Transit 2.5 diesel engine - what's this bit do?

The message from Willy Eckerslyke contains these words:

The Ford vacuum pumps don't feel like pumps till they're going quite fast. IIRC the vanes in the rotor are flung out by centrifugal force[1].

Sounds like a vacuum pump and in the right place

PhilC

Sorry misread your post - could be a vac pump - thought it was driven from rear of alternator.

PhilC

Thanks Guy (and Phil). As the Landy happens to have a servo fitted, that's just what I wanted to hear!

Aye, and it's not pronounced sentriv-iggle either.

The message from Willy Eckerslyke contains these words:

Let's just hope Bush doesn't see it as an alternative to nuculeah power.

It's just an idler for the alternator / water pump serpentine belt. If you remove the component, you'll find it consists of just a hub & bearing housed in a casing.

Ah, that's a pity. Certainly explains why it doesn't feel as if it's doing anything. Thanks.

Oh well, who says a Series 2a Land Rover needs a brake servo anyway?

But I thought you said it had a pipe coming from it?

Tim

There's a pipe coming from the outer edge of the housing, but that could be channelled through from somewhere else. There's no trace of the sort of rust on the inside of the pipe you'd expect if was part of the cooling system - which is why I thought vacuum, but then the engine's not been used for a few years, so that might mean nothing.

On the 2.5 the fan is driven separately from the water pump and I think is driven by the plain side of the belt. I wasn't aware of any more idlers.

Doubt it's a steering pump as these tend to be driven by a separate belt and would have 2 pipes.

Given it's got a clean pipe attached it does imply a vacuum pump, however even vacuum pumps need an outlet! It's a rather old engine and newer ones have vacuum pumps on the rear of the alternator.

I think you've sussed it! No fan came with the engine, so I hadn't thought of that. Looking at other similar engines on eBay, they all have the fan coming off that exact pulley.

Just checked them on eBay too, and it looks as if I could buy a newer type alternator for not too much money if I decide I need a servo. Which is handy.

No doubt I'll find out what that pipe does when I get it running, but that's not going to be for a week or two...

Thanks.

My old fan was a "stuck" viscous coupled thing. Since it was faulty and cost approx £100 for a new one I've been running without a fan for the last

I've loads of electric fans knocking about, including a super-powerful Spal one I bought by mistake, so had no intention of fitting a mechanical one anyway, but it's nice to know they're not prone to overheating. Mind you, it's going to be in a Series 2 Land Rover used for towing a heavy car transporter, so I won't take too many chances.

Off for a long weekend now, so won't see any more posts for a while...

The pipe is the oil return frm the vacuum pump that is located at the rear of the alternator. The oil drains back to the sump through this housing.