Remco LP-BK01 lube pump

I had a new pump fitted to the toad in 2011 and it's been good since. Yesterday, the warning panel in the RV starting bleeping intermittently and checking revealed that there was a bad connection inside the pump, either the pos or ground wire, can't tell which. The pump's mounted in front of the radiator and the +/- wires enter/exit the pump through a grommet on the round detachable (2 screws) base. Lying on my back and with the car connected to the RV, I can push both wires upwards and the connection is made good. I tried to make a temporary repair to put upward pressure on the wires but failed. Wifey had to follow me in the car 270 miles yesterday and 135 today. I'm slightly in the doghouse and can't blame her.

Here's the question(s).  Is anyone familiar enough with the pump to confirm that it's safe to unscrew the round base plate to (presumably) access the connectors inside? I suspect they're soldered. If so, the pump is mounted with 4 screws which I think I can remove. It also has two rubber hoses attached which may or may not have to be removed before swinging it downwards for accessibility to the base panel.  I figure it should be safe to remove said hoses if I pinch them beforehand?

I called various Remco-listed dealers around the area (currently Hot Springs AR) but none knew anything about Remco pumps, which made no sense.  If I can get the pump off safely without emptying the tranny lube, I'll be able to assess and hopefully fix the bad connection. Thanks.

Dougie.

Just give the guy at Remco a call. He is very helpful.

I would have just started the engine and towed it that way, instead of having the DW drive it. It couldn't have used much gas.

Wayne, you have seriously depressed me. I KNEW I COULD TOW IT.   Encroaching old age is a terrible thing. I towed the car 3 years ago 100 miles to Miami FL with the Crown Vic I was exporting to the UK as the Vic didn't have the appropriate wiring installed, and drove it back! What a fool I am.

I did try to call Remco this afternoon but they'd just closed. Thanks.

Dougie.

So after grovelling to the DW, I called Remco this morning after reviewing their installation videos. His good advice is to remove the pump (I'd already decided to do so) to make troubleshooting the wiring issue easier.  It's fitted in exactly the place Remco advise not fitting it - behind the front bumper quite low down.  If I can get it running again, I'll relocate it horizontally somewhere else in the engine bay so I can lay my hands on it.

Weather's wet at the moment so I'll have to settle for a spa bath in Hot Springs AR this afternoon.

Dougie.

Not the same car, but here's where I mounted our Remco pump. It might give you some ideas. The pump in the photo was transferred from our previous toad with about 35,000 towing miles on it. It now has over 50,000 towing miles without any failures.

Nice timing with the pic, thanks. That's exactly how I'd like mine to look. I've just spent an hour going over and under everything to see where the pump might fit. The only place it will go is where the windshield washer bottle is bolted onto the firewall which of course means the bottle would have to be relocated. It's too thick to swap places with the pump in front of the radiator so I'm thinking of buying a smaller aftermarket bottle to fit.

It looks as if the pump is fixed to a vertical OEM strut running from the hood catch to the lower crossmember in front of the radiator with four torx screws. If I'm correct, it'll drop right out and make the two hose clips accessible.  Worst case is I'll remove it, hopefully repair, and refit it.

If I do relocate it and extend the hoses, are there any chemical issues joining them with internal copper sleeves, i.e. do gear oil and copper react?  Slightly spurious but worth asking. I'll look it up in a bit.

Dougie.

I don't expect the copper sleeves would be a problem, but you maybe be able to find suitable brass double barb fittings at an Ace Hardware or one of the big box home improvement stores. I think clamping the hoses on barbs would be a better choice for reliability.

On edit: I just did some digging in my photo archives and found this shot showing how I installed the pump in our previous toad, a 2002 RAV4,

Yep, you're right about the barbs. Your mounting in the second photo is quite inspirational. It just has to go somewhere and fit, right?

Dougie.

So is there a specific hose type used on the pump?

Dougie Brown said:

Yep, you're right about the barbs. Your mounting in the second photo is quite inspirational. It just has to go somewhere and fit, right?

