Water pump failure leads to dead engine

[cober]

less gauges - more car is unreliable junk

 

[ocracokeBound]

If I were to offer up a theory, there are the reported failures which trash the engine which presumably might be shaft seal leaks. But the weep hole leaks are gasket failures for non-moving parts. Might be more related to heat cycles and gasket deterioration than mileage. Not to say someone can't get to 175k miles taking 1 and 2 mile trips, but I could see a car with 51k miles built on 2 mile trips having as many start stop cycles as a vehicle with 175k mostly highway miles.

So maybe not as surprising even on low mileage vehicles if they are regular drivers.

I can't argue with that. Everyone should watch their coolant and oil, but it would seem a catastrophic failure would seem lower. Like post 1192 said 99% of the time there is coolant leakage before total failure. First thing is to put a line on the coolant reservoir, and if it drops or you see stains on the ground act immediately. God forbid on your daily check of the oil level you see it milky. For me I knew I was on borrowed time so I did preventive maintenance.

 

[ExPlat]

I dropped my ExPlat at the Dealer this morning and when the Service Advisor and I lifted the hood he said "Ooof, wow, I can smell the coolant". When I mentioned my Ford ESP Warranty he brightened up and happily said 'I can sure use that' - LOL.
We shall see what happens now.

 

[EB4X]

I dropped my ExPlat at the Dealer this morning and when the Service Advisor and I lifted the hood he said "Ooof, wow, I can smell the coolant". When I mentioned my Ford ESP Warranty he brightened up and happily said 'I can sure use that' - LOL.
We shall see what happens

Keep us posted, let us know if they try and pull a fast one and say, "we cover this part, but not that"

 

[peterk9]

Keep us posted, let us know if they try and pull a fast one and say, "we cover this part, but not that"

The water pump is covered under the ESP. Several members have gone through the process.

Peter

 

[EB4X]

The water pump is covered under the ESP. Several members have gone through the process.

Peter

Although the timing chain is almost always still in great shape even on higher mileage water pump replacements, as we know most people who are paying for the water pump work usually go with chain replacement as well since everything's apart / same labor procedure...wonder if Ford will do this for him / others? Most likely just charge for chain / tensioners if requested....but being their dealership prices / oem it's ching ching on that pricing.

 

[peterk9]

Although the timing chain is almost always still in great shape even on higher mileage water pump replacements, as we know most people who are paying for the water pump work usually go with chain replacement as well since everything's apart / same labor procedure...wonder if Ford will do this for him / others? Most likely just charge for chain / tensioners if requested....but being their dealership prices / oem it's ching ching on that pricing.

Yes, I think the timing chain will be at the owner's expense unless they find an issue with it.

Peter

 

[ExPlat]

Although the timing chain is almost always still in great shape even on higher mileage water pump replacements, as we know most people who are paying for the water pump work usually go with chain replacement as well since everything's apart / same labor procedure...wonder if Ford will do this for him / others? Most likely just charge for chain / tensioners if requested....but being their dealership prices / oem it's ching ching on that pricing.

The Dealer called, the water pump is bad and will be replaced, no coolant in the oil so far. Authorization for parts is in process/ordered.

As for the timing chain and other parts, they will are be checked for wear, if needed they will be included. At 51,000 miles the Service Advisor doubted Ford would pay for the $1,500 in extras (Ford prices) just because I wanted them. He stated that if this Explorer had 90-100,000 miles it would be a different case and frankly is a waste of money since I've had this car for 8 years and only put 51,000 miles on it. I agree.

While in the shop they are doing repairs on a number of Customer Satisfaction and Recall items, all under warranty. When I talk to them tomorrow, I'll ask when I get the rental car included with the Ford ESP Warranty, I forgot that this morning.

He said all this work should be done by mid-next week, as long as there are no glitches or surprises.
Although the name of the Dealer is 'Surprise Ford' -

It's still a nice looking vehicle for it's age:

 

[texsn95]

Mine died at ~91k and was losing coolant rapidly in the puke tank. ESP covered it with no issue, along with 2 new front control arms and 4x motor mounts, so if you take it in for the WP, be sure to tell them about front-end clunking and vibration. The LCAs seem to be routine maintenance at the 100k mark. I had asked about new guides and timing chain, but some of the parts were on backorder, and the tech said everything looked great, so I just had them swap in a new tensioner and belt. Runs like a champ now.

 

[94Eddie]

The Dealer called, the water pump is bad and will be replaced, no coolant in the oil so far. Authorization for parts is in process/ordered.

As for the timing chain and other parts, they will are be checked for wear, if needed they will be included. At 51,000 miles the Service Advisor doubted Ford would pay for the $1,500 in extras (Ford prices) just because I wanted them. He stated that if this Explorer had 90-100,000 miles it would be a different case and frankly is a waste of money since I've had this car for 8 years and only put 51,000 miles on it. I agree.

With just 51k miles on the timing parts I wouldn't pay to replace them. The timing chains, guides, etc. are very reliable and robust in the 3.5L V6 and will typically last the life of the engine. At 51k miles they are just getting broken in, IMO.

