belt driven water pump vs. electric one

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Hello all,
what do you prefer as an alternative to the standard water pump: a belt driven one (e.g. Steve Hill's) or an electric one (e.g. Davies Craig's)?
Best wishes,
Dieter.

[DJT]

I have recently fitted a belt-driven one. Not for any reason other than paranoia over the state of my OE pump. Totally unwarranted as it happens; the OE pump was fine when I removed it....

The belt-driven pump is easy to fit, and has been proven to work without fail in much hotter climes than we normally see in the UK. The only potential failure point is the drive belt and the kit is supplied with two quality items (Dunlop in my case), one to fit and one as a spare. The belt can be visually checked every time the bonnet is opened, just like the alternator and power steering hoses. The heater system works as it should.

I have no experience of the electric pumps, but have read of cooked engines due to fuse failure and also of heater problems depending on how it is plumbed. One advantage is the ability to have it run after the engine has stopped.

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Did you use the Steve Hill belt driven pump set from Cardiffclassiccarparts?

[DJT]

No, I bought it direct from Steve. Contact Stagdad via this forum.

Or search for Triumph Stag Belt Driven Water Pump on Facebook.

[StagJonno]

I've had a Davies Craig pump fitted and its controller now operates the Kenlowe fan I fitted a few years ago. Main reason for going this route was the pump and fan run on for a few minutes after switching the engine off. I no longer get the fragrance of petrol after putting the car back in the garage, so I can imagine it would help those experiencing hot starting problems, particularly if E10 fuel is used.

Another benefit is when coming from a high speed run into slow traffic. The DC setup will operate the pump and fan as needed by temperature rise, whereas a belt driven pump will only operate in accordance with engine speed.

If you get the EJ Ward pipes designed for the DC pump (they sell the 80 l/m pump as well as alternator relocation bracketry) the heater issues some have reported are not there. It takes a bit longer for the engine to come up to temp (~3 miles) but, for me, that's a price worth paying as I don't take mine out when there's salt on the roads.

I should add that the EJ Ward alternator bracket needed fettling to fit the alternator on my car (an aftermarket unit fitted by the PO at the point of sale). They do state that the bracket fits their high output alternator but I don't know the situation for the original alternator, but I believe Steve Hill sells his bracket for this separately.

I believe costs for belt-driven vs electric are roughly comparable if you already have a decent electric fan installed.

[trunt]

I didn’t want to relocate the alternator as I was considering keeping the A/C. Therefore I went with the Davies Craig. I located the pump lower left side which necessitated removing the mechanical fan, which makes the hose run easy.
The only issue was it cooling too much in the colder months, so I refitted a high flow thermostat which solved that problem, it is still there and mid 90’s this week so plan a final summer test.

Same comments on it as Jonno — run on for heat soak, full speed regardless of engine speed and E10 only here!

I did see the post on the fuse issue, I do still have a temperature gauge so in that situation I guess I’m in the same boat as everyone else!

Terry