Tools Needed: |
- 10mm socket, socket wrench - Recommended: 10mm gear wrench - 15mm wrench - 3" socket extension - Flathead screwdriver - Torque wrench - Drill with 1/16" and 3/16" bits - 3/16" Allen wrench - Pliers - Bucket - Car ramps - Crimper/wire stripper tool - Recommended: Voltmeter - Recommended: Soldering iron/solder |
For years talk of electric water
pumps had been circulating through the LS1 community, and finally Meziere has
delivered. Whether you are a hard core drag racer who wants to just cool the
car in the pits and staging lanes, an enthusiast who's itching for more power
from his heads/cam car, or just a basic bolt on type of guy, an electric water
pump is probably for you. In this install I'll go through a full walkthrough of installing a Meziere Street Electric pump on a '98-'02 F-body. It is very important to note that there are an unlimited number of ways to wire up the electrics to this pump, and in this document I will only provide a few options. My personal recommendation is to use an automotive relay and trigger it off the fuel pump trigger wire. If an additional need of being able to turn the pump on with the car off is required, then a switch and some diodes should be added to this setup. I will start out the install by doing 90% of the wiring first so that the install can be broken up into 2 sessions if needed without the car being down (incase it is a daily driver). |
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Next we need to run a ground wire for the relay switch circuit. Cut off a
section of wire (black preferred) that can run from wherever you will mount
your relay to a grounding point. There are several of these scattered all over
the engine bay and front frame. You'll see a bolt there holding down
some other wires. Crimp an eyelet crimp connector on the end of the wire, and
bolt the eyelet down. Run the wire back up to where you will mount the relay,
making sure it will not be getting tangled up in anything. The cleanliness of
the routing will pay off in the long run, so route it in a manner you feel is
safe for the wire. Look at how OEM stuff is routed for examples.
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Now for the 3rd wire, the hot wire. This is the wire that will supply the water
pump with power (via the relay). Right on the side of the fuse box is a stud
with wires attached to it. Once again, use a crimped on eyelet and enough wire
to get you to your relay mounting point and run the wire. BE CAREFUL, as this
wire will be electrically charged if you have not disconnected your battery! Once one end is bolted to the positive battery terminal on the fuse box, run the other end to your relay mounting point.
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Now that we've got the wires run, lets figure out this whole relay thing. On
the bottom of the relay are 4 terminals, making up 2 different circuits. One
circuit is the "switch", and it doesn't require much power, and one circuit is
for the accessory...in this case, a waterpump.
Now, at this point in the install you should have 3 total wires going to wherever you chose to mount your relay. The wires you should have are: - 1 Trigger wire that is tapped into the gray (or pink) wire in the fuse box - 1 Ground wire that is bolted to the frame - 1 Hot wire that is bolted to the positive battery terminal Once you finalize the relay mounting point (I mounted mine to the large black shield around the battery/fuse box), trim the 3 wires to the proper length, leaving a 1-3" to spare as slack. Strip the ends of those 3 wires and crimp on a quick disconnect. You can then slide the connectors onto the relay in the proper locations. The Hot wire goes to the #30 terminal, the Trigger goes to the #85 terminal, and the ground goes to the #86 terminal. #87 will stay empty for now. Once you have gotten to this point, the car is still 100% drivable so it is a good stopping point if you are running out of time and need to drive the car. Once you go on with the instructions, the car will be down until you are 100% done. |
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Wiring DiagramFor reference, the wiring that I talk about above is shown in this schematic on the left. This is what I'll call the "OEM style" install....a new relay that switches a fused device (the water pump). If you want the job done simple, but "right", this is probably the way you should do it.Just about any automotive relay should do, but it'll be easiest if you get one that can be easily mounted somewhere. |
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Alternative Wiring (Manual Override Switch Added)To add on to the original wiring, when using a relay it is VERY easy to add in a manual override switch as shown with the new green lines in the diagram. The way this wiring diagram shows it wired up, the water pump will ALWAYS run when the engine is running, PLUS it will run any time the switch is turned on. The diodes are required, not just recommended. Diodes are a "one way street" for electricity and having them there will keep the juice from your switch getting into the fuse box and powering an accessory (whatever wire you tapped into), and likewise, it will keep power from flowing back up into your switch wiring when the car is running and pump is on.I expect that the green wires in the diagram will be in the car (you can find a 12V source in there) and then you'll run it through the firewall and to your trigger wire on the relay. You could however, just mount the switch in the engine bay since chances are, you'll probably only be doing the manual override when you're in the pits and the hood will be up anyways. |
