distance of Dubai, and to acquire shiny trophies. To boldly go wherever this quest may take us, as long as we can be home in time for tea.
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