2019 water pump

[Mbullion87]

Hi everyone- I’ve had a 2015 Taurus limited the last 4 years with the 3.5L it’s been a great car but getting up there in miles with 175K. The nightmare of the water pump going at 115,000 is still fresh in my mind.

That being said, I just bought a 2019 explorer xlt with the 3.5L as well. 30k on it. Is it pretty much a slam dunk guarantee it will go bad? I didn’t know if ford did any fixes on the newer models.

 

[J_C]

Welcome to the forum!

Yes it has the same issue with an internal water pump, '19 being the last model year with the transverse oriented engine.

Up to you how long to wait. Personally I'd put it off till 75K if not higher. I only have about 17K mi on my '14 but switched it over to the newer Motorcraft VC13G yellow coolant, which some claim is better. AFAIK they started using it in 2018 so yours may already have the yellow and then not be due for new coolant yet.

 

[Mbullion87]

Welcome to the forum!

Yes it has the same issue with an internal water pump, '19 being the last model year with the transverse oriented engine.

Up to you how long to wait. Personally I'd put it off till 75K if not higher. I only have about 17K mi on my '14 but switched it over to the newer Motorcraft VC13G yellow coolant, which some claim is better. AFAIK they started using it in 2018 so yours may already have the yellow and then not be due for new coolant yet.

So I technically haven’t bought it yet. It’s tomorrow. And I have the option of doing the ESP on it since it still has factory warranty on it. Debating if I should do the 100k warranty or 125k or 140k. Because that repair will be covered under ford premium care once it goes out… the problem is you have to catch it before it’s too late. Isn’t one of the first signs it’s going decreased warm or cold air out of the car’s hvac system?

 

[J_C]

No, not that I've heard of. It's chain driven so should continue pumping at full volume, have no impact on the HVAC system at all.

I take that back, once the problem has progressed to a severe level, to the point where your engine is probably already damaged because of how much coolant has been dumped into the oil with the engine running, you could end up with air in the system and an ineffective heater core due to that.

You don't want to wait for that as a sign it needs replaced. Check your oil more often, the older it gets. Most don't fail anywhere near 30K mi.

I can't help with deciding on ESP warranty mileage, except to make a rough estimate that it usually happens closer to 150K+ miles, but assume there is also some time limit on it? In that case it may depend on your avg. yearly mileage.

 

[Mbullion87]

No, not that I've heard of. It's chain driven so should continue pumping at full volume, have no impact on the HVAC system at all.

I take that back, once the problem has progressed to a severe level, to the point where your engine is probably already damaged because of how much coolant has been dumped into the oil with the engine running, you could end up with air in the system and an ineffective heater core due to that.

You don't want to wait for that as a sign it needs replaced.

Thanks for those tips and sorry about posting in here twice

 

[mguy13sport]

There is a weep hole that will let coolant drip out if the gasket is starting to go. The weep hole is internal so does not mean the coolant is leaking into the oil (not yet at least).

Visually inspect the AC compressor / Alternator area for coolant / wet marks. Any coolant found around this area is guaranteed to be from a bad water pump.

 

[J_C]

^ I don't think that is the case with these transverse engines with the internal coolant pump, that when they leak there is no external sign of it.

I'd prefer if it was the case, that they showed an external sign first but how could they when internal?

 

[Tom Champagne]

So I technically haven’t bought it yet. It’s tomorrow. And I have the option of doing the ESP on it since it still has factory warranty on it. Debating if I should do the 100k warranty or 125k or 140k. Because that repair will be covered under ford premium care once it goes out… the problem is you have to catch it before it’s too late.

You might not have to wait until 75K or more. My wife’s 17 Limited pump went out at 54K

 

[peterk9]

^ I don't think that is the case with these transverse engines with the internal coolant pump, that when they leak there is no external sign of it.

I'd prefer if it was the case, that they showed an external sign first but how could they when internal?

They do have a weep hole but I don't know if that will always be an indication of the pump leaking.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

Thanks for those tips and sorry about posting in here twice

Welcome to the Forum.
As one that believes in having an ESP on these vehicles, I would strongly recommend getting one and not just for the water pump issue.

Ford ESP at dealer cost to forum members

Guys, I have been referring hundreds to Joel for ESP and Maintenance plans. I spoke with Joel yesterday and he is now selling them at dealer cost to forum members because of how Flood has been matching him. He will not do communication by email, he will only do it on the phone. Members have...

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Peter

 

[mguy13sport]

^ I don't think that is the case with these transverse engines with the internal coolant pump, that when they leak there is no external sign of it.

I'd prefer if it was the case, that they showed an external sign first but how could they when internal?

The weep hole is only relevant if you have gasket issues..if the bearing fails on the pump it will be catastrophic regardless of gasket condition.

The weep hole on my Explorer was dripping and I was able to identify it before any internal damage. It does work...

Its hit or miss but any indication is better than none.

 

[boominXplorer]

Just did a water pump today on a 15 Taurus with 102k. Very well taken care of and it shows, very little tarnish. It was leaking out the weep hole.

 

[Odrapnew]

As other said, water pump failure is not a guarantee and if it does, it won't necessarily kill the engine.
It's just a roll of the dice if it fails.

Food for thought, my wife's old 09 Mazda CX9 had the same internal water pump design.
It had 185k miles on it with original water pump and coolant when we got rid of it a couple years back.

I'm at a little over 110k miles on my 14 Ex Sport. Depending on how long we plan to keep it, I may change it around 120k miles.