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Alternative Wiring (Simple Wiring)If you want absolutely the SIMPLEST wiring possible, you don't *have* to use a relay. I don't specifically recommend this method, however it most likely will work just fine. In GM wiring, the fuse comes before the relay. What does this mean for you? Well, if you just simply tap the water pump wire into an existing wire, you'll be also pulling power through an already existing fuse and could exceed it's rated capacity. It'd not be good if you're cruising down the road and all of a sudden you lose your fuel pump / water pump fuse because you were running 2 things off of it instead of just one.If you understand the above and are fine with that, then the diagram on the left will show you how to wire it. No relay needed, and the wiring is VERY simple. I personally have tapped into a large pink wire coming off an IGN relay, and it worked fine, but for my own personal car I used a relay as shown above. Adding a switch to this setup is a little more messy. |
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Start by driving the car up on ramps and shutting it off. If the car has been running for a long time and is fully warmed up, let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour to let the coolant pressure go down. Once cooled, remove the radiator cap and get under the car. Find the drainage valve on the passenger side of the radiator. Using pliars, twist the valve counter clockwise and have a bucket ready to catch the coolant coming from the spout. |
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Now disconnect 4 sensor plugs. The Intake Air Temp Sensor in the lid, the MAF
sensor plug, and the two plugs that go into the drivers side of the throttle
body. Pop the 2 metal clips on the front of the air lid. Loosen the clamp that holds the accordian shaped intake tube to the throttle body, and pull the whole Lid/Maf/Tube assembly off the car and set it aside. |
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On the passengers side of the throttle body, there are 1 or 2 cables going to
the "throttle cam" on the throttle body. If you have cruise control, there will
be two cables unless you've got traction control. The cruise control cable, if
you have it, needs to be pulled off the throttle cam by tugging on it (it snaps
on). The main throttle cable also needs to be disconnected. This is done by rocking the throttle cam back towards the engine so that you have slack in the throttle cable, and then sliding the metal anchor on the end of the cable out of the throttle cam. At this time, we also need to disconnect the black rubber vent tube from the rear passenger side of the throttle body. You can leave the other end connected to the valve cover. |
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If you do not have a coolant bypass installed, there will be 2 coolant hoses
going to the throttle body. One goes into the drivers side, and one comes out
the passengers side. On the drivers side, you need use pliars to compress and
slide the hose clamp down the engine end of the hose, and then pull the hose
off the engine's metal coolant line. If this line feels stuck, try twisting it,
or prying at the end of it with a flathead screw driver to break the tension. On the passenger's side, follow the hose out of the throttle body until you see it go into the radiator fill neck. Using pliars, compress the hose clamp and slide it down a few inches, then pull the hose off the radiator fill neck. You can now remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the throttle body to the intake manifold, and set the whole throttle body/hose assembly aside. |
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Using a 15mm wrench on the center bolt through the tensioner pulley, push the tensioner towards the drivers side of the engine to remove tension from the main drive belt. With tension removed, slide the belt off the main water pump pulley (or any other pulley) and then release the tensioner and remove the belt from the vehicle. |
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There are 4 hoses we now need to disconnect from the water pump. First remove
the large main inlet hose that is near the top of the water pump using pliars
to compress the hose clamp. Next, remove the large outlet hose that is towards
the bottom passenger side of the pump. This hose, when removed, will probably
spill some coolant, so move your bucket back about 12-14" now from where it was
when you drained the radiator. Bend both of these disconnected hoses out of the
way for now. With the two main hoses out of the way, you should be able to get your pliars in and compress the clamps on the final 2 smaller hoses (they are for the car's heater core) and then pull both of those hoses off. These too will spill lots of coolant onto the ground. Now that all 4 hoses are disconnected, get a 15mm socket and 3" extension and unbolt the 2 15mm bolts holding the tensioner to the water pump. |
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This is what the removed tensioner looks like. |
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We're now ready to pull the water pump off the engine block. All that is left
is to locate the 6 10mm bolts to remove, and remove them using a 10mm socket
and 3" extension, or a 10mm deep socket. Back all 6 of them out about a 1/4"
first, and then start removing them one by one. The bottom drivers side bolt
will require a 10mm wrench (socket wrench HIGHLY recommended here) to loosen,
and it will not be able to be totally removed from the hole as a pulley is in
the way...this is ok.
