Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post

DragBean · 03-23-2016, 12:16 AM

Update below..

Question: Trying to save $10. Could i drive 250 miles on transmission were the fluid is at the bottom of the dipstick just slightly below the low mark? Everything is cold. I have the atf but its at my house, I'm not there, and i have to use my car tomorrow for work.

Continue onto story..

My radiator sprung a leak from a combo of being old and getting hotter due to my front air dam.

It was small so I dealt with it by just filling it up every so often.

I should have just used high temp epoxy to fix it there instead of letting it get larger to the point that it started causing me to pull over.

The problem eventually messed up my getting old water pump.

I tried cleaning the water pump and patching the badly cracked radiator but that failed.

Anyways i decided to implement the electric water pump and alternator delete.

I was going to turn the alternator into a 3 phase motor for the water pump but decided not to because would have been electrically complicated.

I decided instead to take apart my power steering pump which is only belted to the water pump and power that with a dewalt drill.

After getting really dirty getting in between the engine and firewall from the underside plus wasting a day and a half, i got the setup to work.

The problem was I had to turn the power steering pump shaft down with a reglar drill and a grind wheel. I couldn't get the shaft balancec so the drill had a little shake to it. This probably slowed it down 20%

I still installed it and then only used 14 awg speaker wire (thats all i had and it was too long)

So when the engine got hot (resistance goes up in the wire) the wire melted and shorted. I think the drill is fine but i wasted more time.

Luckily i planned for this and just put everything back to normal so i could continue on my way.

Long story short i didnt get any data, but I'm going to revisit this once i can get the shaft balanced properly on a lathe.

The good news is my new radiator and water pump are working great, the needle never budged, the cooling fan never activated, and i never had to use my heater!

My story may be useful for anyone else planning this. For ex before trying a alt. Delete do a alt. Kill switch so you can get a feel for the system.

03-23-2016, 12:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
DragBean PizzaRimBoy Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: SoCal Posts: 72 Thanks: 2 Thanked 15 Times in 7 Posts	DragBean Update Update below.. Question: Trying to save $10. Could i drive 250 miles on transmission were the fluid is at the bottom of the dipstick just slightly below the low mark? Everything is cold. I have the atf but its at my house, I'm not there, and i have to use my car tomorrow for work. Continue onto story.. My radiator sprung a leak from a combo of being old and getting hotter due to my front air dam. It was small so I dealt with it by just filling it up every so often. I should have just used high temp epoxy to fix it there instead of letting it get larger to the point that it started causing me to pull over. The problem eventually messed up my getting old water pump. I tried cleaning the water pump and patching the badly cracked radiator but that failed. Anyways i decided to implement the electric water pump and alternator delete. I was going to turn the alternator into a 3 phase motor for the water pump but decided not to because would have been electrically complicated. I decided instead to take apart my power steering pump which is only belted to the water pump and power that with a dewalt drill. After getting really dirty getting in between the engine and firewall from the underside plus wasting a day and a half, i got the setup to work. The problem was I had to turn the power steering pump shaft down with a reglar drill and a grind wheel. I couldn't get the shaft balancec so the drill had a little shake to it. This probably slowed it down 20% I still installed it and then only used 14 awg speaker wire (thats all i had and it was too long) So when the engine got hot (resistance goes up in the wire) the wire melted and shorted. I think the drill is fine but i wasted more time. Luckily i planned for this and just put everything back to normal so i could continue on my way. Long story short i didnt get any data, but I'm going to revisit this once i can get the shaft balanced properly on a lathe. The good news is my new radiator and water pump are working great, the needle never budged, the cooling fan never activated, and i never had to use my heater! My story may be useful for anyone else planning this. For ex before trying a alt. Delete do a alt. Kill switch so you can get a feel for the system.