Well, went ahead and did the water pump today, but I'm even more confused now. No major problems really, but it did take about 2 hours with the tools I brought to college.
The biggest PITA was the water pump had the paper gasket on it...and it was pretty well stuck to both sides of the pump.
Probably not the best solution, but the gasket didn't want to come off......sooooo I used sand paper to get it almost down to bare metal, then used a new paper gasket (from BAT w/ the pump) and gasket sealant on both sides. It needs 12-24 to set, so I just closed everything up, and didn't refill the lost coolant yet.
The confusion is, my car is a 98.5 and it had the cream white water pump, essentially meaning my 'maintenance' was only maintenance for my peace of mind. But what I can't figure out is, only 99+ are supposed to have these improved pumps right? I don't have my VIN or build date handy, but could Ford have switched over sometime late in the '98.5s?
The car has 2 previous owners, the one before me (22-46K) didn't touch the pump, and I have a hard time believing the first owner did in their 22K miles with the car.
Ideas? Am I just lucky, late build date perhaps?
P.S. For Sale: Water pump with nice cream impeller, at most 46K miles, offers to : gte377z AT prism.gatech.edu
Thanks guys