Once all 6 bolts are removed the pump can be pulled right off, and you'll hear a nice splash of coolant hit the ground. Sometimes the pump will feel like it is still stuck on the block on '98 model cars, so it may require a little bit of prying to break it free. Once it is off, set it aside so we can work on it. |
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This is now what your engine bay should look like. The large metal cover that was behind the water pump is the timing cover, which is what covers your cam gears, timing chain, and camshaft. |
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Now, lets get to work on getting the new pump ready for install. The new
Meziere water pump does not come with an outlet so we will need to remove the
stock outlet spout from the stock water pump. It is held on by 2 10mm bolts. Once removed, pull the whole outlet spout up and out of the stock waterpump. |
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You can now see that inside the outlet is where the stock thermostat resides. We do not have any use for this stock thermostat in the meziere pump, and it must be removed. To remove the thermostat, you will need to press down with a lot of force on the 2 arms that come off the thermostat and slot into the 2 posts sticking up from the outlet. Once you are pressing down, you then need to rotate the whole thermostat until the 2 arms are out of the slots in the posts. It is hard to explain in words, so the picture on the left may help. |
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Now that the old thermostat is removed, let's switch tasks and get out your NEW
thermostat. The Meziere pump uses an old small block chevy style thermostat to
control coolant flow. To keep the electric mechanism of the pump healthy, we
need to drill some small holes in the thermostat to keep coolant flowing even
when the thermostat is shut. This will also help get the air out of the system
once we fill the radiator with coolant later. Start out using a 1/16" drill and drill into the thermostat away from the 2 support arms on the thermostat. Once you've got the two small holes drilled, go back in with a 3/16" drill bit and enlarge the two holes. Use a screwdriver or sand paper to break off any metal splinters that you may have created during the drilling. |
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If your meziere pump arrived with the inlet spout already installed, now is the
time to unscrew it. If you grab it tightly with your fist, you should be able
to sloooowly turn it loose and remove it. Under here is where the new
thermostat goes. Now place the thermostat into the opening with the spring on the thermostat going down into the pump. Reinstall the inlet spout and tighten as tight as you can get with your hand. |
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Take your removed stock outlet spout from the stock pump, and check the back of
it to make sure the rubber O-ring is still installed. Using the 2 supplied hex
bolts and washers, bolt the stock outlet to the meziere water pump and tighten
using a 3/16" hex key.
Now is also a good time to thread in the two heater hose spouts into the passengers side of the meziere water pump. The larger of the two goes towards the front of the pump. Meziere recommends using a small bead of RTV around these fittings before you thread them in. |
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The pump is now ready for installation. Before we can do this, we need to get
gaskets in place. In order to make things a little easier, I recommend putting
a few small dabs of Silicon RTV gasket maker onto the backs of both water pump
gaskets, and then sticking them to the engine block making sure that all 3 bolt
holes are perfectly lined up. With the gaskest now stuck to the block, so grab the pump and try to put it in place, making sure that you have the one bolt on the bottom drivers side in place beforehand (as you won't be able to put it in later due to the pulley). I suggest sliding the drivers side down in first, then follow with the passengers side. This process may take a few minutes of wrestling. If the fans seem to be in the way too much, you can remove the 4 10mm bolts holding the radiator support, remove the support, and then have a helper pull the radiator/fans towards the front of the car while you try to work the pump in. Once the pump has been worked in as close as you can get it, you may have found that it just simply wouldn't mate up to the block. This may be because the throttle body inlet flange on your intake manifold is interfering with the pump itself. |
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If the pump is interfering with the intake manifold, you'll need to grind a
small portion off the intake where the interference is occuring. I did this
using a dremmel with the sanding barrel installed, and grinded about 50
thousanths of an inch off the corner of the throttle body flange. This in total
took about 15 seconds at medium speed, working my way back and forth on the
corner.
