The Dvizhok magazine continues to test spare parts and components for popular cars in Russia for durability and efficiency. This time, our test laboratory received water pumps for the Lada Priora .
The first engine cooling systems in cars were evaporative and were not equipped with pumps at all - they worked on the principle of a boiling kettle. The water in the block and cylinder head evaporated due to heating and thus took away excess heat from the running engine. With such a cooling system, the engine could consume up to 150 liters of water per 100 km, so the driver had to constantly monitor the water level in the cooling system and top it up.
The next stage of development was the emergence of closed systems with forced circulation of liquid. Structurally, the water pump is a relatively simple product consisting of five parts: a housing in which the bearing is pressed, an oil seal that protects the bearing from coolant, an impeller and a pulley.
Test samples
For testing, we chose the most common water pump model with the original number 21126-1307010, popularly known as the “Prior pump”, which since 2007 and is still installed on all 16-valve 1.6-liter VAZ engines. These engines come standard with a Gates belt with a semicircular tooth profile and an automatic tension roller. The declared belt resource exceeds 100 thousand km, so the water pump should last until the timing belt is scheduled to be replaced.
LWP 0558 watermark
"Toothed" pulley.
— driven by a timing belt. As an example - pump LWP 0558 for Daewoo Matiz “Toothed” pulley. — driven by a timing belt. As an example - pump LWP 0558 for Daewoo Matiz
The “toothed” pulley is driven by the timing belt. As an example - pump LWP 0558 for Daewoo Matiz
Oil seal (sealing element)
Designed to seal the bearing and protect it from liquid ingress. It is the most important part of a water pump - due to the “dynamic nature” of the pump’s operation, the sealing element is constantly under heavy load. A modern oil seal consists of two ceramic elements of the “flat spool” type, pressed against each other by springs.
Test method
Each pump was installed on a special endurance testing stand. It is a non-working “eight” VAZ engine with connecting rods and pistons removed, installed on a frame, with a standard cooling system assembled, into which a flow meter and a fluid heater are mounted. Thus, the resulting resistance of the cooling system at the test bench most accurately corresponds to the real one on the car.
Despite the apparent similarity of water pumps and impellers, the flow characteristics of the pumps will differ depending on the diameter of the impeller, the thickness, profile and height of the blades, as well as the cleanliness of their surface (roughness). The most important parameter of a water pump is the so-called “impeller overhang,” namely the distance from the blades to the counter part of the pump. The performance of the pump is in an inverse cubic relationship with this distance: the closer the blades, the lower the hydraulic losses and the higher the flow.
The performance of the water pump directly affects (provided the thermostat is working) on stabilizing the engine temperature, the amount of heat in the cabin and eliminating the so-called “thermal shock”, which occurs when the speed of a loaded engine is sharply reduced. At the same time, the flow rate of liquid pumped through the hot cylinder block drops sharply, as a result of which the temperature in it begins to rise sharply. By the way, in modern cars, to eliminate such phenomena, controlled electric pumps are installed, in which the operating algorithm is tied primarily to the temperature of the liquid in the cylinder block, and not to engine speed.
LWP 0823 watermark
Simple flange.
As an example, pump LWP 0823 for Hyundai Elantra XD Simple flange. As an example, pump LWP 0823 for Hyundai Elantra XD
Simple flange. As an example, pump LWP 0823 for Hyundai Elantra XD
Let's look at the parts of the water pump individually.
Water pump housing
Two types of materials are widely used - cast iron and aluminum. Aluminum is a more modern material and allows you to create housings of complex shapes with strict adherence to dimensions, which makes it possible to install the bearing “pull-in”, and not use a screw that secures the bearing from turning. Cast iron pump casings are used, as a rule, on heavy-duty vehicles - where engine speeds are low, but a long service life of the part is required.
For reference: there are experiments using plastic housings for water pumps, but plastic has not received practical use.
