Hi all, Planning on changing water pump on my gs 455, which is a bone stock driver-I do not race. however, I am in S. Florida, where we are above 85 90% of the time and above 90 80% of the time. Question: is it worth paying more than twice as much for TA's performance pump or simply go with their replacement model? in other words is there really any benefit for a non racing street car to go high end? is it spend it if you got it? thanks, hvram
Stick with replacement parts (TA_1508) for the oil pump. The hi volume oil pump isn't recommended by TA since it applies an increasead load to the front of the camshaft. For the water pump I have really no clue. I'd stick with a replacement one but I'd rather let someone else answer this one.
Stock replacement only........ My motor was rebuild with the high gears by a PO.... OMG. the damage to the Cam&Distributer gears + the Bearing...
I did a mild performance build with mine using the TA oil pump but just a standard water pump. The first time the engine was on the dyno, oil pressure was perfect but the temperature was running pretty high, so I bit the bullet and bought the TA water pump. The impeller was quite a bit different and it made a huge difference in engine temp. Fast forward and the engine is in the car now, and it tends to run on the cool side. General driving it is steady around 170, and if I hammer it hard I've seen it hit 205. That was last September so we'll see how it holds this summer.
The TA pump is better than the stock unit for sure. However the stock pump is more than adequate for the job. Is your pump leaking now?
Just to throw this out there I have a brand new never used with gasket replacement TA1537B shorty body pump that I'm willing to sell if you go that route.
I will keep that in mind. Joe: its not leaking right now, but I have a timing cover leak that I need to take care of. so I am planning ahead and investing the money in taking care of some wear and tear parts. I bought care 3= year ago and don't know the history on some on these parts. Larry: just to clarify, are you referring to the water pump or the oil pump, or both.
I strongly believe Larry is referring to the H2O pump...... I dont believe there is a soul on the plant that would recommend the HV oil pump. Why TA even has one is beyond me..
The problem with water pumps is the two bad choices at the parts store; either you get a sloppily rebuilt original done poorly and with cheap components or a shiny new chinese copy made by copying a worn out original with the cheapest parts. Or there’s the T/A. How much do you like swapping water pumps more than once? Oh, don’t over tighten the belts and check your fan for damage that affects balance-both will kill the new one. Patrick
I was referring to the water pump. The HV/HP oil pump is a big no no for some time now. The TA front cover makes it obsolete IMO.
If you have AC definitely go for the TA HP water pump. You probably don't need the TA oil pump/cover setup but I would definitely suggest a properly set up thrust plate if your current cover is fairly nice inside. For most situations that will do fine up to and including some racing.
be as careful as possible taking the old one off . the bolts are not good quality . i broke 2 getting mine off and they were not over tightened ( original pump from factory) 0
I was going to post this same question, as I am considering replacing the timing cover and water pump on my 400, for the same reasons. Even though I didn't post it, thank you to you all for the excellent information on the water pumps!
It was hot in Florida when these cars were new and under warranty. A properly-rebuilt pump should be fine. But how do you know the water pump was properly rebuilt? I lean towards the "high performance" aftermarket pump. Of course, this assumes the pulley ratio is correct, the engine is in proper tune, the carb isn't lean, the fan shroud is in place, etc. The bigger question is whether your radiator is in good condition, and the A/C condenser in front of that.
A number of months ago @TABuickMike posted these details (below) on their high-performance water pump that explains why their unit is better. Had I known this I would have purchased this vs Flowkoller model. I like to say that nothing is easier than spending someone else's money but given how miserable it was to drill out the bolts to swap timing chain & water pump -- I'm not interested in doing it twice. I also know these cars overheated when they were new (in traffic/ hot days) so giving them more cooling capacity is never bad... (why I have a new radiator and fan shroud too) "Our water pump is a cast aluminum housing that we machine in house and I personally assemble. We use bearings, seals and flange that are made in America. The impeller is cast aluminum that we machine and have hard anodize coated to prevent corrosion. Our water pump casting has much larger water passages than a common pump and the casting is much thicker. Our impeller is a positive displacement type so it prevents cavitation, builds more pressure, and flows much more than typical "finned" impeller designs (stock and flow kooler) that rely on the clearance between the fins and the timing cover to seal and build pressure. More pressure in the cooling system prevents steam pockets from forming and reduces cooling system temperature. One of the most important changes on our 455 pump is the sealing surface between the inlet cavity on the pump and the impeller which doesn't exist on any other pump (the surface between the impeller and the triangular inlet cavity in the picture below, up and left of the part number). Our pump casting seals against the timing cover so that the inlet and outlet cavities are separated from each other. A stock type pump (and flow kooler) is "open", so pressure on the outlet side can bleed back into the inlet (high to low-pressure differential). Very inefficient design that we corrected."
Thanks for the input! I'm pretty much sold on the TA Performance products after reading this thread and another, on identifying the timing cover on a 455. While my fan shroud, AC condenser, and pullies are original, in excellent condition, and very clean, the tune-up is something that I need to work on. I'm currently swapping to the 2146 Performer manifold, since I needed to replace my intake gaskets, anyway. They were leaking (air/vacuum) on the passenger side. Spending the time on it is something that I seem to be having an issue with lately. The radiator seems OK, as it is pretty clean looking inside, hold pressure, and doesn't leak... yet. The reason I'm considering replacing the timing cover and water pump is that the lower hose outlet on the cover is getting pretty corroded. The front crank seal also leaks a little. I like that TA offers the timing cover and oil pump pre-assembled, with their booster plate and adjustable regulator http://www.taperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TA_1533A. There are no oil pressure issues with my car and I don't want to create any either. At that point, it would also get a new fan clutch, most likely an AC Delco unit. Doing things once and replacing common wear parts while working on an assembly is something the I have always tried to do. After I get the intake, new vacuum lines, new fuel line, new transmission vacuum line, new PCV hose & valve, new thermostat, and new thermostat housing (also pretty corroded) put back on, I'll work on the tune. I suspect that there may also be an issue with the Igniter conversion in the distributer, or the distributer itself. If so, that is the next thing on the car that I will address. My goal is to get this GS400 Stepchild to the point to where I can feel confident to hop in it and drive anywhere at any time of the year (in Florida of course).
