TC Water Pump - Cartridge type - access on a Europa

[Matt Elan]

The questions are coming thick and fast now! Are there any advantages to having a cartridge type water pump (such as supplied by Burton in the UK) on a TC Europa? Is there enough clearance to get the bolt on pump assembly off to replace the bearing and seal or does the engine have to come out anyway?

[Matt Elan]

...and following on from this, are cartridge type front covers available for the Europa - I've just scanned the latest Burton Catalogue and they only have 'standard' types so I suspect they are not in production...

[BDA]

I don't know if the cassette water pump saves you from pulling the motor but I do know it saves you from taking off the head when you change the pump.

I don't know what Burton is doing. They list Europa as an application for their cassette pumps but on the page for the front covers for their cassette pumps, they warn you that it is not suitable for Europas. Dave Bean (US phone no: (209) 754-5802) lists them for the TC in their printed catalog. Speaking of the Dave Bean catalogs, I think it's well worth getting (there are three I believe) for the information in them.

There is another option that I think is intriguing - an electric water pump. A few years ago, there was a lot of chatter about them on the lotuseuropa yahoo list. I think a couple of our regular posters here have and discussed them here. I believe this is the one you would want (https://daviescraig.com.au/product/ewp80-electric-water-pump/ewp80-electric-water-pump).

[jbcollier]

People change the original style pumps in situ so you should be able to change the cartridge style as well.  However, I don't know of any cartridge systems available with the Europa's forward facing water inlet.  It would be simple to cut and weld on the required spigot.

All that said, there is a good reason why Europa versions are not readily available.  The water pumps in Europas last much longer than the ones in Elans because the belt only has to drive the pump.  There is very little load on the (unfortunately) undersized bearings Lotus specified.  A carefully, and properly, overhauled pump will last a long time in a Europa.

[Lotuswins]

I have the Bean cartridge pump on mine, but I bought it back in 2000, IIRC.  Yes, there is clearance to remove the cartridge, and yes, mine has the front facing inlet tube unique to the Europa.  Dave had the timing chest recast at that time to fit the cartridge rather than welding/machining trade in covers, and the bearing and impeller are off the early Esprit so the bearing is larger, and the impeller slightly larger.  To facilitate removal of the cartridge, there are threaded holes to jack it out, quite thoughtful.  I recall stopping by San Andreas and discussing it all with Dave and Ken.  I have 30k miles on it now, and no leaks or problems (knock on wood). 

Jerry Rude
4005R