Water pump failure leads to dead engine

[Mbrooks420]

I’d drive a car right off a cliff before I checked the oil daily.

 

[94Eddie]

Easy for you to say... Replacing the water pump is a $2000 job

The price can go down to $1,400 in some areas. The good thing is the chains don't need replaced. They are typically good for the life of the engine. I would install new guides though.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'd drive a car off a cliff before I'd pay $2000 to change a WP.

I'm eying a used complete 3.7 V6 for less than $2k.

 

[RonParise]

The price can go down to $1,400 in some areas. The good thing is the chains don't need replaced. They are typically good for the life of the engine. I would install new guides though.

I replaced the chain, guides, front crank seal and the oil pump, whether they needed replacement or not....because they were there

 

[94Eddie]

I replaced the chain, guides, front crank seal and the oil pump, whether they needed replacement or not....because they were there

There are good reasons to do this but for those who can't afford it there isn't a big risk associated with only replacing the water pump. The guides are are worth ponying up and replacing, IMO.

 

[bigdude2468]

Id like to see how that would work

Easy for you to say... Replacing the water pump is a $2000 job

My Ford dealer quoted me $3800 to replace water pump and timing chain.

 

[jade97]

When ours went, there was no dripping out the weep hole and coincidentally I happened to check the coolant level the day before the failure. I'm guessing the bearing failed & the shaft went out of alignment, because it was quick and there were also cam codes after the failure.

 

[bigdude2468]

My Ford dealer quoted me $3800 to replace water pump and timing chain.

FYI, I kept looking around and found another Ford dealer that will change water pump, timing chain, guides etc for $2400. That is still a lot of money but I am going to do it. My 2014 has 90,000 miles and I want to keep it another four years. I went online to look at dealer inventory of 2021 Explorers and the largest Ford Dealer in my area said they had two Explorers, both XLT's. When I looked further the vehicles were in fact "in transit". Another large dealer with multiple locations had two. The thought of buying a new vehicle in this environment gives me the chills. One other factor is I have to have dedicated snow tires so if I were to buy a new Explorer I would have to sell my current tires and rims (8000 miles on them) and buy new ones. That would probably cost me $1500 less what I ever I could sell the used ones for but at least $1000. I have religiously changed transmission fluis, PTU, coolant flushes, changed differential fluid, brake fluid so the vehicle is in good shape. If I keep it another four years that is $600 a year, not bad versus spending $30,000 or more after the trade in value of my vehicle.

 

[ocracokeBound]

My serpentine belt broke the other day and one thing that is nice about the design was I could drive it home without having to worry about overheating. Sitting at about 200k with the original pump. I will take my chances and see how long it goes. Hard to tell how frequent the failure is given there a hundreds of thousands of them out there.

 

[94Eddie]

FYI, I kept looking around and found another Ford dealer that will change water pump, timing chain, guides etc for $2400. That is still a lot of money but I am going to do it. My 2014 has 90,000 miles and I want to keep it another four years. I went online to look at dealer inventory of 2021 Explorers and the largest Ford Dealer in my area said they had two Explorers, both XLT's. When I looked further the vehicles were in fact "in transit". Another large dealer with multiple locations had two. The thought of buying a new vehicle in this environment gives me the chills. One other factor is I have to have dedicated snow tires so if I were to buy a new Explorer I would have to sell my current tires and rims (8000 miles on them) and buy new ones. That would probably cost me $1500 less what I ever I could sell the used ones for but at least $1000. I have religiously changed transmission fluis, PTU, coolant flushes, changed differential fluid, brake fluid so the vehicle is in good shape. If I keep it another four years that is $600 a year, not bad versus spending $30,000 or more after the trade in value of my vehicle.

Aside from the internal water pump, the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.7L engines are darn near bullet proof. Changing the water pump preemptively can make a lot of sense if one wants to keep the vehicle long term. IMO, the 6th gen Explorers/Lincolns will be a far bigger nightmare to repair when they are out of warranty. They use small displacement turbocharged engines and are very complicated overall which will make repairs very costly. For all the reasons you give, I think you are making the right choice. Especially considering how well you have maintained the vehicle.

 

[Satz]

My serpentine belt broke the other day and one thing that is nice about the design was I could drive it home without having to worry about overheating. Sitting at about 200k with the original pump. I will take my chances and see how long it goes. Hard to tell how frequent the failure is given there a hundreds of thousands of them out there.

Same boat here , i am 190k but do not drive daily as i work from home for a few years. also have a truck and two motorcycles . Scary i am never changed the coolant on this explorer.

 

[peterk9]

Aside from the internal water pump, the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.7L engines are darn near bullet proof. Changing the water pump preemptively can make a lot of sense if one wants to keep the vehicle long term. IMO, the 6th gen Explorers/Lincolns will be a far bigger nightmare to repair when they are out of warranty. They use small displacement turbocharged engines and are very complicated overall which will make repairs very costly. For all the reasons you give, I think you are making the right choice. Especially considering how well you have maintained the vehicle.

At least the 5th gen has an external pump. Personally, I'm not worried about repairs since my leases are usually 4 years, the length of the warranty on my Aviator. Also, An ESP is always a good thing to have.

Peter

 

[94Eddie]

At least the 5th gen has an external pump. Personally, I'm not worried about repairs since my leases are usually 4 years, the length of the warranty on my Aviator. Also, An ESP is always a good thing to have.

