Vomit

So, 1FASTC32 came up with the idea that the C32 intercooler pump (which routinely fails at 40-50k miles, or just after your warranty expires, to the tune of $600.00 in parts) is the same as the Ford Lightning pump which is currently available on eBay for $100.00 or so. I received mine today, and installed it this evening. Here is the skinny:

Pump is $89.00 shipped from Diversified Products (734) 459-0130.

Pump is the same Bosch unit used on the C32, with the following two exceptions: The wiring plug is different, and the water outlet and inlet tubes are slightly smaller on the replacement pump. Both of these issues are easily resolved, as described in the following installation steps:

1. Jack up front passenger side wheel, and remove.
2. Remove the roughly 1' x 1' plastic piece that is towards the front of the car in the passenger-side front wheel-well. This entails removing three 10mm bolts in the wheel well, one plastic plug in the wheel well, and two or three plastic plugs under the passenger side of the front bumper. Remove the plastic piece completely (do not try to just bend it to access the I/C pump).
3. You will now be able to see the P.O.S. intercooler pump. It is mounted to the car with a couple of nuts on studs below, and a small bolt in the same region. It has an inlet and an outlet hose, with those stupid spring-loaded hose clamps that are impossible to remove. Try pliers and a flat screwdriver.
4. Once you remove the hoses and the mounting bolts (and the 12v plug), you will now be able to remove the pump and mounting bracket.
5. Remove the metal mounting bracket and rubber sleeve from the old pump (you may need to pry between the sleeve and the pump to loosen the rubber sleeve from the metal) and save them.
6. Now you need to swap the plastic housing piece with the inlet and outlet tubes from the old pump to the new pump, as the new pump has tubes which are slightly smaller (the idea is to move the old inlet/outlet tube piece to the new pump). Unscrew the six star screws holding the outlet and inlet tube housing on the old pump. Remove the plastic piece with the inlet/outlet tubes. Now remove the similar piece from the new pump (gold Phillips screws). Take care, as those gold Phillips screws strip very easily. Now, carefully place the inlet/outlet tube piece from the old pump onto the new pump, taking care to assure that the orange o-ring is properly positioned. Secure the old inlet/outlet housing with the gold Phillips screws.
6. Using two appropriately-sized hose clamps (I tossed those spring-loaded things, and used traditional "screw-adjust" clamps), re-connect the plumbing to the new pump. Tighten the clamps.
7. Use the old mounting hardware (rubber sleeve and metal bracket) and mount the pump just like the old one.
8. Now for the electrical. You will note that the C32 electrical plug to the old pump is completely non-usable with the new pump. The new pump has small spades protruding, where the C32 plug is for very small posts. I cut the plug off of the existing C32 wiring coming to the pump, stripped a 1/4" piece of wire, and used two small female spade connectors, which slid right over the male spades coming out of the pump. I then slathered on some West Marine Liquid Electrical Tape to waterproof the whole thing. Not the prettiest solution, but it works.
9. Refill your liquid source for the pump, and voila. Check (before replacing plastic cover and wheel) by starting car, letting it run for a minute or so, and then turning off. Go over to the right front wheel. You should hear the pump running for 5-20 seconds after turning the car off. Check for leaks.

Hope this helps those of you who (like me) are out of warranty and do not want to pad the pockets of the Stealership.

Thanks to 1FAST for coming up with this idea. Hopefully will save us all some $$$

OZC32AMG

Well Done Vomit and 1Fast - A good cost saving tip for future reference. Your instructions are excellent!

TopGun32

this is perfect bro!

do you know if this pump is more efficient as the stock one?

Vomit:

If you don't mind and maybe other So Cal owners would like to take a drive to San Diego and we can all do this mod together.

I'm a real goof ball when it comes to mechanics, I probably end up giving up and getting my golf clubs out to let my car have it.

the write up is really excellent... I almost want to venture on my own.

Eurocharged Rick

sweet write-up, glad it worked out for you...i didn't think to swap the end tanks on the IC pump, i just modified the rubber hoses, but i like your idea better...one other tip: use vise-grips to remove the clamps, it works like a charm...

Vomit

It is the same pump mechanically. Besides the fact that the new and old pumps look exactly the same, and bear the same model number with the exception of one suffix number, I weighed the new and old pumps, and they are identical. Trust me, the Lightning pump and the C32 pump are the same mechanical unit, with slight diffs in the trivial stuff. The only diff (other than elec connect) is slight difference in the shape of the inlet and outlet tubes, but this takes all of one minute to fix (by swapping the old tube housing onto your new replacement pump.

