Adding an oil pump to a Corvair/Kelmark transaxle?

Im in love.  Please do a build threax

Thanks - she's my baby - This is before I stretched the wheelbase, but had made the tilt nose with GT-40-style ducting - and the goofy Formula 5000 scoop.  The carbs will fit up into it.

Forrest

Transaxle all buttoned up; aluminum parts clear-coated and with stainless fasteners; all steel and iron primed as one.  I think I'll paint paint it Chevy orange to match the engine - I mean, it's not aluminum - whu paint it silver?

Forrest

Freakin' cool! 

This transaxle pump kluge idea will work well! 

Pulled the PS pump off of the oil minivan; it's a vane-type pump; normally ran at a max of about 5000 rpm.  I did set up a test jig; a drill at 1000 rpm pumps a nice stream of old 90-weight just fine.

1000 rpm of my halfshaft pulley is ~74 MPH, so I've got some flexibility of pulley sizing.  Designing a mount now.  No tensioner; will just have an adjustable mount.

Forrest

How about a stretch-fit belt so you don't have to worry about losing tension?

Not familiar with that - got a link? 

Shouldn't be much load - drill spins it at 1000 rpm with no appreciable effort.

Forrest

Will you be driving this when its cold and the gear lube never warms up ?

Just wondering if the pump can push that much cold gear lube and not explode !

In reply to McDesign :

A stretch-fit V-belt looks very much like a standard V-belt, and may very well be the same thing. You'd just need to find the right length and width. To install, you'd put it completely over one pulley and as far around the other one as you can, then spin the half shaft in the correct direction and the belt will stretch over the remaining section of pulley and bobs your uncle.

californiamilleghia said:

Will you be driving this when its cold and the gear lube never warms up ?

Just wondering if the pump can push that much cold gear lube and not explode !

I don't know! I had emailed AMSOIL and asked their opinion on their highest cold-viscosity product that would work. 

Also, if install a fixed-length belt; maybe it could slip a bit when the lube's too stiff to pump.  I mean, at worst I'm no different from every other Kelmark kit driving around.

There are so many threads considering this idea of a PS pump for diff lube all over the web; but I've found none reporting success - hoping I can be the one.

Here's a really old NASCAR pic - it's labeled, "Holman-Moody 1963".

Forrest

It should work just fine, really.  You're not expecting it to make pressure for journal bearings, you're only using it to move fluid to spray at gears for cooling .  The only "pressure" generated is from pumping losses.  If it can move cold 90-weight without issue, then you're done for development as far as I'm aware.

The only issues you might have is that the pump probably has plastic vanes, and they may wear oddly when trying to pump aerated oil.  Gear oil in a transmission is not "solid", it's foam.

Knurled. said:

The only issues you might have is that the pump probably has plastic vanes

Luckily, they are hard steel of some sort. 

I didn't like the pulley that I welded onto a shaft that threaded into the end of the pump shaft - seemed like too much overhung load, and thread play made it wobble a bit.

I was able to weld a pulley directly to the 17mm input shaft, without overheating the shaft (it was out and standing in water).

I mocked up the pump where I wanted it, took good measurements and then built the mount from CAD, with enough adjustment for 1" belt increments.

Note that the pump is below the fill level set by the 3/4" NPT hole in the case, but doesn't hang down below the transaxle.

Working on the plumbing now -

Forrest

This thread is giving me bad or maybe good ideas for the transmission fluid pump I've wanted to do for a while for the RX-7.  Just something to give some positive lube to the output bushing and some directed spray at a couple of the more problematic gears.

And, oddly enough, I also happen to HAVE one of those aluminum Saginaw pumps, that I liberated from a Jeep Wrangler engine before it got returned to the junkyard as a core.

In reply to Knurled. :

Do it!  I think it's a sweet, neat install - a useful function and a cool custom look for very little or no $, depending on one's stash of parts. 

That little pump shaft is 17mm, or .670" - I happened to have a pulley with a bore that size - have no idea where it came from.

I haven't mentioned it, but have also tapped a hole for an AN fitting elsewhere near the top of the trans case, that will run to a filtered atmo vent mounted higher on the frame.

I'm going out to the shop now to fool with bending up some tubing - I did figure out good ways to integrate 3/8" aluminum tube to the existing MOPAR fittings, I think - will post details.

Forrest

The pulley is a standard "press on" pulley size, if you look hard you can find V belts that press on, although most that you can easily find are serpentine type.

Pix of the adaptation to 3/8" aluminum hard lines, and the first cut at making some lines - may be OK for the final.

On the pressure side, the existing long nut will push a normal double-flare against a seat in the black fitting (top). 

It wouldn't likely seal for high pressure compared to the O-ring (bottom), but in this application it should be fine.

Here I was able to cut off the large curved suction side ell, and weld on a 1/4" MPT bung that I made from grinding the outside off a 1/2" X 1/4" reducer -

The lower suction line clears the half-shaft and the lower lateral link -

Forrest

The pressure fitting should be the same as a GM threaded style EFI fuel filter.  I have used fuel line repair kits to get an end to thread in, then made standard double flares to adapt to a different species of power steering line.

Buttoned up at the end of the weekend - still a few bits and painting, but mostly done.

You know, this all started about a week ago because I just needed to break loose the clutch that had rusted to the flywheel.

Forrest

Painted and pretty -

Forrest

Re-assembled while the paint dries -

The throwout bearing was in constant ~.100" push on the diaphragm - so I replaced the bearing and reset it to a 0.100" clearance. 

Also used twin fork return springs because one seemed awkward and pulley the fork sideways.

All pretty!

I used a 3L rather than a 4L V-belt; a thinner profile and easier around that small pulley.

In the run-up to this project, I did bid on and win a real NASCAR rear-end pump; used on EBay - so that's my backup plan, or maybe for the different drivetrain I'll build soon.

Forrest

All re-installed; everything clears nicely - now I just need to move the clutch line a bit to fit the new cylinder position, and connect and bleed the clutch.

Forrest

Very nice!

Thanks!  I'm tickled pink - or - uh - orange. 

My fervent hope is that it works as well as it seems like it will, and that somebody copies it with equal success. 

Needed or not, it's a cool racy custom bit of kit that can be done for little to no money.

Forrest

This has to be the nicest/coolest Kelmark I've ever seen. What a fun period piece!

Thanks!  With the transaxle back in, I finally got to install the new exhaust on it late last night as well - now she's super-cool!

Forrest

That exhaust is a work of art