Working on the G5 quad liquid cooling system

For the current ambient temp of 90º F. Those core temps don't appear to be abnormal at all. Only going on what I've read, under no load at normal ambient temp. the cores should be in the high 20s c to low 30s c. Your temps look ok and your fan speeds seem normal for 90º ambient.

My G5 Quad duel LCS pump however started ramping up it's fans about six months ago. The temps are not bad yet but the fans are getting quite noisy keeping it cool. It's definately time to do a flush & refill. The B cores are running about 30º warmer than the A cores (which seem normal). At 70º anbient temp, the B cores are running about 45º C which is warmer than normal. My guess is I'm running low on coolant.

I bought the machine used from a reputable dealer in the beginning of 2011. It's been a great machine up untill it got noisy 6 mo ago. I'm stocking up on supplies and parts right now.

Chris,

I'd be interested to know how your system is working since your recent rebuild. Also how the clear Tygon tubing has faired. Curious if the tubing is starting to cloud or not. I also ordered the plasticizer free Tygon tubing but it has some nylon reinforcement in it and I believe a little stiffer than the type you used. I have the exact same quad system with the duel pumps. I'm collecting my supplies to start flushing the system in the next couple weeks.

BTW, thanks for posting those pics. Very helpfull since there are no other examples out there of a quad duel pump rebuild!

G5Lover

Just recently, Sean has taken a Laing DDC-1T without VC and merged it with a VC component of the original LCS design for a Quad. For a few weeks now, no performance issues and no leaks.

My pumps I offer all have the 4-wires and PWM for the G5. All of the pumps are "new" never used with the 50,000+ run life fully intact. So, if you are needing a spare pump or some other minor hardware, I have a weird arrary of spare G5 stuff not used. http://bmaverickddcpumps.wordpress.com/g5-spare-parts

As the G5 LCS ages, the run life of the coolant and the pumps will degrade over time. And this does not matter the amount of usage nor run hours of the G5. Even sitting idle ages the coolant corrosion inhibitors.

I have an email out to Sean to provide a step-by-step way he converted the pump easily from a DDC-1T to a DDC-1T-VC.

Hope to help others with the G5 LCS systems since these are rare but highly useful workstations even today. 🙂

BMav,

Wanted to thank you for all the advise you freely gave me and the new DDC-1T pumps for my quad. My original pumps are operating fine so when I do the flush and fill on my system, I probably won't need to replace the pumps. However I'm glad I have new ones for the future just in case.

A note to anyone else out there planning on rebuilding their LCS. BMaverick still has a limited supply of original new pumps that will work in the G5. If you think you may need a pump(s) in the future, you should order NOW before they are all gone!

Art (AKA) G5Lover

If anybody has information on an outfit or technician in the USA that can reliably do this kind of work on the pumps (replacing them, flushing and refilling them, etc) for those of us who don't have the wherewithal to do it ourselves, it would be great and much appreciated if you would share that here.

I know there's a company in Germany that will do this, but it would be wonderful if it could be done domestically without having to ship the computer overseas.

Oh I meant to add.. My serial number on my Single pump G5 is from August 2006, so I would challenge your argument as several techs I have consulted with told me the singles are more reliable than the dual.. But to each their own.. so long as each one's G5 is working, eh?

That IS very interesting indeed! I've also heard of the techs telling customeres ther's nothing wrong with their G5 when the fans run full blast and their machine is overheating.

From what I know, the later G5's had the duel pumps and Apple considered them far more reliable than the earlier single pump versions. This turned out to be true. Try finding a leaking G5 duel pump LCS story on the web. The duel pumps didn't appear to have leak problems. Stories of leaking single pumps are all over the web.

The OP to this thread had a single pump version. That's not to say that the duel pumps don't have overheating problems when the coolant evaporates after several years. Neither duel or single pump systems are immune to evaporation over time. I will be flushing my duel pump for that very reason. (Evaporation and routine maintenance of the coolant).

Thank you for the extensive report, G5Lover.

Maybe I missed it in your posts, but I don't remember whether your machine is a G5 Quad, but I assume it is because you appended your posts to this G5 Quad thread.

It appears that the vast majority of leaking LCS G5s were dual-core machines, not quads.

There's a lingering suspicion on my part that there isn't a definitive source out there detailing the true history of the LCS systems used by Apple on G5s. Most controversies seem to concentrate on arguing the single versus dual (not "duel", please! Duels were outlawed in the past millennium in the civilized world 😝) pump systems, as if there had been only two kinds, which is inaccurate.

Apple used Delphi, Cooligy and Panasonic brand pumps on various models. The Panasonic ones were reputedly rejected as proven poor performers and not used again. The latter were only used in non-Quad models according to some sources. Some of the G5 Quad sport combined both Delphi and Cooligy components. Al of these various facts have been rehashed more than once in the various threads to which links are provided in various posts of this thread.

