Potential BBi water pump issue?

My process usually works like this:

1. Remove the part.

2. Scan with an Einstar on a Mac (using their beta software). IMO, it's the best scanner in that tier. The next step up is ~$5k.

• I try to avoid putting markers on the part. Instead, I'll put painters tape on the table, then markers on the tape. Much easier to remove.
• If the part is reflective, I'll spray using 3D scan spray; which wipes off easily.

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3. Insert the mesh file into Fusion 360, and reverse engineer. The scan isn't the "model". Rather, I build the part from scratch, on top of the scan mesh (think of it like tracing). I use calipers to get precise measurements (particularly pipe diameters, inlet sizes, bolt hole diameters, etc.). The "trick", is that I add construction planes on the key parts of the mesh ("Plane Through Three Points"), and then build around that (screenshot shows what I mean). That ensures I get the key points in 3D space that would be very difficult to get using calipers alone.

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4. I 3D print using a Bambu printer. I did most of the EFI/ITB work with a Bambu X1. I recently upgraded to the H2D. My go-to filament is ASA-CF, which is strong, can handle high temp, and doesn't distort / warp during printing.

5. Test fit on the car. Back to Fusion and tweak until I'm happy.

6. 3D print in metal / CNC / laser cut. In the case of metal 3D printing or CNC, I've been using Craftcloud. Even with the tariffs, it's considerably cheaper than having it done in the US. I've printed Aluminum and Stainless Steel. For sheet metal, I use SendCutSend.

In this case, I'm not actually planning on replacing / modifying any parts (at least not at the moment), so it's more of a cataloging process (skipping steps 3-6). I did do a little CAD work for the gas tank, timing cover, and water pump, but that was more out of curiosity than it was out of necessity.

Hope that helps.

 

In-case anyone was curious, I was playing around with designing a BBLM inspired timing belt cover. I likely won't move forward with it since I don't think there's really a ton of value. Reason being, although I could access the hoses better, you still can't really remove the pump without removing the cover, which I don't think can be done without removing the oil tank (at least I couldn't figure out a good way to do it).

So, it was really more of an exercise than anything, but you can see how I go about it. Basically, I scanned the cover and the pump separately, then reverse engineered the main dimensions (bolt holes), 3D printed a simple jig to test the dimensions, then built the rest of the geometry.

The factory timing cover is ~3lb., so it's not like there's a ton of weight savings to be had (in absolute terms). The cost to 3D print my version in aluminum would be ~$350.

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Since the LH water pump union appears to be NLA, I decided to scan / reverse engineer before reinstalling.

You can see the scan mesh; which I then built up a model from scratch on top of. It's $105.00 to print this in aluminum (one-off).

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Okay, so after far too long, I got the car up and running again. The delay came from a combination of the cliche "while you're in there" scope creep, reverse engineering time, R&D experiments, other projects, and just normal work / life stuff. I figure I'll share the work I did, and maybe it'll help someone in the future. Or maybe someone will point out what I did wrong, and that will help someone in the future.

The work basically falls into three buckets: water, oil, fuel. Each one had it's share of work, so I'll go through each one separately.

Water

First, I installed the water pump garter seal (flat towards engine), inner main water pump seal (the one with the white ceramic disk) and the main seal spacer. I used a little silicone lubricant on any areas where the install could damage the seals.

The impeller is hard to push into position enough to get the locking tab and cap nut on (at least with the engine in). I 3D printed a jig that fit over the impeller and used the three water pump bolts to slowly compress the seal spring enough to install the locking tab and cap nut. It might be hard to tell in the picture, but the impeller is on the bottom. The jig is actually two parts. The middle part slips over the impeller fins and provides a flat for the pusher to press against.

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After installing the impeller, I installed the union pipes with fresh hoses (Gates green stripe). I used high tack spray-a-gasket sealant on the paper gaskets to keep them from shifting around and hopefully get a better seal. I replaced other coolant hoses in the area (again, Gates green stripe).

