Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting water pump / thermostat

I HAVE A 97 LX V6 2.5 WITH AIR. I THINK MY WATERPUMP AND OR THERMOSTAT ARE SHOT. I HAVE NO INTERIOR HEAT AND NO LEAKS. NO OBVIOUS NOISE OR BULGING HOSES EITHER. TEMP GAUGE SHOOTS WAY UP TO READY. LUCKILY IT IS MINUS 10 RIGHT NOW IN ONTARIO SO OVERHEATING IS SLOW...???? WHERE IS THE WATER PUMP AND HOW CAN I TELL IF IT IS SHOT AND NOT THE THERMOSTAT? IS THERE A CHEAP WAY TO FIX THIS?

Sounds like the water pump to me...when mine went I had no heat in the inside of the car and the temp shot up all the way to the red...make sure not to let it over heat...may ruin the engine

Don't drive the car until you do this.

Water pump replacement (it's cheap & easy!)

go to a auto parts store and buy the Haynes book for the contour and you will find the water pump between the battery and the engine on the drivers side. its driven off the belt from the camshaft.. you cant see if, the belt as its covered by the plastic over the engine.. real easy fix.. on mine i changed out the whole pump from the dealer and had to remove the battery and the battery tray to get the new one in(dont know how i got the old one out without removing the battery and the batt. tray, but anyway it cost me about $120 for a new pump from the dealer.. the thermostat is located right about in the same area in the crossover pipe area... it used an O-ring on the thermostat and does not look like the regular ford thermostats... cost about $15.00 from the dealer also....

I found a waterpump at autozone for 69 bucks but I think you can get them for $55 somewhere. John

i bought a water pump and thermostat at canadian tire. total cost with core rebate was about $100 cdn. sure enough it was the water pump. found all the broken impeller pieces and swapped it out. total time was about 2.5 hours. easy to do...thanks everyone!!!!!