Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Just Changed my Water Pump (Including Back Half)

I decided to go with the full Ford unit with the "back" piece and hoses because of what I've heard about the cone/housing wearing out.

Everything went pretty much according to plan. Thanks to the kind folks who have posted the How-To and messages in the forum, I knew to remove the battery and termostat housing hose. The bolts (3 in this case since I was replacing the whole thing) were easy to get to with that stuff removed.

The problem was getting the hose clamps off. With such a limited space for pliers, it was VERY difficult to get any leverage on the clamps, let alone move them. But eventually they cooperated after I got smart and used my vise-grips. The hoses gave me a little difficulty coming off (particularly the bottom one), but they got the hint eventually too.

Turning the pulley by hand, the new one turns a bit more stiffly than the old one. I figure that's because it's brand new and hasn't gotten wet yet. Looking inside (through the hose fitting), I could see the impeller is the white one.

Installing the new one was a piece of cake except for those $(&*# hose clamps. I know Ford makes a special tool for the clamps, which I highly recommend after this escapade.

Threw in a new thermostat and o-ring since I was messing around in that area. Old one looked fine and I had no reason to suspect it wasn't working. All the hoses looked fine, but I did use one of the new ones that came with the pump (the short one) because it was easier to leave the old hose attached to the old pump. Threw on a new belt, too - the old one was a bit cracked.

Was going to take apart the old pump, but I had already spent enough time screwing around with it and lost interest. It was working fine, But I don't know what kind of shape the cone was in. Kind of regret not checking now.

Started her up, let her warm up, no problems yet (knock on wood). Going out tonight, so that'll be the acid test. Then the engine compartment gets a cleaning tomorrow.

Lemme know if you have any Q's.

Thanks to those who have posted info about this.

I am expecting my new metal pump from BAT to come this Monday. Going to install it on Wednesday. Any tips for me. Do I need to rent a belt tensioner tool or not?

Nope, that's just for the serpentine belt. The WP tensioner can be pushed in by hand. No sweat.

If you're just doing the front half, you'll have a much easier time because you won't have to mess around with the hoses.

What do you mean front half and/or back half.

Um....It might be just me but it hink there is two halfs

Yes, but front relative to what?

What is meant is the pump is two large pieces. The "front" half is the portion with the impeller. That is what you will get with the BAT and many of the parts store pumps.

The back half is what the hoses connect to and contains a metal "cup" that the impeller fits into. Make sure this cup is secure, since one theory about W/P failures is this cup comes loose and grinds down the impeller or shatters it.

And yes, since the belt is a small one, the tensioner is easily moved by hand.

HTH,

TB
Just completed a waterpump job myself, on the Buick Second one in 40K miles.

Well, took her out for a shakedown trip last night and all I can say is keep a close eye on the temp gauge after doing this! I had filled the reservoir after reconnecting all the lines, and even let her warm up a bit before taking her out. But after driving for about 5 min., the low coolant light went on and the temp shot up to "A." Pulled over and put about a quart of coolant/water into the tank. Drove for another 5 min. and the same thing happened. Added another quart or so.

Long story short, I guess draining the coolant out of the hoses introduced a TON of air into the system. I knew I'd have to fill it up a bit (which is why I was carrying a bottle of coolant with me), but I was surprised to see it needed that much.

Everything's fine now - no decrease in coolant level after the 2nd. refill.

When I have to deal with the kind of clamps that are used on the coolant lines I prefer to deal with them just once. Remove them and put them right into the trash can. For the replacement clamps I go to a marina or someplace where I can buy marine grade screw type clamps. The reason for the marine grade clamps is that they are entirely stainless steel. Non-marine grade, the clasp and screw are generally nickel plated steel and will eventually rust.

Why not sign the wp "guest book" in the problem forum:

http://www.contour.org/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001707;p=6

I thought that was just for failures... mine was just preventive maintenance.