P.I pump cooling options

How do you improve the performance of your beastie?
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sahtuning2000
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P.I pump cooling options

#1 Post by sahtuning2000 » Fri May 01, 2015 9:42 pm

Now the P.I seems to be running fine(touch wood)i was looking at options on keeping the pump cool now that the weather is warming up.
I still find it amazing that Triumph placed the pump directly above the rear exhaust box,why did they not route the fuel line so it was mounted in the O/S boot floor.
But what options are there to help keep it cooler?
Heat shield,move the pump slight to the left,wrap it??
Just wondered or is it a case of just live with it...

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Dave B
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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#2 Post by Dave B » Sat May 02, 2015 2:32 am

I have heard that a large bag of frozen peas can help. :roll:
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Lloydpiestate
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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#3 Post by Lloydpiestate » Sat May 02, 2015 4:13 am

if you give the pump it's own feed via a relay, you shouldnt have any problems.

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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#4 Post by Jonathan Lewis » Sat May 02, 2015 10:14 am

IMHO, three things make a lot of difference:
  • As Lloyd says, a dedicated electrical feed from the battery via a generously-sized cable, fuse and relay (switched from the original supply wire);
  • A proper earth return rather than Triumph's rather lazy practice of simply piggybacking the earth wire onto one of the rear lamp housing mountings;
  • Ensuring there are no restrictions in the supply pipe between tank and filter (and making sure the filter is clean).
Beyond those, a heat shield between the rear exhaust box and boot floor may help reduce heat transfer to the boot area, particularly if you're using an aftermarket exhaust system where the rear box sits closer to the boot floor than Triumph's original set-up.

Fitting a cooling coil around the pump motor body was accepted practice for many years; it certainly helps to reduce pump motor temperatures, but at the price of raising the temperature of the fuel load itself, which can result in cavitation and vapour-locking in the pipework and filter assembly between tank and pump :( . Remember that the system already has one other built-in heat source in the form of fuel being returned from the spill port on the engine-mounted MU...

Back in the days when my own car was still in everyday use involving a lot of motorway mileage, I relocated the PI pump to the cooler offside boot compartment with a low-pressure, high volume boost pump fitted between tank and filter to ensure that the PI pump always received a reliable supply of fuel. From my perspective, the modification was worth it in terms of giving maximum reliability and peace of mind, but you do need to obtain proper high-pressure pipework and fittings for the extended pipe runs and arrange them such that they are out of harm's way but nonetheless accessible for periodic inspection and maintenance. (It also necessitates making holes in the body structure to facilitate the pipe runs to and from the OSR boot compartment, which you may not wish to do if the car is still largely original).

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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#5 Post by bigestate » Sat May 02, 2015 11:49 am

Been there done that, only I first tried a bunch of frozen Popsicles and packed them around the pump, worked a tread but got expensive stopping at the store every hour or so :shock: I then opted for a right hand exiting exhaust, this helped a little, I tried the cooling ring and found that hot fuel was coming back from the engine and kept the pump hotter. The ultimate solution for me was the put a small vent onto the boot lid attach a cooling hose down to the pump, fit another vent under the pump to draw cool air flow through and over the pump when driving forward, the result was a nice cool pump even when driven to the extreme in 28 degrees plus temps. :wink:
The small chrome vent on the boot lid was one that could be opened and close when wanted and not too intrusive :)
I did have another form of grass track 2.5 PI and this pump was mounted to the bulkhead just to the side of the fusebox, bearing in mind I never had a dash board in that car.....or windows, or interior for that matter, but the pump stayed cool. :mrgreen:

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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#6 Post by TedTaylor » Sat May 02, 2015 9:43 pm

I acquired some fibreglass matting with an aluminised (reflective) surface and put that under the pump support of my old PI saloon. Worked a treat. Nearest stuff that I have found similar is from Agriamech.

I am also of group that consider there is more potential problem in cooling coils than in what good they do.

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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#7 Post by Mike Stevens » Tue May 05, 2015 11:50 am

Both the PIs we've had used Bosch pumps and neither has ever had any overheating problems. The current (running!) PI is relay fed with a 10sqmm cable down the car direct from the battery (via a fuse). That, together with a good earth connection, made a big difference to pump running voltage.

I have no experience of the lucas pump.

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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#8 Post by radders » Tue May 05, 2015 10:21 pm

I know of someone that has a small computer cooling fan (Or similar) mounted next to the pump in their Pi and has wired it to an ignition live. When the ignition comes on the fan starts and is running all the time and therefore keeping the pump cool.

I've been given two such fans by an IT friend of mine and will be doing the same when I eventually get round to it. :roll:

(the fans do work off of 12v by the way)
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Re: P.I pump cooling options

#9 Post by englishbull » Wed May 06, 2015 11:52 am

radders wrote:I know of someone that has a small computer cooling fan (Or similar) mounted next to the pump in their Pi and has wired it to an ignition live. When the ignition comes on the fan starts and is running all the time and therefore keeping the pump cool.

I've been given two such fans by an IT friend of mine and will be doing the same when I eventually get round to it. :roll:

(the fans do work off of 12v by the way)

Got a couple of mates that use this method too Steve................

Works a treat!!!
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