Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 4 Water Pumps in 8 months

Yesterday I had my water pump replaced by an independent shop using a BAT water pump that I provided. They checked everything very, very carefully. They checked to see if the housing was warped - it wasn't. They checked the hoses for deterioration - they found none. They tested the fluid for contaminants - again none. The cam drive pully and the water pump pully were properly aligned. Everything appeared to be good - right up until they started the engine with the new pump installed. The mechanic said that the problem was as clear as could be, the belt tensioner was out of alignment! Although I will never be able to prove it, it looks like the Ford technician bent the tensioner when he replaced the first water pump (with 78,000+ miles on it). Since then the car has gone through three pumps in just 12,500 miles (or 14 months). I guess it would take too much time for the Ford technician to actually do a visual inspection of the engine after he installed the new part! In the case of my car the technicians couldn't be bothered to do a visual inspection four times!!

And yes the independent shop flushed the cooling system, added new coolant and then bleed and pressure tested the system. They also replaced the thermostat and thermostat gasket and steam cleaned the engine. Oh and of course they replaced the water pump belt and the bent belt tensioner! I have confidence that this water pump will last.

Makes me wonder why I have been using Ford (no) service for all these years.