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Are any of you Turbo Aerovee owners out there using an alternative to the Toyota Prius pump for your Turbo cooling? Mine has failed with very low time on it and I am wondering if there is something better.

T41pilot wrote:Are any of you Turbo Aerovee owners out there using an alternative to the Toyota Prius pump for your Turbo cooling? Mine has failed with very low time on it and I am wondering if there is something better.

Im using the one initially recommended by Sonex, so far so good at about 20 hrs. I'm curious though, how did you know that the pump had failed? Ive been concerned about that and having no warning signs before the turbo cokes up.
Peter

I pop the lid on the coolant container cover when the top cowl is off during servicing to check that it is pumping . I became suspicious after the last flight when the system didn't automatically shut off after 30 minutes. Took about 20 to 25 min when functioning. Sure enough, not pumping. Disconnected plug on pump to make sure power was available. Checked ok. Hooked an external 12v source directly to the pump and it did not function. Tapped on it with small hammer with power applied to see if it was jammed. Still no joy. Pronounced it dead at that point.

T41pilot wrote: Tapped on it with small hammer with power applied to see if it was jammed. Still no joy. Pronounced it dead at that point.

My advice would be to try a Bigger hammer!

I actually have a mini jack hammer palm nailer left over from when I was building my hangar. Probably should have used that just to make sure!

Just a tangential thought - I have no idea what performance you are looking for, however there are a host of automotive 12V auxiliary coolant pumps from about $10 -$400 AU, with a wide range of volume/pressure delivery options.