Thanks for everyone's input.
As I had discussed before here, I have talked to various folks (engineers, techs, etc.) regarding their thoughts on the metal vs. plastic impeller thing.
I don't think anyone can know w/absolute certainty w/o talking to the engineers who designed the Duratec cooling system, & even then who knows
, but my concern is that this is a very complex system, & perhaps a plastic impeller was used for a reason other than to save $$$.
Yes, most WP's are metal, including the Zetec, and I find it hard to believe that they skimped on the Duratec & not the Zetec. ???
I have to wonder if a plastic impeller might actually be superior to metal (if it is a high quality plastic & doesn't crumble!) as it may put less stress on all components involved, being lighter; & it would be less susceptible to corrosion, as mentioned here in this import news article - seems BMW had the same WP problem:
http://www.autohausaz.com/html/import-auto-news-october03.html
Here is an excerpt from one of my posts in a thread that we had awhile back, expressing some of my other concerns about metal:
Quote:
The WP is a poor design w/a cone that easily displaces, & a plastic impeller. Many are replacing theirs before they disintegrate, as a preventative measure - 40,000 miles is about the average life span.
You have 3 choices:
1) Replace w/an after market metal impeller pump, which I decided against, since a shattered metal impeller from a loose cone would be a worse problem, IMO, than a plastic impeller in pieces. You will still be using old housing w/old cone.
2) Replace w/after market plastic impeller pump. Again, you will still be using old housing & cone, & since impeller is plastic, I would replace every 40,000 miles.
3) Replace the whole unit, only available from Ford, including cone & impeller, so that you now have a new cone & housing. You will still have a plastic impeller, though, & since apparently no one knows if the new plastic impellers hold up any better, I would still replace every 40,000 miles. Some feel this is the best way to go, since at least you will have a new housing & cone, & maybe the cone will be less likely to come loose than one that has been on for awhile. But this unit is more expensive. And, I had a customer who got 2 defective units in a row from Ford, but I have never heard of anyone else having this problem, so I'm hoping it was just a fluke.
There is no perfect solution here - some compromise is involved w/each choice.
