'New' D5 Pump from EK Quality issue

0121danwilliams84

0121danwilliams84

0121danwilliams84

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Joined
30 Mar 2017
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1,032
Hi guys,

I know this may previously have come up, but I had an issue with my pump on my Lian-Li EKWB Distro and bought a brand new EK-Loop D5 G3 PWM Motor from EK.

My previous issue was noise from the pump and a high pitched sound that I am obviously hoping to sort with a new pump.

Do the attached images seem normal? The bearing plastic doesn't seem in great condition.

I wanted to do a quick test turning the bearing by hand. I initially felt resistance and when pushed a little more it turned and I heared a high pitched noise from the pump and some small black residue is present when taking off the impeller and inspecting the ceramic bearing.

I have not and will not run this pump in a non-primed dry run situation.

Just looking for peoples advice on testing this brand new pump. Should I not have turned it by hand? Thanks!

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Thats normal, they all look like that. When you say you move it by hand do you mean you basicially grabbed the black park and turned? The noise you heard was probably the metal impellar on the metal pump body. The pump uses magnets to turn and needs water to lubricate so turning by hand isn't really possible to test. When installing the pump just don't overtighten as the fixing bolts being too tight can cause the pump to be noisier than it could be.
 
Thanks for the response. Yes, I had seen a video of the pump being turned by the black part (impeller I am guessing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRGS4GJ-NQU&t=443s

I just wanted to double check it in some way before use, but didn't expect to hear that sound without 4000RPM!

To be honest literally just wanted to check the quality of it and now that made me paranoid.
 
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I had the same issue with an EK pump recently.

Horrible high pitched noise at mid range RPMs.

EK wernt interested. Said it was normal or that it was caused by the layout of the distro plate lol.

Swapped to an alphacool d5 and surprise surprise, its fine.
 
kindai said:
I had the same issue with an EK pump recently.

Horrible high pitched noise at mid range RPMs.

EK wernt interested. Said it was normal or that it was caused by the layout of the distro plate lol.

Swapped to an alphacool d5 and surprise surprise, its fine.
Click to expand...

Pumps just aren't built like they were 10 years ago, i feel like the quality of these new D5's are absolutely Crap in comparison to what i had from the likes of Alphacool, XSPC etc back then. Even much older EK D5's are better quality than what they're churning out now. The only good one i've used this side of 2020 is the D5 NEXT from Aqua computer which is dead silent.

I still use a circa 2012 EK D5 and a XSPC D5 from a similar period till this day that both run silent and reliably.
 
I was hoping to replace the D5 in my Lian-Li distro, but presumed I would need an EK one.

I know other brands make D5s and they are basically one brand but I wanted to make sure it was 100% compatible.

So, no issue with the high pitched sound when turning it by hand then? As that is basically the reason I am swapping it out!

I am so unlucky with tech sometimes, I feel like I have to look at it to damage it!

I imagine it was the graphite from the impeller touching the ceramic bearing as it leaves some small black residue on the white ceramic when I take off the impeller to inspect.

Not sure if those two elements actually touch in normal operation with water.

Not taking it off anymore, I have pictures lol!
 
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Nah you have to use it properly before thinking it's broke. Doing what you are doing is pretty much the ultimate watercooling sin - running without coolant. It will sound a lot different with coolant as that's probably what's making the noise.
 
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0121danwilliams84 said:
I was literally just following this guide: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/D5+Pump+Impeller+Replacement/138637

Definitely didn't run without any water. Still made a high pitched sound though. I wasn't expecting it.
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Is it making the noise "standalone" or do you have it mounted into a case? I ask because it if's in the case it could be resonating at certain RPMs. If it's doing it outside of the case have you tried attaching it to see if it alters the profile of the noise?
 
Parsley said:
Is it making the noise "standalone" or do you have it mounted into a case? I ask because it if's in the case it could be resonating at certain RPMs. If it's doing it outside of the case have you tried attaching it to see if it alters the profile
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I was just talking about hearing a high pitched noise spinning the impeller by hand. Haven’t put it in the loop, added water to it or turned it on yet.
 
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Looking at this thread made me have a look at few things...I have two D5's, one is early gen with fixed speed and is loud which is why I retired it. The other is a Laing D5 vario original with an aftermarket EK top. That thing has been running since at least 2004 daily and averaging 16 hours per day easy.
 
I ended up returning the replacement D5 Pump I bought in the above pics. I actually noticed the pump body had not been put on correctly and one of the cables was pinched really tightly and actually hanging out of the pump body from the inside. Didn't originally see it.

I just got a new one and looks fairly similar but overall less rough marks on the impeller and pump housing is all good.

I get what people say above on QC (quality control) issues with EKWB. They are usually fine but I have seen some similar issues like scratches on plexi and metal or missing screws.
 
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0121danwilliams84 said:
Just had a look at that. Looks a bit more innovative! Wonder if it will fit like the EK one in a reflection 2 distro?
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Got a reflection version 1 distro
So also curious
Everything I can find
Just says compatible with most popular d5/vpp pump tops
And reservoirs
Nothing specifically saying
Will fit everything a d5 does though
 
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