If you do not have a dremmel, a razor or a file may do the trick. |
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Re-fit the intake and make sure you now have enough clearance. Now hand thread
in all 6 bolts as far as you can with your fingers making sure that each bolt
is infact going through the water pump gasket as it should. The top drivers side
bolt needs to have a wire holder washer installed with it (for our later
wiring). This wire holder washer is included by meziere. Place it so the wire
holding portion is towards the bottom of the bolt head. The
bolt install process may require that you lift/support/wiggle the water pump
before you can get all 6 started, but it is very important you do not just
wrench these bolts in right from the start. The water pump bolts are not bolts
that you want to crossthread! Once all 6 bolts are started, go ahead and use a 10mm socket wrench and 10mm wrench to tighten all the bolts down. Using a torque wrench, torque all 6 to 11lb/ft in one pass, and then do a second pass at 22lb/ft. The 6th bolt that you can't get a socket wrench on will just have to be tightened with a normal wrench to what feels like 22lb/ft to you. |
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It is now time to reconnect the 4 water pump hoses. Reconnect the 2 smaller heater hoses from back to front, and reinstall the hose clamps to hold the hoses in place. Next reconnect the two large hoses and reinstall their hose clamps. |
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Now install the stock belt tensioner to the water pump using the stock 15mm
bolts and torque these to 37lb/ft. Once the tensioner is installed, re-install the drive belt using the routing diagram in the engine bay. I suggest you put the belt on all pullies except for the water pump pulley, then put the wrench on the tensioner and reduce tension, then slide the remaining part of the belt onto the waterpump. |
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Re-bolt on the throttle body using the 3 10mm bolts you removed earlier. Once
it is bolted back on, see if the throttle cam interferes at all with the water
pump. Later year cars have a redesigned throttle cam which may in fact hit the
pump, and once again, you will need to grind for clearance. In this case, a
1999 F-body, the throttle cam clears just fine Once everything is fine, reconnect the rubber hose coming from the valve cover to the top rear of the throttle body. Next, reconnect both coolant hoses (if you didnt have a bypass) to their coresponding locations, making sure to get the hose clamps on properly. |
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Grab your intake/maf/coupler assembly and slide the coupler onto the throttle
body so it is nice and snug. Slide the air lid into place on the air tray and
snap the metal tabs back into place. Tighten the large band clamp at the
throttle body using a flat head screwdriver. Now we can reconnect all 4 electrical sensors. Each sensor has a unique connector, so you can not reconnect these incorrectly. |
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It's time to fill the car back up with coolant now! Before you do anything, get
under the car and make sure the radiator drain valve is shut tight. The last
thing you want to do is start pouring coolant in and see it coming right back
out at the bottom. Pour in 1 full jug of Dex-Cool compatible coolant, and then follow up with as much water as you can pour into the radiator. It should work out to a little more than one jug of water. For now, leave the radiator cap off. |
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The final steps of the install are to finally hook up the 2 wires coming off
the meziere pump. Plug the weatherpack connector into the plug and see how much
spare wire you have. We'll need to get the blue wire coming off the pigtail
over to the relay, and the black wire will need to get to a grounding point. Chances are, the pump's wires are too short to make it to where you'd like to go, so you may need to extend the wires some. If this is the case, you can use posilocks, butt connectors, or you can solder an extension on. To solder, you strip an end of each wire, interleave the strands of wire, and twist them together...then, apply solder to the connection and heat shrink it. This is the best way to extend a wire, however the other methods will suffice. |
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Once you've extended the wires, cut and crimp on an eyelet connector to the extended black wire and ground it to the frame (or any other ground point). I chose to use the same ground point we used earlier in the install, and covered both of the new ground wires with a piece of 1/4" plastic wire loom to make the install look OEM. |
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Now route the blue wire from the meziere to the final terminal on the relay, #87. #87 will
effecitvly be a direct connection to the 12V "hot" wire you wired up earlier, but will only be
on when the trigger wire is hot. Finally, place wire loom on all the new wires you've added and zip tie them into their permanent locations. |
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Finally, the pump is ready to test. Put the key into the ignition and turn it
to the ON position but do not start the car. You should now hear the water pump
whirring away for a few seconds and then shut off. I recommend you make SURE
you can hear the pump for that few seconds, it may help to have a friend
listen. Once you are sure the pump is all wired up and running properly, start the engine. Before you drive anywhere, let the car come up to full operating temperature and make sure that the car does not overheat. It should stop moving up about 180-190 degrees on the gauge, and sit there. If the car starts to overheat, shut it off and let it sit for 20 minutes then carefully remove the coolant fill cap and add water if needed and restart the process. Eventually all air bubbles will get worked out through enough heating cycles and you can then drive the vehicle. Note: Corvette guages shown |
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Once the coolant system has all the air worked out, and the car maintains a
temperature at idle, you're set to enjoy your new mod! Thunder Racing has
tested this mod on several test cars, and the average rwhp gains seem to be
around 6-7rwhp. An actual dyno graph is shown to the left. Once again I'd like to thank
Meziere and ![]() |