FWD vs. RWD water pump bearings?
Hello gentlemen,
Can anyone please chime in on whether there is a difference in bearing size for the FWD water pump (P11 SR20VE to be specific) and the RWD one?
The reason I am curious is because I am converting the VE to RWD (complete motor, not just a head swap), and if possible I would like to run a belt-driven clutch fan instead of electric fans.
The FWD water pump uses different bolt spacing for the pulley, but I actually discovered that the fan clutch from a CA18 engine is a direct bolt-on. In turn, I found out that the fan clutch uses the same fan blade bolt pattern as the KA24 or RWD SR20, so it can be upgraded with either of their fan blades, or better yet, an aftermarket one.
However, I know that with the RWD CA18, on which a FWD water pump is a common replacement since it is cheaper and easier to find, people found out that the clutch fan cannot be used in conjunction with the FWD water pump, because it makes the pump go bad within weeks. Apparently this is due to the bearings in the FWD water pump not being made to handle the extra weight of the fan.
Same goes for a couple of other RWD variants of motors on which people commonly use FWD water pumps, such as Toyota's 4AGE.
That is why I am curious if the SR20 water pumps are the same way. Since the SR is a bit newer, especially the VE, I thought that perhaps the water pump may use stronger bearings than the ancient CA18, or possibly the same ones as the RWD SR, though I am curious if anyone knows for certain.
Thank you for any input.
Can anyone please chime in on whether there is a difference in bearing size for the FWD water pump (P11 SR20VE to be specific) and the RWD one?
The reason I am curious is because I am converting the VE to RWD (complete motor, not just a head swap), and if possible I would like to run a belt-driven clutch fan instead of electric fans.
The FWD water pump uses different bolt spacing for the pulley, but I actually discovered that the fan clutch from a CA18 engine is a direct bolt-on. In turn, I found out that the fan clutch uses the same fan blade bolt pattern as the KA24 or RWD SR20, so it can be upgraded with either of their fan blades, or better yet, an aftermarket one.
However, I know that with the RWD CA18, on which a FWD water pump is a common replacement since it is cheaper and easier to find, people found out that the clutch fan cannot be used in conjunction with the FWD water pump, because it makes the pump go bad within weeks. Apparently this is due to the bearings in the FWD water pump not being made to handle the extra weight of the fan.
Same goes for a couple of other RWD variants of motors on which people commonly use FWD water pumps, such as Toyota's 4AGE.
That is why I am curious if the SR20 water pumps are the same way. Since the SR is a bit newer, especially the VE, I thought that perhaps the water pump may use stronger bearings than the ancient CA18, or possibly the same ones as the RWD SR, though I am curious if anyone knows for certain.
Thank you for any input.
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