Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Maintenance Water Pump

My car is at 51k miles. I was told my a friend and have seen posts to replace the water pump around 50k miles because of know problems of them breaking around this interval. I've a warranty till 54k. Does anyone know how to get the dealer to get them to change it...usually I've only had dealer work down under warranty when a problem exists. Although not everyones water pump breaks...I'd rather avoid a known problem and have it changed and get it covered under warranty while I still can.

You have a V6? Year? Post 98's don't seem to suffer the same waterpump failure rate.

It's an easy DIY. And I don't think the dealer will replace it if it's not broken.

Nate of course he has a V6 he posted in the duratec fourm, and to get the dealer to replace the WP you could always take it out and break it and then put it back in (I in no way recommend doing this just a though, and will not be responsible if you do and your car explodes or something )

Ive a 99 SVT....Ive heard from more than one SVT owner...that the water pump can crack and cause engine damage if not replaced because Ford supposedly made them of some cheap plastic material.

hmm... you know, man, it's so much easier to replace it yourself, than to fight w/ your dealer. really, I could understand if you had ATX or something, but w/ SVT you have sooo much room, it's not even funny. trust me, I've done both. on MTX car it's a walk in the park.

you heard right, however, what Nate was trying to tell you is that post '98 have different impeller, that are statistically better than the old ones. I heard that they break as well, just not as much. when I replaced wp in my '98 (black impeller) at around 50K, it already developed nice cracks...

i may be temptimg fate but i have 90500 miles on my 99csvt i have not had any problems with my wp

Yeah, it's a cheap plastic on early V6's

Now does that SVT have a V6....I KID!

Some put metal impeller models in, others put the ones with white impellers. Don't buy a black impeller one!

It's not more than 1 hour labor if they try to charge you more tell them they are full of it!

FWIW I am under the assumption that 60K is pretty much when you are begin to be on borrowed time. If you've changed your coolant every 1.5 years or so, you should be OK until around 60K.

And your dealer won't cover the WP under warranty unless it fails, so don't bother asking him

On my '98 CSVT, the guy who had the car before me had the WP changed at 42k miles when the impeller exploded ($400 at the dealer). I would HIGHLY recommend changing it BEFORE 60k miles unless you want to chance getting stuck on the highway with an overheated engine, as the impeller could go at anytime. Napa has the part for around $65 (with metal impeller) including gasket, and the procedure is really not that difficult. You can flush your coolant at the same time.

i agree with glider, just change out before it breaks. not that hard.

just my .02 but I bought waterpump from murray's for 60 bucks.. along with a thermostat. the thermo didn't even fit right, and i heard it's better to use new bolts on waterpump... so i returned waterpump/thermo and bought through dealership so i know for sure it'll fit correctly. 95 bucks or so, and comes with Everything including housing, hoses, clips. so just need to remove 3 bolts. well worth the extra 30 bucks i'd recommend..

i 'thought' it would be difficult, but replaced it without a problem..i had a little difficulty removing those hoses playing around with those clamps.. i would recommend using vise grips so it'll keep clamp loose while you pull/twist to remove.. along with plastic bags to catch coolant by hoses to avoid mess..

my car's a '00, with 80k.. i removed waterpump and my original came with white impellers, and still worked fine..the new one from dealer came with white one also.. with 1 year warranty.. if anyone wants an old waterpump that works still for free, (ONLY as temp fix or something until you get your part in..i don't know) let me know.. i still have it. or if you need the housing or something if you stripped the holes for bolts... you just pay shipping or pickup local.

tha FAQ instructions work very well..