tilton fluid pump leak

[juan benae]

i have a cooling system set up on my 3.0l 915 race car tranny that has a leak that i can not recreate with the fluid cold. trailering the car after the last event i noticed a small puddle left on the trailer deck. the system is a wevo bottom plate that the fluid is drawn from to the cooler, to the pump and returns to the tranny fill hole. the pump is thermo switch operation by the intergrated wevo bottom plate. i had the tranny out and had work done this past winter and should have done the machining to dump the cooled fluid back into more useful locations on the tranny case, but a full rebuild of the spec racer 3.0l this winter stole much of my focus.

when home i got the car into the air and with the fluid a bit scattered around much of the plumbing & pump i could not isolate the leak location. cleaned the mess up, opened fill hole and the fluid was still at an acceptable level. topped it off and ran the pump for 2 minutes or so and could not recreate the leak . all fittings are the press on barb type with AN fittings & the heavy duty rubber hose. i suspect the inlets into the pump were the issue, so i removed them and reapplied teflon tape, checked all fitting for tighness, still can not recreate the leaking situation.

i realize ive only done half the project by my return line cheat, but the pump at times will not even run in cooler weather conditions during the 30 minute sprint races. i have heard the tilton pumps will leak from the plastic inlet/outlet locations, has this been an issue? if so is there a fix we can agree on? the pump is < 2 years old.


do not want it to start to leak again when on track moving forward....
tia for any insight.

[Steve]

Hi Juan,

Sorry to hear about your tranny leaking issues; fortunately, these are all curable.

The major glaring problem I see is the pump return since pushing oil back into a place where the oil level pressure "pushes" back against the pump and that can create leaks in the return system. The very first step toward resolution is to remove the engine & transmission. Drain the gear oil, remove the side cover and extract the whole differential to get access as well as permit a thorough cleanup. CAREFULLY drill and tap a hole over the intersection of the ring & pinion gears (to cool them). Install a fitting into the tapped hole, clean out any smurf from the drilling & tapping, and voila',...you have a low-resistance (and VERY effective) return for the cooled oil. Replace the differential, side cover (use new O-ring), and refill. Re-install the engine & transmission and you are done.

Now, the pump doesn't have to push anywhere near as hard and that will not only reduce its current draw (and operating temperature), but will permit a leak-proof plumbing system. Naturally, you need to ensure that the pump and all your fittings are not leaking. I've found these Tilton pumps to be very good IF everything is installed correctly.

Remember,.......if something is worth doing,..its worth doing right and this a prime example of that principle.

This can be done in one day if you are efficient.