Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 2.5L Water pump failures

My '95 Mystique WP let go at 74,500 miles with my wife 300 miles from home. Local dealer there, Courtesy Ford on E I20 outside Atlanta replaced WP, thermostat, and temp sending unit. Total bill $416.

Coolant had been changed by me at 50K and had no indication failure was imminant. Wife had pulled into a mall parking lot and saw the water vapor. Dealer was literally just across the street. Gauge was in the red.

Count me in on 2 counts!

First my 95 LX leaked at the bearing AND the impeller shattered with 55k Miles.

Second, my 96 SE shattered it's impellor at 60k Miles. Left me stranded and a $250 bill for the replacement about 250 miles from home.

If you need my VIN's, email me. I'd be glad to help in any way I can. It really blows that this happens to EVERYONE and ford doens't do anything about it. Complete bull$*1^#.

Waterpump blew at 67200 miles on my 95 Contour SE, 4 days after the car had been in for a checkup which included an inspection of the cooling system etc. Massive overheat and had to replace the entire engine. Total cost: $4700. Don't want to give out VIN here, but email me at pcward@ webcentrix.org.

I just had mine go 1996 Contour at 62,000 miles..fortunately no engine damage...cost $450 to repair. Sent email to FoMoCo who said sorry but this not large enough problem to consider recall.

VIN 1FALP67L9TK158928

Good Luck

After reading all these posts, and the info at Blue Oval News, I just changed the one in my '96 LS with 76k miles. The old one (black impellar) looked perfect. Was happy I put in the metal impellar one from Autozone anyway. Much cheaper, and less grief than getting stuck somewhere.

I am currently on my fourth water pump in my 95 SE 'tour. The original went out shortly after I bought it in late August '00 at 60K. Went out again in early June '01 and then again at the beginning of October. The 1st time it cost me about $300, but the other two were covered under the 12 month/12K mile warranty. Funny thing is that it is starting to act up again, and I think the WP is going. Going to call the dealership and Ford to see what is going on. It's only been 15K since I've had the original replaced. Could it be something else causing the pump to go bad???

Do a search back through this thread.

Terry Haines stated (Numerous times) that 9 out of 10 WP failures are causes by the steel shroud inside the housing getting loose contacting the impeller (I think I got it right. Terry, please interject if I am incorrect.).

Make sure the Technicians check this out, if your WP needs replacing again.

I talked to Ford and took it back to the dealership. It was the waterpump. Ford is giving me and the dealership some problems about the warranty. Turns out that when I had the last WP replaced in Oct, it wasn't under warranty, so the dealer covered the bill. Therefore, this time Ford expects me to pay for the pump. I thought that each time the part was replaced, the warranty would start over with a new 12 month/12K miles, but Ford said no. I'm going to get a call from the dealer after he talks to Ford tomorrow. I'll keep you updated on how it pans out. Might be driving something other than a Ford in the very near future!

I believe someone at Ford is incorrect. Ask the dealer point blank if they covered the cost of the pump last time. I know GM of all people will warranty each part 12/12K Every time it's replaced, the clock starts over again. Geez, what a load of crap. If you get too frustrated, just get the GMB Autozone one, and have "Mickey the Mechanic" down the street put it in for you. It's not too difficult. Just make sure the system is burped.

Good Luck,
David

I just replaced my waterpump and thermostat myself. It is not that tough to replace. As long as you have the sockets and a decent extension you can get to the waterpump. I did check the shroud inside the pump and mine was securly fastened. If you replace the thermostat be sure to get a new oring seal that fits on top of the thermostat. When I took mine apart I found it on the back!!!!!