Dougie.

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In both installations I tried to locate the pump where it was both convenient for the transmission connections and reasonably protected from road debris and spray. We travel a fair amount in in colder weather in areas where salt is used on the roads.

Dougie Brown said:

So is there a specific hose type used on the pump?

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I'll see when I get a chance if there's any markings on the hose, but any suitably sized hose rated for fuel use should be fine. There isn't a lot of pressure to deal with.

NY_Dutch said:

In both installations I tried to locate the pump where it was both convenient for the transmission connections and reasonably protected from road debris and spray. We travel a fair amount in in colder weather in areas where salt is used on the roads.

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We've hardly travelled in any cold/salty conditions these last 7 years. Next year we hit Alaska for 3 months in summertime, but in any case, I really do want to relocate it from the least ideal place it could possibly be.  I removed the washer reservoir from the firewall this afternoon (you'd think that'd be an easy job, right?  Nope...) and it looks to be a good option to move the pump to.

NY_Dutch said:

I'll see when I get a chance if there's any markings on the hose, but any suitably sized hose rated for fuel use should be fine. There isn't a lot of pressure to deal with.

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Thanks. I checked the pressure and as you say, it's low. Once the pump is out and fixed (please) probably Friday, I'll be able to assess whether moving it will work. If so, I'll go get some good 3/8" hose and see if I can make a man of it!!

Dougie.

NY_Dutch said:

I'll see when I get a chance if there's any markings on the hose, but any suitably sized hose rated for fuel use should be fine. There isn't a lot of pressure to deal with.

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You shouldn't use fuel line for oil.  Find hose rated for transmission coolers at your local auto supply store.  It's not the pressure that matters, but fuel line will swell and get soft if used with oil. 

Update

I moved the project on a number of steps today. The pump came out far more easily than I anticipated due to its being mounted on an OEM vertical strut betweeen the radiator and the front bumper.  The strut only had 4 x 10mm bolts and the whole shooting match was on the floor in under 5 minutes. Removed the quick-disconnect arms, disconnected the hoses, and joined them with a Lowe's 3/8" brass barbed connector. (Only issue was my oversight on one hose being 3/8" and the other 5/16" but the connector went in due to the hoses being warm and pliable. Subsequently drove a 15-mile round trip with no leaks.)

I removed the pump base in order to find the bad power contact. The pos & neg wires are crimped to the braided brush straps and the connections whilst not broken were somewhat questionable which was in line with the intermittent fault. I soldered them up and refitted the plate. It's always such a pain in the donkey to get those brushes pulled back to clear the commutator! . Happily, the pump puffed away merrily when tested.

I decided to press ahead with the relocation to the space on the right side of the firewall where the washer reservoir had been, and bought two 5ft lengths of 3/8" and 5/16" transmission oil cooler pipe (the name seemed to indicate it might be right, Wally... ;D) for less than $20 at Advance Autoparts. Tomorrow, I'll seperate the joined hoses again, extend them to the new firewall mounting location and similarly extend the power feed. Then I'll hook up to the RV and test it all before mounting the pump as that promises to be a knuckle-grazer.

I won't bore you with the story of how I replaced the oil lines on my old Harley and what an unholy mess it made when one of them got soft enough to split.  It's what happened when I thought I knew better than the guy who told me the same thing I told you.  Glad to see you were smarter than I was(of course that was about 40 years ago when I thought I was smarter than I really was).

There's a lesson there, for sure. All Presidents and Prime Ministers should be aged between 14 and 21.  That's because we all know everything at that stage in life.

Dougie.

I meant to ask - this fella was inline on the output side and looks to me like a filter.  It's not a check valve and isn't an original Remco part. Any clues??

Dougie.

Looks like a fuel filter. Probably to filter the transmission fluid going to the pump.

That's what I figured, although it's on the out-flow side which kinda doesn't make a lot of sense. Thanks.

Dougie.

Another call to Remco.