I had previously "deleted" the thermostat with a 3D printed aluminum part that looked like the factory thermostat. For cleanliness, I decided to simply use a straight pipe. I bead rolled, burnished, and bead blasted. I did the same for the custom coolant pipes I have in the front going to the electric water pump. I'm pretty sure the factory pipes are anodized, but I think I prefer this look.

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After cleaning the timing belt cover and installing, I filled the system, and used the electric water pump to circulate. After confirming no leaks, I moved on to oil.

Oil

When removing the tank, the in-tank filter backed out. Not sure if it was from the factory, but it looked like it had some kind of thread sealant on it. I cleaned it up, and re-installed using Loctite 567.

Over the years, my cam / valve cover breather pipe has gotten pretty banged up. I removed it, cleaned it up, bead blasted it, and painted with VHT Nu-Cast Aluminum. Again, pretty sure factory was anodized.

Somewhere along the way, the oil tank shock mount had some ghetto rigged screw tack welded to the chassis. I removed all that, cleaned the area up, and put a new shock mount in. All new copper washers, Baldwin B252 filters, and Castrol GTX 20W-50. No leaks, disconnected fuel/spark, cranked a few times to build pressure, still no leaks.

Crank Case Breather

When I did the EFI/ITB swap, I initially just put a vertical hose with a filter on the crank case breather. Under high load, the pressure was enough to go up the hose an through the filter. The hose didn't look very nice, and a mist of oil on the engine was obviously something I wanted to stop.

After thinking through a few options, I decided to go with a catch can, similar to some of the BBLM cars (the different series tended to do it differently). My idea was to run a tube down the length of the head to an oil catch can (OCC) hanging off the bell housing.

I designed in CAD so I'd know where to mark the bend marks on the tube (factoring in the center line radius of my dies). I've never done that before, but it worked perfectly. The software can easily tell you how much tube length is "consumed" by each bend.

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I purchased an OCC that was expectedly very CNC looking, so I attempted to smooth the edges and remove the tool marks. I also bead blasted it. I used p-clips to keep the tube from moving around, and used cloth wrapped hose rated for PCV. The steel bracket was cut/bent via SendCutSend; which I may zinc / yellow chromate.

I burnished, then bead blasted, then painted the tube in VHT Nu-Cast Aluminum. I also took the opportunity to paint the ITB base plates. I was tempted to remove the manifolds and paint those too, but you have to draw the line somewhere – or else before you know it, the chassis is on a rotisserie.

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Fuel

When I removed the LH fuel tank, I also removed the union pipe from the tank to the main cross-over. I noticed some rubbing that made me nervous. There's about 0.5mm of material removed (you can see the dark oval in the picture below). Eventually, I'll have this repaired. In the meantime, I decided to make a replacement (they're NLA). The pipe is 35mm OD with a ~33º bend (2.5" CLR). I don't have access to a mandrel bender, so my CLR is larger (6"). It fits fine though. Again, burnished, bead rolled, bead blasted.

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I also noticed the fuel hose from the tank to the pump was quite stiff / dry, so I replaced that (Gates 27008). I also took the opportunity to replace the fuel filters.

The tank has gotten some scuffs over the years, and a fair amount of yellow fuel stains, so I took the opportunity to clean those up. I feathered the marks, used self-etch primer, then Wurth Stone Guard, then regular primer, then VHT Nu-Cast Aluminum.

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The felt pads were pretty nasty, so that was another rabbit hole. I bought one from Maranello Classic Parts as a reference, but I am pretty sure they are F10 felt; which I bought from McMaster in 1/8" and 3/8" sheets. On my car, the curved pads were two 1/8" pieces; whereas the vertical pads and the pad on the chassis are a single 3/8" pad. My own little flair was to use the high tack gasket sealant on the 1/8" pieces to get a little red stripe. I used 3M 1300 to attach the pads to the chassis.

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After all that (and honestly, some other stuff I'm leaving out), I installed the tank, added a little fuel, and ran the pumps to check for leaks. I again cranked the engine without fuel/spark to get some oil moving around again, then started it up. Thankfully, a very anti-climatic startup and warmup.

So... I'm back on the road. Hopefully, I did everything right and I can enjoy the car as a driver.