My Water Pump Experience

[dabro55]

Just as kind of an FYI to everyone here about the notorious water pump, I wanted to share my experience. I've known about the internal design and potential for catastrophic failure for some time, so I've kept a close eye on my coolant levels. My now high mileage Explorer has rolled past 181,000 miles, my thinking is I've been lucky and it's bound to be ready to go. So I did a pre-emptive replacement of the pump. Surprisingly the old pump bearing is tight and still smooth turning, the old gasket on the pump is pretty hard and brittle but I believe the pump could have made many more miles. My pump is the dual row toothed pump that I believe was updated in design from earlier years. Also replaced the timing chains and tensioners, frankly, they appeared fine too. I guess keeping your oil changed does pay off. The task is not for the faint of heart but can be done. I just wanted to post this as a form of feedback and I appreciate the information I gleaned from this site about this issue. BTW, I also replaced the struts and that fixed my front end clunk. Dave

 

[Dave1980]

Did you do it all yourself or take it in ? if so how much did it cost ?

 

[dabro55]

Did it all myself at home in my workshop, the small space beteewn frame and front of the engine was the biggest issue. Sourced my parts from Rockauto, about $700 invested including new struts.

 

[jons901]

Did it all myself at home in my workshop, the small space beteewn frame and front of the engine was the biggest issue. Sourced my parts from Rockauto, about $700 invested including new struts.

Nice! Not trying to hijack, but which struts did you go with?

 

[dabro55]

Nothing exotic, just went with Monroe OEM eqivalents.

 

[56_F100]

Did you pull the engine to do the water pump & timing chain repair? I suspect from your comment on limited space between front of engine and frame, you didn't pull the engine to do the repair. So with that assumption, if you did the same work again, would you pull the engine for improved access / less frustration?

 

[mguy13sport]

Did you pull the engine to do the water pump & timing chain repair? I suspect from your comment on limited space between front of engine and frame, you didn't pull the engine to do the repair. So with that assumption, if you did the same work again, would you pull the engine for improved access / less frustration?

It is not necessary to pull the engine for this repair. Its a lot of work to drop the subframe like disconnect steering and drivetrain. If you have a full lift then that's the way to go all day.

I did this in my garage and it was not bad. Once you have the coolant reservoir and motor mount unbolted there is more room than you think. My issue was getting the front cover back on around the rear phaser without smudging the RTV silicone. The way you have to drop the cover in from the top makes it difficult to line up. Some guys get long bolts and cut the heads off to use as dowels.