new water pump

Topic: new water pump (Read 1632 times) previous topic - next topic

new water pump

May 21, 2005, 01:47:52 PM

Boy oh Boy what a job that was. I have the 5.0L.

two hours to get it out/off and three hours to reassemble

. and yes I put in Motocraft parts. But no leaks and temp is were it's always has been

Re: new water pump

Reply #1 – May 21, 2005, 02:15:18 PM

The water pump is fun to change. Not really. I was sitting in chemistry in high school when mine went out. I was called to the office because my car was leaking "some kind of green fluid". Were you at home with your car when it started leaking?

Re: new water pump

Reply #2 – May 22, 2005, 07:27:31 AM

Quote from: 5.0willgo

The water pump is fun to change. Not really. I was sitting in chemistry in high school when mine went out. I was called to the office because my car was leaking "some kind of green fluid". Were you at home with your car when it started leaking?

yep, just turned the car around to put it up on the ramps to clean the bottom of the engine and surrounding stuff you know and it happend, green slimie fluid started leaking :disappoin

Re: new water pump

Reply #3 – May 22, 2005, 08:23:51 AM

Atleast it didn't leave you stranded. :flame: I like to call that dumb luck. It's awesome when you can solve a problem before it's a problem.

Re: new water pump

Reply #4 – May 22, 2005, 11:42:26 AM

Quote

two hours to get it out/off and three hours to reassemble

First time is tough next time you'll do it in half that time or better. I just changed mine last weekend (after I assembled the whole motor :( ) took me less than an hour from start to finish with air tools. When you take off the big huge bracket off that holds the a/c and p/s pump just lay it to the side.. I wire tied mine to that support rod that goes to the intake to keep the wieght off the lines....

Re: new water pump

Reply #5 – May 22, 2005, 12:40:46 PM

I did my water pump when I did the timing chain (A timing chain at 90k!??!) Along with any other belts and hoses I had to take off in the process. It's good to do that for, as Eric and some others say "Cheap insurance".

Re: new water pump

Reply #6 – May 22, 2005, 11:18:31 PM

Quote from: 5.0willgo

The water pump is fun to change. Not really. I was sitting in chemistry in high school when mine went out. I was called to the office because my car was leaking "some kind of green fluid". Were you at home with your car when it started leaking?

Haha, I would have had that sinking fealing of " they got me again" lol

Re: new water pump

Reply #7 – May 23, 2005, 09:46:51 AM

Quote from: CougarSE

Haha, I would have had that sinking fealing of " they got me again" lol

It was really funny. I never was in trouble in high school so for me to be called to the office was weird. People all looked at me like what did you do? But then when they asked if the white cougar in the lot was mine, I really started to get worried. Go outside to see antifreeze leaking out of the water pump onto a huge puddle on the ground. Luckily they let me go home, I had enough in the car so I made a mad dash home with it. Probably not too smart but didn't want to have it towed from school.

Re: new water pump

Reply #8 – May 23, 2005, 10:47:28 AM

Hey, it happens to every 5.0 owner sooner or later. For most people, it's sooner...for Ric, it was way WAY later. WTF, only 20 YEARS out of a water pump?! Sheesh, give me a break.

Fords are funny with water pumps, especially on 5.0 cars. Here's why:
- Aluminum water pump (1986-up)
- Cast iron block
- Copper radiator (factory)

Hmmm....see any reason for electrolytic breakdown?! Granted, Ric's original pump was cast iron also. But the copper radiator is the key factor. Iron and copper don't exactly get along very well, hence the electrolytic interference between them. Being that a fluid carries the electrical charges throughout this whole process, the weakest point typically becomes the most succeptible metal...in most cases, the aluminum water pump. Aluminum is also very sensitive to repeated heating and cooling. I have never seen an aluminum water pump come off a stock 5.0 engine that wasn't affected by the white corrosion inside (or outside). This corrosion is expedited by the electrolytic breakdown.

Now just because this happens doesn't mean that a physical problem can't occur in conjunction. Considering how much--and how hard--the water pump shaft spins during driving, you can't expect it to last forever. When the bearings go bad the pump is designed to leak out the weep hole to let you know there's something wrong with the water pump. I cannot think of any other typical replacement part that purposely gives you such a huge warning upon failure. Personally I think it's brilliant (albeit inconvenient!).

The saddest part of this whole experience for Ric, though, is that his engine ain't exactly a virgin anymore. The cherry is gone...next thing you know, you may actually have to change a bulb in the dash somewhere. ;)

Re: new water pump

Reply #9 – May 23, 2005, 10:51:55 AM

Mine's still original... Of course, having said that it'll start leaking today...

Re: new water pump

Reply #10 – May 23, 2005, 10:54:46 AM

Tangent/hijack time!

I've been wondering about the whole sacrificial anode thing. (I think that was one of the terms for it) How would these things hold up if the copper radiator was removed from the equation? (replaced with aluminum)

I remember from my time overclocking computers that the people who were into water cooling them (I was not one of them, but read up on it) were very concerned about mixing aluminum and copper in a system. Obviously it's not as bad as they make it out to be, if our setups could last all these years.. but it's something I wouldn't mind correcting on my own cars if they remain in my possession and functional for a long time. Will things change much if it's just aluminum and iron, vs. aluminum/iron/copper?

I think my LSC is leaking out the weep hole. I didn't even know it existed until threads like this one. :p

Re: new water pump

Reply #11 – May 23, 2005, 11:22:02 AM

Aluminum water pump, aluminum radiator, cast iron block...I think that definitely helps. I mean, just about every new car has an aluminum radiator nowadays, so that tells you something. I'm running an aluminum radiator on the convertible--granted, that car only sees 3K miles a year at the most, but I've yet to see any white aluminum corrosion after running this engine since 1999. I'm sure it eventually will, but for now, it seems to be a viable solution.

Back in tha day, my dad owned a 1961 Corvette with a 283 (3-speed) and a factory aluminum radiator. He told me that he had nothing but problems with that radiator. I think it had a lot to do with mankind simply not understanding the aluminum radiator manufacturing process all that well. Plus, if you remember, Corvettes are fiberglass with a steel frame. Ground problems abound in them, to the point where sometimes things just ignite at will (as it did in my dad's case--smoked the ignition system when parked, car off). I think a bad main ground to the block would tend to have a catastrophic impact on how the iron block reacts to aluminum.

Re: new water pump

Reply #12 – May 23, 2005, 01:33:07 PM

Pretty sure my water pump nearly made it 18 years (just went saturday). Can't be sure that it's original since i'm not the original owner of the car. As for bird351's idea, I think that it would be a decent idea if it was figured out how to be best implemented. If I recall properly, all water heater tanks have a sacrifical bar in them to atract deposits, and they're replacable to.

Re: new water pump

Reply #13 – May 23, 2005, 01:50:09 PM

I hadn't thought of actually making a real sacrificial anode for the system.. (although I wonder how well it would work and how to implement one) I meant that one part of the alumimum/iron/copper setup would function as a sacrificial anode, and I wanted to know how the system would hold up over time if the copper portion was removed from the equation.