Saab 99 Water Pump Impeller substitute material?
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 7:54 am
Hi All.
Julian mentioned in another thread that Saab possibly replaced the cast iron water pump impeller on the factory 99 16V with one made of aluminium.
This raises the question as to whether there would be any real world benefit for existing 99 owners to replace their existing impellers with one of a lighter (stronger?) material such as aluminium (or similar)?
Would having a lighter impeller help reduce the load on the gear teeth / jackshaft or does the weight of the water being pumped negate any benefit?
Could you (would you) redesign the shape of the impeller blades to improve the efficiency of the pump - or would this put additional load back on the unit?
If the answer is yes to either of the above questions, could a machine shop produce the part or would it need to go to a specialist manufacturer?
Happy for anyone with more engineering knowledge that I to chime in...
Just my 2 cents worth.
Neil
Julian mentioned in another thread that Saab possibly replaced the cast iron water pump impeller on the factory 99 16V with one made of aluminium.
This raises the question as to whether there would be any real world benefit for existing 99 owners to replace their existing impellers with one of a lighter (stronger?) material such as aluminium (or similar)?
Would having a lighter impeller help reduce the load on the gear teeth / jackshaft or does the weight of the water being pumped negate any benefit?
Could you (would you) redesign the shape of the impeller blades to improve the efficiency of the pump - or would this put additional load back on the unit?
If the answer is yes to either of the above questions, could a machine shop produce the part or would it need to go to a specialist manufacturer?
Happy for anyone with more engineering knowledge that I to chime in...
Just my 2 cents worth.
Neil