I have been noticing that my truck really struggles to maintain highway speeds when heading into the mountains west of Denver. I usually end up in 3rd gear running about 3000 rpm just to keep up with the slower vehicles. Disco Mike and I were talking last Saturday about replacing the engine driven fan with an electric to free up some horsepower. Has anyone done this? What is a good source for the electric fan?

My second thought is a electric motor kit to drive my water pump. According to what I have read the water pump uses about 16 hp to turn. That's a huge number when you're talking about a 180 hp engine. I looked at electric water pumps but they are all for Chevy and Ford V8s. My water pump is only about months old so it makes more sense to convert it to electric drive than to completely replace it. All that being said, has anyone done this? How difficult will be route belts to drive the the accessories, e.g. alternator, power steering and a/c?

 

I can see the electric fan, but hacking in an electric water pump scares the hell out of me. These Discoveries seem so sensitive to temperature, I'd just be worried about a hiccup toasting things.

I assume everything else in your vehicle is in tip-top shape? Just as an example, I know when my MAF was going bad, I was seriously robbed of horsepower. The difference was night and day when I replaced it.

 

I don't think the electric water pump drive would be too big of an issue but the belt routing would. I'm sure it could be done but you'd be looking at a custom mix and match of pulley's and belts (I would guess).

Ever look at what Land Rover Special Vehicles does to increase performance?

 

I am actually looking at an electric motor setup that drives the stock water pump, not a full replacement unit. I agree that the belts and pulleys will be the toughest part which is why I was asking if anyone had done it. I consider myself to be a competent mechanic but not an engineer. I can fix the wheel when it breaks but I can't make a better wheel.

 

I know exactly what you're talking about. For Chevy's, those electric drive kits seem like they'd be an easy install because there are countless belt configurations that you can go with...Land Rover...not so much. I don't know if it would be as easy as going with a shorter serpentine belt or whether you'd have to convert to V belts and pulleys or what...

 

I don't think I would bother with an electric water pump but an electric fan is a good idea. I think you would get a HP increase, electric fans also cool better in stop and go traffic.

 

What about a supercharger.

 

now we're talking:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-08...Q5fAccessories

 

I want to free up a few extra horsepower, not destroy the engine. We're dealing with 1950s technology that doesn't do well with forced induction. I have seen Defenders with supercharged 4.0s but the engine was built from the ground up to be supercharged. and the cost of a supercharger for the power increase isn't worth it. My Dodge with the Hemi I'd consider (and actually am thinking about) a remote mount turbo but not the Rover.

 

I have heard of a few people put the EATON M90 on the Rover V8. But they live in England and Australia.. So yeah, not too much information on it.