[reynoldsfamily3]

I am going to be replacing the water pump in my '06 1500 QC 4x4. I will be doing a lot of towing so I was wondering if there is a better or higher flowing water pump available. I have read about using one from a 6.1l but there was no mention of the years of the vehicles involved.

Thanks for any ideas
Bill

 

[matthet]

i could be speaking out of turn, but the stock water pump is sufficient, there's no real sense in "upgrading" it, just replace it with a stock one if your current one has gone bad.

if you're going to be towing a lot, slap an Efan on there and put a lower temp tstat in there to get a head start, get a bigger tranny cooler to keep the tranny from going boom, and enjoy.

honestly, the truck is plenty equipped to tow, but if you're set on improving its capabilities (not capacity..) do the aforementioned

 

[V2Rider]

i could be speaking out of turn, but the stock water pump is sufficient, there's no real sense in "upgrading" it, just replace it with a stock one if your current one has gone bad.

if you're going to be towing a lot, slap an Efan on there and put a lower temp tstat in there to get a head start, get a bigger tranny cooler to keep the tranny from going boom, and enjoy.

honestly, the truck is plenty equipped to tow, but if you're set on improving its capabilities (not capacity..) do the aforementioned

X2. Efan and 180 stat keeps my temp at the 1/4 way up mark. Stock was 1/2 way. I was thinking about a deeper tranny pan for more fluid, it wouldn't be as good as a bigger cooler, but it would help. We are getting a 30ft camper after my 4.56 gears go in, so I would like to keep my tranny cooler as well.

 

[Randtx]

6.1 pump is as different as the whole front end of a 6.1.

Is the pump going out or are you just trying to improve the cooling?

 

[Daking]

I looked for a performance pumps in the past.

I've been using the factory pump over my electric recently. The factory pump is actually very good. (or my electric pump really sucks...)

 

[reynoldsfamily3]

Thanks for the comments. I am trying to increase the capability of the truck as much as possible. I am going to be putting in a tranny cooler from a 3500, I was thinking about an e-fan but after reading a lot here I am still on the fence. It makes sense to me that the e-fan would be better but I have red mixed reviews. I have a 2 speed taurus fan and DC controller that was going to be for a Jeep project, but that is on hold for now so I could slide it or another fan in if it would be beneficial.

Thanks again
Bill

 

[Randtx]

Efan would be be better primely because you could then got with a 170 or 180 thermostat and be able to maintain the lower temperature.
Now if you could get a manual fan with a lower internal "thermostat" and combine that with the same lower engine thermostat maybe even better for towing.
I suspect the fan is mod-able, old school they had a couple of slots you could put the clock spring thermostat tab in to accomplish that, or for that matter I suspect a lower engine thermostat plus an efan, while retaining the the manual fan would be even better for towing.
I ran the manual fan along with the efan back when my efan was trying to go out and it really cooled quite well as well as provided a back up system when the efan got flaky and started running at less than full speed.

Another old school trick would be to install a heater core bypass, in the summer when you don't need heat, that increases the % of coolant being cooled in the radiator vs the the whole of what's being heated in the engine and what is not being cooled in the lines and eater core.
some cars have that OEM with an elect valve that only circulates water to the heater core when HVAC heat is need. One of these day's I'll chase one of those down to install in mine. (100+ deg all summer long here)

 

[matthet]

X2. Efan and 180 stat keeps my temp at the 1/4 way up mark. Stock was 1/2 way. I was thinking about a deeper tranny pan for more fluid, it wouldn't be as good as a bigger cooler, but it would help. We are getting a 30ft camper after my 4.56 gears go in, so I would like to keep my tranny cooler as well.

check what you already have, mine came with a 1 tonner already in it. dunno why, either the '03 2500's lucked out, or it's my towing package, dunno, but i'd check first, my tranny has held for all 135k miles, heavy towing, mud riding, hauling, hauling arse, you name it, this truck has been through it, a few times.
i keep the tranny fluid 20k miles fresh, and don't let the cooler get too bug clogged.




to the OP, come off the fence and do the efan
a well wired one will work a lot better than your stock clutch fan
low temp tstat will give you the head start you'll appreciate on a triple degree day
the stock pump is more than sufficient

take it from the rest of us, our recipe works, especially on my heavy truck
i towed 14k lbs over an hour in 90* and never broke the halfway mark uphills

 

[V2Rider]

check what you already have, mine came with a 1 tonner already in it. dunno why, either the '03 2500's lucked out, or it's my towing package, dunno, but i'd check first, my tranny has held for all 135k miles, heavy towing, mud riding, hauling, hauling arse, you name it, this truck has been through it, a few times.
i keep the tranny fluid 20k miles fresh, and don't let the cooler get too bug clogged.




to the OP, come off the fence and do the efan
a well wired one will work a lot better than your stock clutch fan
low temp tstat will give you the head start you'll appreciate on a triple degree day
the stock pump is more than sufficient

take it from the rest of us, our recipe works, especially on my heavy truck
i towed 14k lbs over an hour in 90* and never broke the halfway mark uphills

How can I tell if it's the 1 ton cooler or not?

 

[reynoldsfamily3]

How can I tell if it's the 1 ton cooler or not?

They are different sizes. The one in my 1500 is much smaller than the ones in 1 tons.

 

[V2Rider]

I don't have a 1/2 ton to look at, lol. was hoping for a more "descriptive" response. ex. size in inches, or something to that nature. Thanks though.

 

[matthet]

search the forums, there are a bunch of threads about em, chock full of pictures.

 

[matthet]

just searched
here's a 3/4 ton upgraded to a 1 ton
so you have the 3/4 ton vs 1 ton comparison pictures
http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301335&highlight=tranny+cooler

 

[crasher76]

My off road package game with the bigger cooler, hell my moms 2003 jeep liberty even came with the heavy duty trans cooler.