Peter

You are smart to lease with an ESP. It is when these vehicles can no longer be covered under a bumper to bumper warranty is when the real pain will come to the owners. I am not just singling out the Explorer or Fords, in general. The European luxury car makers started the disposable vehicle model back in the mid 2000s. Ford, and other brands (with the exception of Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura), have gradually followed suit over the past 10 years. The 10+ year old 80k+ mile BMWs, Mercedes etc. are just run until they die instead of being maintained for the long term. Many of these older luxury cars can be bought for less than a Honda Civic of the same year and are what should be a minor repair away from being mechanically totaled.

Also, I think the manufacturers' recommended (or lack thereof) maintenance intervals are a huge part of the demise of these new vehicles. It typically gets them to 100k miles without many issues but after that, with no maintenance for transmissions, high mile engine oil services and no service of most other fluids the die is cast for their unreliability going forward. If Toyota and Honda keep their engineering geared toward longevity and reliability it will pay big dividends over the next ten years.

 

[mguy13sport]

Keep an eye on the weep hole area and also monitor the coolant level religiously. I marked mine with a sharpie. I just replaced my water pump due to it leaking out the weep hole. If you have any mechanical skill it can be done yourself. These engines are well designed believe it or not (lets not talk about the water pump) so everything comes apart rather easily.

 

[ocracokeBound]

Keep an eye on the weep hole area and also monitor the coolant level religiously. I marked mine with a sharpie. I just replaced my water pump due to it leaking out the weep hole. If you have any mechanical skill it can be done yourself. These engines are well designed believe it or not (lets not talk about the water pump) so everything comes apart rather easily.

So what you are saying is in the past 9 years and 200k I should have checked the coolant level? How many miles do you have?

 

[mguy13sport]

So what you are saying is in the past 9 years and 200k I should have checked the coolant level? How many miles do you have?

130k. It was still functional with no wear however the gasket looked like it melted. If it leaks into the oil pan it is gonna go kaboom. I was lucky to catch mine (i was actually looking for PTU leak when I saw coolant on the alternator which is a tell tale sign)

 

[RonParise]

Aside from the internal water pump, the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.7L engines are darn near bullet proof. Changing the water pump preemptively can make a lot of sense if one wants to keep the vehicle long term. IMO, the 6th gen Explorers/Lincolns will be a far bigger nightmare to repair when they are out of warranty. They use small displacement turbocharged engines and are very complicated overall which will make repairs very costly. For all the reasons you give, I think you are making the right choice. Especially considering how well you have maintained the vehicle.

I heard the same thing... "Aside from the internal water pump, the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.7L engines are darn near bullet proof." and I intend this car to be my last car,,, so I bit the bullet and had the water pump replaced at 200000 miles . the big decision Im facing now is should I do it again....the engine is now at 300,000 miles

 

[94Eddie]

I heard the same thing... "Aside from the internal water pump, the naturally aspirated 3.5L/3.7L engines are darn near bullet proof." and I intend this car to be my last car,,, so I bit the bullet and had the water pump replaced at 200000 miles . the big decision Im facing now is should I do it again....the engine is now at 300,000 miles

I think it depends on the overall condition of the vehicle. Since you are in Florida rust shouldn't be an issue. If it has been maintained well with transmission, PTU, differential, brake and coolant fluid changes then it might be worthwhile to do it again. The cost per mile for the water pump replacement is $0.02 over 100k miles. You spend around $0.13 per mile just for fuel at $3/gallon and 22 mpg. Then look at the replacement cost for a newer vehicle. It would be thousands of dollars and you would not get much for a 300k mile vehicle on a trade in. I think I would do the preemptive water pump repair and not do it again in the future. Maintain it and drive it until it reaches the point of being mechanically totaled. Heck the next water pump could last 200k miles like the first one.

I am curious, are you still running on the original transmission and PTU?

 

[RonParise]

I think it depends on the overall condition of the vehicle. Since you are in Florida rust shouldn't be an issue. If it has been maintained well with transmission, PTU, differential, brake and coolant fluid changes then it might be worthwhile to do it again. The cost per mile for the water pump replacement is $0.02 over 100k miles. You spend around $0.13 per mile just for fuel at $3/gallon and 22 mpg. Then look at the replacement cost for a newer vehicle. It would be thousands of dollars and you would not get much for a 300k mile vehicle on a trade in. I think I would do the preemptive water pump repair and not do it again in the future. Maintain it and drive it until it reaches the point of being mechanically totaled. Heck the next water pump could last 200k miles like the first one.

I am curious, are you still running on the original transmission and PTU?

Original Transmission,
no PTU...in my car

But Im not sure that I was clear..

I did a preemptive water pump replacement at 200000 miles and Im considering a second one My thinking is along the same line as yours

 

[mguy13sport]

Original Transmission,
no PTU...in my car

But Im not sure that I was clear..

I did a preemptive water pump replacement at 200000 miles and Im considering a second one My thinking is along the same line as yours

Not many FWD Limited models. Most were AWD. I can honestly say this has probably helped the longevity of your vehicle by not having a PTU all together. They definitely do not last 200k miles.

I would look at the water pump age more than miles. How long ago was it replaced? Did you use OEM parts? What else was done at time of replacement?

A 10 year old car with low miles is more likely to leak than a car with average miles of the same age. Gaskets dry up and crumble over time when sitting.