Commander water pump

[harrison140]

Hi all , Just had all new rotor seals , and three of the Mollied faces reground on my Commander engine at 55k miles . Graham at Startrite put it all back together for me . I now need to source an Impeller for the water pump as mine ( black plastic/ Bakerlite ) has disintegrated . Graham does not have one in stock but is looking to find someone who will make a batch . He has offered to loan me one from his bike whilst not in use , but i wonder if anyone out there has any ideas on possible alternatives ie car water pump / washing machine / pond pump etc etc . I would assume Norton would have bought an available impeller rather than have them specially manufactured, and hope someone would know of the supplier . ? Any help welcomed .

[graham]

Hello Harrison140 Good progress on manufacture, I now have a suitable impeller in need of machining. First prototype in a few days batch ready in a week or so.Let me know if BWE is temporarily coming apart! Or does anyone else have a spare?Graham

[harrison140]

Hi Graham , thats good news on the manufacture front . I am now ready for an impeller but will hang on a little longer in the off chance an alternative shows up . Have been looking at car waterpumps , and one or two (mainly Citreon ) look as though they could be adapted with a little machining .! I will contact you offline Tuesday . Barry .

[Wayne]

Hi Graham I need a f1 impeller if there the same for my nrs engine, i also need a second compleat f1 water pump compleat or just the housing if any one has one, for another f1 enginesRegards wa

[graham]

Hello Wayne,Yes the impeller is the same.I have a drive, shaft and seal for F1. I'm pretty sure I have some water pump castings as well.Graham

[Nortonash]

I seem to remember the impeller was from a Ford. My memory isn't the best but for some reason I keep thinking Ford.

[Interpol2471]

I did sell a brand new impeller and two water pump seals to someone on this site as a spare, I can't remember who it was but they may still have it. I will hunt in my workshop to see if I have another but it may take some time as I am moving into my new workshop that has just been built

[harrison140]

Hi , water pump impeller now sorted . Graham obtained a plastic one from a friend who spent several hours trawling thro manufacturers books to find something near the dimensions required . Eventually found one from (i believe ) a washing machine pump . Graham arranged to get it machined where required , but his sample was destroyed ( it shattered into many pieces ) during the machining . He agreed to get me an identicle sample , and i painstakingly machined it to suit . However as there was no center boss as on the original i was obliged to machine one from "Polypenco " nylon bar and this fits on the pump spindle against the 3 mm steel washer & shims , and the impeller is pulled upto this boss by a large stainless steel washer & the impeller retaining nut . When installed all the required clearences have been maintained and it works well . I did a check to establish if the impeller softened due to high water temperatures , but was happy to see it did not . The main difference between the old & new is in the weight , the new being much lighter due mainly to the much thinner cross section of the body & vains . I dont see this as a problem and will continue to run the bike . Longterm i have just located a cast alluminium impeller ( second hand ) from a Suzuki DR 600 which should machine up to resemble the original more closely than my first attempt . I will post details when known .

[harrison140]

Correction to my last posting . The cast impeller i intend to machine came from a Suzuki RF 600 & not as i said , a DR 600 .