Acid test: I ran the Krap out of the car today, and it ran perfectly. . . no supercharger shutdown, even with a beating.

Vomit

Thx again 1Fast...

This is a really great solution for an expensive, unnecessary problem. BTW, how did you handle the wiring issue?

Eurocharged Rick

i just took two female connectors that were covered with a plastic sheath and used them, same thing you did...only i didn't use whatever the liquid stuff is that you were talking about...

Vomit

I am an old fart sailor, which often comes in handy with Kar Krap. The two best ways of insulating this kind of electrical connection from water are (West Marine) liquid electrical tape (which is essentially a black semi-liquid compound in a can. . . sort of like a Christy's Blue Glue) or 3M 5200 marine sealant.

I prefer the liquid electrical tape, cuz the 5200, although practically nuclear weapon-proof, is a PITA to work with and clean up.

I wonder how long these Lightning pumps are going to be on the market? I am thinking about buying a spare.

Vomit

This is a perfect project to overcome mechanophobia. It really is that easy. I'll tell you what. . . you attempt it on your own. . . if you run into a problem, call me at (619) 252-7079 and I will try to walk you through it. If you are still tarding after that, then I will come and help you (at which point you will owe me a twelver of Germany's finest).

Eurocharged Rick

thanks for the heads up, i will have to pick some up at my local marine store...

i think i will end up buying an extra pump as well once i get all of the upgrades done...they should be around for a while, considering the amount of lightnings on the road...

TopGun32

you got it...

thanks for the support!


Pump is working... since everytime I turn off the car the pump is working.

bnz616

I'm thinking of picking up one of these intercooler pumps and replacing it anyway. Does it matter what year Ford Lightning the intercooler pump is made for?

Thanks.

Eurocharged Rick

nope, they are all the same...

BenzoAMGpower

i wonder if lightning guys ever upgrade their I/C pumps.... so if they do then we can benefit for the same pumps they upgrade to!!! Intersting.... im going to look into it.

Eurocharged Rick

not that i know of, but let us know if you find out differently...

BenzoAMGpower

i asked a friend who has a lightning and he said that he doesnt know... im going to ask around some more

Vomit

There are definitely higher performance pumps on the market which could be made to work. The Johnson pump on the E55 forum is a good example, but there are a variety of marine pumps which could be made to work. However, for a stock C32 or one with pulley/light mods, the flow of the Bosch unit is fine (other than the fact that it goes kaput ever 40K miles). The Lightning pump also has the huge advantage, IMO, of using existing mounting hardware.

430

I did a quick search last night for upgraded lightning intercooler pumps and found two things.

1) The Ford guys view the stock OEM pump as bullet proof. In fact at least one aftermarket SC kit ditched the pump they had originally selected in favor of the bosch OEM lightning pump. This decision was made after several failures and at the urgining of the lightning community.

2) I did not see any upgraded IC pumps. There are upgraded IC radiators but everyone seems to view the pump as a strong point in the system not a weak point.

Fifth Ring

I wonder how they can be bulletproof on the Lightning and sure-to-fail on the C32.

StapleGun

They are "upgrading" to the MB C32 IC pump - it's for an MB, so it must be better

Excellent post BTW - it's why I love this place!

compaq7400

Thanks for the post. I replaced my intercooler pump yesterday on my SLK32. Runs like new again. Best of all, I must of saved $700 from the dealer's quoted price for parts and install.

Eurocharged Rick

glad to hear everyone is getting great results...

Bif powell

As a 'getting over mechaniphobia' as one person put it, I'm going to do the bigger johnson pump and I'm having a buddy fab the brackets, and various interconnectors. Then I'd like to do a bigger intercooler radiator - I'm told this guy does good intercooler radiator work and that it can make a big difference.

Anyone have experience with this kind of thing?...

Eurocharged Rick

you know, as i think about this, i am wondering if this might be a bad thing...

let me try to explain what i am thinking...inorder for our intercooler system to actually cool the liquid in there, it takes a certain amount of time for the liquid to run through the front heat exchanger so that it can actually cool the liquid...if you are forcing it through too fast, then you lose the effect you are trying to create...

i may be way off here, just thinking out loud, anyone care to comment...

Bif powell

But wouldn't the larger heat-exchanger deal with that? There would be more coolant in the system total, but a larger cooling area?...no?