 

[EB4X]

It's still a nice looking vehicle for it's age:

View attachment 449955

View attachment 449956

This generation / body style is the best looking of ALL Explorers, better then newest one .... IMO

 

[ExPlat]

Keep us posted

The Dealer finally acquired all the parts and finished the water pump repair my 2016 ExPlat yesterday.
I was told that my Explorers timing gear/chain and associated parts looked like new so only the all new water pump and various new bolts, gaskets, sealants, coolant, oil/filter and other required parts were replaced (see attached image).

Other work performed was the Roof Rack Recall and all four Door Checks were replaced under warranty.

My only cost for the above 3 items was the $100 deductible of my Ford ESP Warranty.
According to the Service Advisor, the Dealer billing price was $3,500+ for these 3 items.

In addition, I paid to have the original front brakes replaced with new rotors/pads because of a freeway speed vibration/shake. I’ll do the rears in a few months, they are at 7mm.
The ExPlat runs powerful, smooth and quiet, like normal again.
-
A side note: My Dealer Loaner vehicle was a 2024 Ford Edge base model, it was easy to drive. It had the ’250HP 2.0L I-4 EcoBoost’ engine, that little 4 cylinder was very responsive, I had to lift the hood to see what engine was in it as it seemed awfully powerful for such a small motor. According to the dash monitor the City mileage was 24.5 MPG.

 

[EB4X]

/\ It's good knowing you now have new intake gaskets due to extensive job, wont have to be concerned about future vacuum leak from a failing one...

 

[PlatinumOwner]

With just 51k miles on the timing parts I wouldn't pay to replace them. The timing chains, guides, etc. are very reliable and robust in the 3.5L V6 and will typically last the life of the engine. At 51k miles they are just getting broken in, IMO.

My water pump failed recently at only 44K, they found that the timing chain was stretched too so they replaced it as well. Thankfully it was all covered under a Ford ESP. The valve cover had a crack too so it was also replaced. No tune and everything was completely stock. IMO Ford needs to address these serious reliability concerns. I've had the PTU, Electric power steering rack, and water pump all fail before 50K.

 

[texsn95]

My loaner was a new Escape ST with the base motor, and it was terrible. You couldn't pay me to drive one of those things.

 

[ExPlat]

My water pump failed recently at only 44K, they found that the timing chain was stretched too so they replaced it as well. Thankfully it was all covered under a Ford ESP. The valve cover had a crack too so it was also replaced. No tune and everything was completely stock. IMO Ford needs to address these serious reliability concerns. I've had the PTU, Electric power steering rack, and water pump all fail before 50K.

View attachment 450176
View attachment 450177

Gotta love those ESP Warranties, your water pump repair was quite extensive!
Like you I've had many low mileage failures including the PTU, EPAS, Water Pump, cameras, A/C seats, windshield cowl, power windows, etc, etc.. So far they have all been covered by one warranty or another. My ESP ends in 6 months....
Maybe we oughta copy peterk9 and lease a new one every 2 years.

 

[94Eddie]

My water pump failed recently at only 44K, they found that the timing chain was stretched too so they replaced it as well. Thankfully it was all covered under a Ford ESP. The valve cover had a crack too so it was also replaced. No tune and everything was completely stock. IMO Ford needs to address these serious reliability concerns. I've had the PTU, Electric power steering rack, and water pump all fail before 50K.

The service report you posted states the timing chain stretch was due to the water pump failure and not the chain failing on its own. Your situation doesn't bring the reliability of the timing chains in the 3.5L V6 engines into question. I just searched the 5th gen forums and didn't find a single post relating to timing chain failure for a 3.5L V6 engine. I also a search for water pump failure causing timing chain stretch and came up empty. Did you get visual confirmation that the timing chain was actually stretched? For the water pump shaft to be so out of spec to cause a timing chain to stretch seams highly unlikely without there being a catastrophic pump failure that would take out the engine.

 

[PlatinumOwner]

The service report you posted states the timing chain stretch was due to the water pump failure and not the chain failing on its own. Your situation doesn't bring the reliability of the timing chains in the 3.5L V6 engines into question. I just searched the 5th gen forums and didn't find a single post relating to timing chain failure for a 3.5L V6 engine. I also a search for water pump failure causing timing chain stretch and came up empty. Did you get visual confirmation that the timing chain was actually stretched? For the water pump shaft to be so out of spec to cause a timing chain to stretch seams highly unlikely without there being a catastrophic pump failure that would take out the engine.

The tech said that the stretch was visible and they measured it as well, there was no catastrophic failure. Just a leaking water pump and a few drops of coolant under the vehicle.

 

[xlt03]

Gotta love those ESP Warranties, your water pump repair was quite extensive!
Like you I've had many low mileage failures including the PTU, EPAS, Water Pump, cameras, A/C seats, windshield cowl, power windows, etc, etc.. So far they have all been covered by one warranty or another. My ESP ends in 6 months....
Maybe we oughta copy peterk9 and lease a new one every 2 years.

ESP can be extended. Need to pay Ford dealer ESP inspection and information is entered into Ford database. Then contact Joel and pay for extension. I did that.

 

[cober]

this tread is soooo boring