Swiftech MCP655 – Quick fix for a leaky water pump
Ever since I built my new computer, I’ve had to add a small amount of water periodically to the reservoir. It was only about a quarter of a cup every month or so. I couldn’t figure out where the water was going, but since this is my first water cooled computer, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t see water anywhere in the case so I wasn’t worried.
Anyways, this past Sunday evening, I got ready top the reservoir off like normal. I didn’t shut the computer off, since I don’t really touch anything other than the reservoir. I removed the side of the case and started to unscrew the reservoir plug and the water level started to go down quick! At first I just thought it was bleeding itself, so I quickly added some more water before it started to suck air into one of the hoses. As fast as I could pour the water in, it was leaving the reservoir. Then I knew something was wrong and I powered off the computer. I grabbed a flashlight and started to look around for leaks. I couldn’t find any leaks anywhere. All the hoses looked good and were connected properly. I knew the water was going somewhere though, I just couldn’t see it. When I took the other side of the case off, I realized that the carpet was wet under the case. That’s when I noticed that the pump had water drops on it. To test this theory, I put a paper towel under the pump, filled the reservoir up again and then turned the computer back on. The paper towel was soaked within a couple seconds and I could see where it was coming from.
I instantly freaked out and got on my laptop to order a new one. The pump is under warranty, but I didn’t know how long that would take and I didn’t want to be down that long. After I ordered the new one, I emailed Swiftech’s support and explained everything to them. On Monday, I received a response from them:
Hi Bill:
Just tighten that big ring around the pump, then let me know if it still leaks.Best regards,
Gabe
Are you kidding me?!?! I went upstairs to try that out and sure enough, that ring around the pump casing was loose. I tightened it up, turned the computer back on and there was no sign of water leaking out. Although, this makes me wonder if it was slightly loose before and that was the reason why I had to periodically add water. I guess we’ll find out.
My new computer is up and runninng!
My plan was to post updates as I was building and explain the steps as I went through them. With everything going on, and all the excitement, I failed to do it that way. So instead, I’ll go back through and briefly explain how I did everything.
Once I finally received all the parts, I wanted to temporarily install the main parts to see how I was going to run all the water hoses. The first thing to go in was the motherboard w/ CPU water block. After that, it was the video card w/ GPU water block. Then I installed the radiator, reservoir and the pump. Keep in mind that at this point, I was just trying to see how I was going to run all the water hoses.
Once I had all the main parts in place and I had a general idea on where the hoses were going to be run, I cut all the hoses to length. After that, I removed the motherboard and video card for the first leak test.
Once I was confident that none of the parts leaked, I took it all apart again and installed the motherboard, CPU and video card. When I ran all the hoses again, I decided to use zip ties instead of the metal hose clamps that I used in the first test. The metal ones were a pain in the ass! Then I ran another leak test.
That was the test that made me nervous, but it was all good. From there on out, it was smooth sailing. I put the power supply in and started running all the wiring and installing all the fans and other accessories.
After it was all together, I switched it out with my old machine. I installed Windows 7 (64 bit) and then I removed the backup drive from my old machine and put it in one of the drive bays in the front of the new one. That made restoring my files so easy. Now, I’m just reinstalling all my software and getting things set up.
I ordered a blue LED light strip today for inside the case. When I get that installed, I’ll post some pictures of the finished product.
So far, I’m extremely happy with this new computer!
The main water cooling parts have been ordered
I’ve received all the parts I listed in the first post, except for my case and it’s supposed to be here today. I’m really excited to get the case so I can start planning everything.
Yesterday, I order all the main water cooling parts and I’ve listed them below.
- Pump: Swiftech MCP655
- Radiator: Black Ice GTX Xtreme 360 Radiator
w/ Panaflo 120×38mm Ultra High Speed FBA12G12U1BX (3) - CPU Block: HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0
- Reservoir: Swiftech MCRES Micro Revision 2
- GPU Block: Enzotech VGA-IB Forged Copper VGA Waterblock
w/ Swiftech Copper BGA RAMsinks and Aluminum MOSFET Heatsinks Set - Tubing: Feser Tube Active UV Hose – 1/2″ ID (3/4″OD) Anti-Kink Tubing
- Fluid: Distilled Water w/ Silver KillCoils
This is my first time setting up a water cooled system, so I’m sure there are some minor things that I’ll need to purchase as well. Once all the main water cooling parts come in, I can start putting everything together and I can figure out where everything should go.
Once things start coming together, I’ll start posting pictures on here.
Make sure you watch for updates!
The process of building a new computer has begun!
I’m very excited to announce that I am going to be building a new computer for my home desktop. It’s been about 7 or 8 years since I built my current computer, so I would say it’s definitely time for a major upgrade. Last night, I order most of the main parts from Newegg.com and I’ve listed them all below.
- Case = Corsair Obsidian Series 800D
- PSU = Corsair CMPSU-750HX 750W
- Motherboard = GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5
- CPU = AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
- Memory = OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB)
- Video Card = EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+
- Hard Drives = Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (2)
I also plan on setting it up for liquid cooling, but I haven’t ordered any of those parts yet. I still have some research to do for that part of it.
I will be posting updates on here as things unfold, so you should subscribe to get updated about new posts.
I’m so excited!
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