Often the housings of modern pumps take very elaborate shapes. Another modern trend is that the pump body becomes part of the cylinder block.
results
After installation, we measured the flow characteristics of the pumps at various speeds. The test results are shown in the table.
The predictably low flow rates of the Kedr pump are easily explained by the rough cast-iron six-bladed impeller without an impeller, which was used back in the days of the production of VAZ G8s. The impeller is a low impeller that is located on the back side of the main impeller. Its purpose is to hydraulically unload the shaft-housing seal. Equally important is the presence of holes in the base of the impeller - they also help reduce the load on the mechanical shaft seal with the housing.
The leaders in terms of consumption are the TZA pumps (due to the use of an impeller of a new proprietary design) and LUZAR, whose impeller, while externally identical, is more developed (the height of the impeller blades is 3 mm higher than some of the samples presented in the test). Both of these pumps also have the smallest gap between the block body and the ends of the impeller, which greatly reduces hydraulic losses and increases flow characteristics.
LWP 0226
As an example, the LWP 0226 pump for IZh "Oda" (the only pump with a plastic impeller, manufactured by LUZAR)
As an example, the LWP 0226 pump for IZH "Oda" (the only pump with a plastic impeller, manufactured by LUZAR)
As an example, the LWP 0226 pump for Izh Oda (the only pump with a plastic impeller produced by LUZAR)
Relatively modern material. Excellent forming properties and surface smoothness; thin blades. Disadvantage: poor corrosion resistance.
Now it is practically not used.
Aluminum
Life tests
In addition to the flow characteristics, the most important parameter of the pump is its service life. The pump life test program includes 500 hours of operation or until liquid leaks through the inspection hole. The pump is driven by an electric motor with a constant pulley speed of 3000 rpm.
It seems that at an average vehicle speed of 40 km/h, the service life on the stand will be only about 20 thousand km, however, it is worth considering that tap water is poured into the cooling system to worsen the operating conditions of the pump seal, since when working on hot water Corrosion occurs in the cast iron engine block and steel pipelines, so mechanical rust particles should quickly damage the pump seal, resulting in a leak. The fluid heater maintains a constant temperature of 85 ± 2 °C. Testing with high-quality antifreeze, which will suppress the resulting corrosion of parts, will significantly increase the duration of the tests. After each pump tested, all water was drained from the system and when installing the next one, new water was poured in.
The Finwhale pump was the first to fail: after 88 hours of operation, water began to drip through the control hole, which indicated that the ceramic seal had begun to leak.
Next, the Hofer pump leaked - after 202 hours of operation, then the DOLZ pump "shed tears" with lubricant - after 207 hours of operation. The TZA lasted 407 hours before leaking; Kedr lasted 476 hours.
After 207 hours of operation, the DOLZ pump “bled a tear” with lubricant
The TZA pump lasted 407 hours before leaking
The Hofer pump leaked after 202 hours of operation (left).
The Kedr brand pump lasted 476 hours on the resource stand before leaking (right). The remaining pumps showed no visible signs of leakage after 500 hours of operation, but after 300 hours of operation, bearing noise became clearly audible on the Fenox pump, and a periodic rumbling sound appeared in the bearing on the LECAR pump towards the end of the life test.
At the end of the tests, each pump body was cut into two halves for inspection for signs of leakage. Then it turned out that the noise of the LECAR pump bearing was caused by the ceramic oil seal starting to leak, and there was not yet enough liquid to flow out.
The bearing noise of the LECAR pump was caused by the ceramic oil seal starting to leak. This was discovered after the body of the product was sawn into two halves.
LWP 1425 watermark
"Belt" pulley.
As an example, the LWP 1425 pump for Renault Koleos “Belt” pulley. As an example, the LWP 1425 pump for Renault Koleos
"Belt" pulley. As an example, the LWP 1425 pump for Renault Koleos
Bearing
Typically, two radial bearings are used, between which grease is placed. Outdated design - two open-type ball bearings are located separately on one shaft and are secured against rotation with screws; it is possible to additionally press grease between the bearings, for which a grease nipple is located on the pump body.