As far as the G5 Quad, through the serial numbers on at least a dozen machines (including my very own G5 Quad) made at Apple's Elk Grove (Sacramento, CA) factory, less than 20 miles from my home, during the last seven weeks of the G5 Quad production run before Apple switched to Intel, and they all have single-pump systems. If there was indeed a change for quality reasons, it would have been to abandon the dual pumps in favor of the single-pump system.

I do from time to time run into techs in my area that used to work in that particular Apple factory. I hope to one day find a credible source. 😀

Hope you enjoy your G5 Quad in any event, at that those dual pumps of yours don't suddenly and unexpectedly start dueling and killing each other. 😎

If the pumps duel each other, I have a limited stash of G5 pumps still available. 😉

Both Sean and G5Lover took advantage of this.

Even though I have a stash, that stash is getting smaller as time goes forward. These G5 LCS pumps work in both the Delphi and CoolIT units. Also, I offer them to the Intel/AMD OCing WCing people after swaping the wires in the end connector to the ATX formfactor standard. Thus, the replacement pumps will be gone before the end of the year. Mine are new, never used, with the original Laing 50,000+ run life fully intact. Do a google search on "bmaverick".

Hope this info helps,

BMaverick

BMaverick wrote:

If the pumps duel each other, I have a limited stash of G5 pumps still available. 😉

LOL ! 😁

Seriously, as soon as I find a local (but not crooked*) tech willing to do it for me, I'll buy one from you just in case I have a future need to replace mine. Off to google your web site. 🙂

(* The one tech that did a fantastic job for me back in 2011 also misused the credit card info I submitted to him to pay for the repair job—not involving the LCS—to attempt to charge very substantial personal orders for himself at walmart.com. Fortunately the BofA caught the suspicious, unusual activity and cancelled my card before the charges went through. As a result I got a free repair job on my G5 Quad, as I never heard from the guy again. A police report was filed.)

Ramóne,

Yes, my G5 is a 2.5Ghz quad built in Oct. of '95 it has the Cooligy LCS system with duel Delphi pumps. The pumps are labeled Delphi. The plastic cover over the heat blocks is labeled Cooligy. From what I understand talking to BMaverick, the Cooligy system and pumps were designed in cooperation by Laing, Delphi, and Cooligy. So all three companies had a hand in creating this LCS.

On your second point I believe you are correct, "The vast majority of leaking LCS G5s were dual-core machines, not quads." I believe that also would make them all single pump leakers.

I purchased my machine used in 2011 from a reputable dealer. I don't know but it's possible that they refurbed the unit with a replacement LCS. That would explain the later Cooligy system. Another source of confusion between systems is that some people might own used systems that Apple replaced the LCS with a newer version replacement. The new owners may not be aware of this. It does sound like Apple went back and fourth between the duel pump and single pump.

But like I said, could it be possible Apple service replaced leaking LCS systems with different ones. Probably whatever LCS they had in stock at the time. That might explain much of the confusion.

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2.5G5Quad,10.5GB, 6600 W/Fan Cooler 256MB, Tiger

G5Lover wrote:

…my G5 is a 2.5Ghz quad built in Oct. of '95…

That's an obvious typo, you must have meant to type '05. 😎

G5Lover wrote:

…like I said, could it be possible Apple service replaced leaking LCS systems with different ones. Probably whatever LCS they had in stock at the time. That might explain much of the confusion…

Excellent point!

Thanks for replying. 🙂

That's an obvious typo, you must have meant to type '05. 😎

G5Lover wrote:

…like I said, could it be possible Apple service replaced leaking LCS systems with different ones. Probably whatever LCS they had in stock at the time. That might explain much of the confusion…

Excellent point!

Thanks for replying. 🙂

Ahaaa YES! 😊

I did mean 2005! Thanks I'll edit that!

BTW, IMO, I think you should order a couple pumps from BMav if your planning on hanging on to your machine. That's what I did even tho there was nothing wrong with my pumps. "Knock on wood."😉

G5Lover wrote:

…BTW, IMO, I think you should order a couple pumps from BMav if your planning on hanging on to your machine. That's what I did even tho there was nothing wrong with my pumps. "Knock on wood."😉

I would really like to do that, as soon as I find a reliable tech willing to do it for me without my having to ship the machine out of the state of California. I do plan to hang on to the machine for the rest of my life, which for a septuagenarian old geezer like me is not unrealistic at all. 😎

Ramón,

So I probably missed this in the thread and I hope you don't mind me asking again, but what are the problems you are having with the LCS? And what exactly were the previous repairs you mentioned you had done?