Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting A reoccurring Water Pump problem

Hello about a year and a half ago the plastic impeller inside my water pump blew and I had to replace it. That was fine but since then I have had to install three more. Not because the impeller blew but because the pump gets a leak underneath the pulley. Oh Ya, I have a 1997 Four Contour LX with a Duratec V6 engine.

The leak happens from underneath the pulley on the front of the water pump, I originally thought that it may have been the seal but it was not. I have moved the battery and let the car run and you can see this clearly. First I thought that it was just a bad pump but now this is the third time that it has happened.
I noticed the first time that I fixed the problem that shaft to the impeller seemed to be bent, and the other one I changed quickly before anything could happen. And now a third pump has the exact same problem. I believe that the shaft of the water pump is the part that seems to be failing / bending and it causes a leak from underneath the pulley.
Do anybody have a suggestion as to what could be causing the problem. Is my belt too tight? I find this had to believe since it is not really adjustable but has a tension pulley. Any suggestions before Friday when I have to change it again would be great. Thanks.

Don't know what type of replacement pump you are using but there have been several cases of multiple faulty replacement waterpumps posted. Leaks via shaft seal and weep hole the common cause. Leaks from mating surfaces between impeller and housing not usually a problem regardless of whether sealant used in addition to gasket or not.

Suggestions of excess coolant pressure (possibly caused by partial blockage by remains of shattered pump) along with faulty pumps have been made, but no definitive answer IIRC.

Both my wps replaced about 25k miles ago in May/02 with no problems to date. Only about 95% of shattered impellers recovered. Replacements were new metal impeller Tredex brand although GMB stamped on shafts.

Whenever you replace the H2O pump you should ALWAYS replace the tensioner. I was a bit surprised when a Ford mechanic told me this but when I went to do the install of my new Federal Mogul PLASTIC impeller H2O pump I found the tensioner was seized. Do yourself a favour and replace it now to confirm the tensioner is not the cause of your problem.

2 years + and NO problems with my pump, even if it has a plastic impeller. The quality of name brand products speaks for themselves. I do know of others who installed metal impeller pumps and had troubles later....

How do I flush out the remaining parts of the broken impeller if there are any?

Backflush

Put on a metal impellar pump and forget about it.....