Modern design - double-row ball or ball-roller bearing of a closed type, rigidly pressed into the pump body; This bearing uses high-temperature grease, which does not require replacement for the entire service life of the bearing and pump.
LWP 0822
As an example - pump LWP 0822 for Hyundai Solaris
As an example - pump LWP 0822 for Hyundai Solaris
As an example, pump LWP 0822 for Hyundai Solaris
Excellent “mirror” smoothness of the surface, the thinnest blades, high resistance to corrosion. Disadvantage: due to the properties of the material, the blades of such an impeller cannot be made rounded.
Today the most common material for water pump impellers.
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS, "ceramic plastic")
LWP 0190
As an example - pump LWP 0190 for Lada Granta
As an example - pump LWP 0190 for Lada Granta
As an example - pump LWP 0190 for Lada Granta
It occupies a “middle” position between cast iron and plastic and has the advantages of both cast iron and plastic. Good forming properties, good surface smoothness; fairly thin shoulder blades; high corrosion resistance.
Sheet steel
Choosing a pump: reviews, recommendations
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#81 Ilya_007
- Users
- 377 messages
- Registration 14-May 11
- From: Sumy
- Auto: 2102
About Phenox, everyone already knows that their spare parts are okay, maybe not all, but the majority.
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#82 PJR
- From: Zaporozhye
- Car: 2101, 2112, Cordoba
I thought I would hope that cheap Phenox is bought much more often, which is why more often bad reviews are bad if it’s defective, now I will have a different attitude towards spare parts from this company. I’m planning to take either Luzar or TZA, I’ll definitely decide tomorrow.
It turned out that there was a leak at the junction of the cover with the body, apparently the old gasket was poorly cleaned, everything was done again more thoroughly, a test drive showed that everything was fine so far, but near the faucet there was a leak at the junction with the stove due to the fact that the contact plane in the stove was uneven — it got wrinkled at some point during connection, so the Phenox is still standing, I’ll return the purchased TZA to the store.
And yet, I took the Phenox to the store - sometimes there was antifreeze near the drainage hole, and the Phenox on the website claims 100% tightness of the pumps - that means a defect!
Message modified: PJR, 09 February 2013 - 23:43.
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#83 Menor
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#84 Fast
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#85 Golandetc
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#86 ASDb
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#87 Ilya_007
- From: Sumy
- Auto: 2102
Message modified: Ilya_007, February 10, 2013 - 00:04.
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#88 Alf_03
Message modified: Alf_03, March 27, 2013 - 13:08.
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#89 Andryuha
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#90 Sergey72
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#91 Bucks
- From: Chernigov
- Auto: 01, 2106-2pcs, 21213, BMW, Audi
CAR PARTS VAZ (factory and Europe) and FOREIGN CAR, IN STOCK AND TO ORDER, delivery from the UAE, Europe, USA. A huge assortment of oils: MOTUL, KROON OIL, COMMA, VATOIL, ZIC, LIQUI MOLY, CASTROL and many others DM or CALL 07311nol2000
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#92 .SEREGA..
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#93 Bucks
- From: Chernigov
- Auto: 01, 2106-2pcs, 21213, BMW, Audi
CAR PARTS VAZ (factory and Europe) and FOREIGN CAR, IN STOCK AND TO ORDER, delivery from the UAE, Europe, USA. A huge assortment of oils: MOTUL, KROON OIL, COMMA, VATOIL, ZIC, LIQUI MOLY, CASTROL and many others DM or CALL 07311nol2000
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Dolz
The company has existed since 1934. It produces water pumps for both cars and trucks. 95% of pumps on European cars are of this brand. Pros:
- Durability;
- Reliability;
- Prevalence;
- Protection against counterfeiting.
Minuses:
- High price.
The cost is about 1000 rubles.
