Water pump dead / how bad to replace?

[lparsons]

I think the water pump on my 95GT is dead or dying. I was getting high pitched squealing noises that varied with engine speed, and I had a puddle of coolant under my car when I parked at home (plus vapor coming out from under the hood).

How difficult is it to replace the water pump? I have the Haynes manual for the 94-04 mustang, and it describes the procedure. I am pretty capable, and have a good complement of tools. Can I do it in a day if I take the day off?

It seems like I would get raked over the coals if I took it to a mechanic for it.

 

[Labora]

If you are comfy with doing the work yourself it isn't bad at all IMO. I've done mine when I had to change the timing cover gasket, had to remove the balancer for that. Don't recall needing that to happen for just the WP but it has been awhile....

Keep a eye on my thread if your really curious, I will be removing the WP, balancer and timing cover soon will post some pics for you of how it comes apart.

 

[grngt50]

you can definitely do it yourself in a day. This was the very first repair I had to make to my 94 back when I first bought it........I could barely change my own oil back then and I was able to knock it out in a day. I say go for it!

-James

 

[j_lutter31]

I replaced mine this last spring. It was pretty easy. If you have the manual you don't need us to tell you what to do. But one thing to keep in mind is take a piece of card board and stick the bolts through it in the same pattern as the water pump, it makes it alot easier to remember which one goes where. They all aren't the same length...

 

[The Green GT]

The water pump was the first big thing I changed by myself. It took me a day and was easy. And Id also get some cardboard and keep the bolts in order too. They are different lengths.

 

[fyassine]

As with any small job, the little things can add hours or days to your project.

So far you have seen comments from when everything goes well, but mine didn't. In the 13 years I owned the car, the water pump had never been off. The bolts were rusty and one snapped off inside of the block.

If you are going to do this please be completely certain you are straight on the bolt for the best odds of not breaking them. Even then there is still a chance.

Good luck

 

[revhead347]

Water pump is a really easy job. Shouldn't take more than 2 hours for even the most inexperience people. I can do mine in about 15 minutes. Just remember to loosen the bolts to the water pump pulley before you take the belt off. The water pump is attached to the timing cover with a series of easy to remove bolts. Another recommendation. If your hoses are old and probably need replacing anyway, don't spend hours trying to pull them off. Just buy new ones and cut the old ones off with a razor blade. Those hoses are practically welded to the radiator and pump when they get old. You can get all four hoses at the local auto parts store for about $30. It is also a good opportunity to replace the clamp style POS factory hose clamps with good worm clamps. All 8 worm clamps are under $5, and it will save you a lot of hassle in the future

Kurt

 

[grngt50]

Water pump is a really easy job. Shouldn't take more than 2 hours for even the most inexperience people. I can do mine in about 15 minutes. Just remember to loosen the bolts to the water pump pulley before you take the belt off. The water pump is attached to the timing cover with a series of easy to remove bolts. Another recommendation. If your hoses are old and probably need replacing anyway, don't spend hours trying to pull them off. Just buy new ones and cut the old ones off with a razor blade. Those hoses are practically welded to the radiator and pump when they get old. You can get all four hoses at the local auto parts store for about $30. It is also a good opportunity to replace the clamp style POS factory hose clamps with good worm clamps. All 8 worm clamps are under $5, and it will save you a lot of hassle in the future

Kurt

not trying to be difficult here, but 15 minutes? Really? You must be a bad ass mofo

If it's his first time, count on it being a whole day project. Take your time, it's not a race Main thing is to make sure the mating surfaces are super clean and you get a nice seal. Not something you'd want to do twice

-James

 

[grngt50]

but I do agree it's a great time to replace your upper/lower and heater hoses........get a nice 180 thermostat, too.

Also, did you already pick up your new water pump? I believe some of the guys here run a Stewart pump.....either stage 1 or 2, cant remember at the moment. It's basically a stocker with modified internals that flow 30 to 40 percent more at low rpms. Best part is the price is just about the same as a stock replacement

-James

 

[revhead347]

not trying to be difficult here, but 15 minutes? Really? You must be a bad ass mofo

-James

Practice makes perfect, and if you own a Mustang, you get a lot of practice. I can remove my upper intake manifold including all the nitrous stuff in 6 minutes. I have actually done the water pump in 12 minutes without taking the pulley off, I had a friend time me. I guess that makes me kind of a loser for timing myself on car work. Oh well.

Kurt

 

[Labora]

http://forums.stangnet.com/766511-project-phoenix-94-cobra.html#post7696249


Hope that helps, of course you will want to loosen the bolts to the pulley with the belt on (or use a air gun like I did). And also you have some hoses to remove.

 

[lparsons]

Water pump is a really easy job. Shouldn't take more than 2 hours for even the most inexperience people. I can do mine in about 15 minutes. Just remember to loosen the bolts to the water pump pulley before you take the belt off. The water pump is attached to the timing cover with a series of easy to remove bolts.

This is probably the first significant repair I've done on this car in the 5 years I've owned it, not including electrical gremlins that I've worked on.

Up until now I've only done oil changes and brake jobs. I have the Haynes manual and the process seems pretty straightforward, though significantly more steps than what they usually outline for most jobs, which worried me a bit. But if you guys can do it in 2 hours, then my first attempt should be doable in a day or so

Another recommendation. If your hoses are old and probably need replacing anyway, don't spend hours trying to pull them off. Just buy new ones and cut the old ones off with a razor blade. Those hoses are practically welded to the radiator and pump when they get old. You can get all four hoses at the local auto parts store for about $30.

Do the four hoses have a name? I would expect upper and lower radiator hoses, but I must not be aware of the other two. Or are there two of each? I like the idea of replacing the hoses at the same time, I definitely don't want to be down there (in the coolant area) again anytime soon.

It is also a good opportunity to replace the clamp style POS factory hose clamps with good worm clamps. All 8 worm clamps are under $5, and it will save you a lot of hassle in the future

Kurt

I'll look that up when I'm in the store, too. It seems like a new water pump is readily available out here for about $75, no deposit. I think I'll plan on doing this job this coming weekend so I can have as much time as possible to go through it without worrying about being extra late for work. I'll just have to wing it for transportation for these next few days until that happens, and take the wife's car to go pick up the parts I need.

Thanks everyone, I'll likely be back with results by Sunday!

 

[lparsons]

One last thing - I didn't see anyone say whether or not they thought my diagnosis was accurate. I'm getting high pitched squealing noises (change with engine speed) at various times while driving, and I had steam coming from under the hood when I got home on Monday.

Might also be worth adding that I have frequently had to add coolant to the reservoir over the past few months (low coolant light on).

If there is anything else that would be worth checking or replacing at the same time, let me know. I did the serpentine belt last summer and it looks to be in good shape.

 

[j_lutter31]

When I took my water pump off, turning the pulley would create a squeaking noise. So that part of the diagnosis sounds right. Have you looked for leaks? Start the engine and look under the car find where its dripping and follow it back. Its possible that the pump is making noise but its leaking somewhere else......you should still replace it if its making noise though

 

[revhead347]

Got these numbers off of partsamerica.com. Part numbers should be the same at Advance and interchangeable at Autozone or NAPA.

Lower Radiator hose = C71773
Upper Raidator hose = D71772
Bypass Hose = A70646
Heater Hose = 80411
Water Pump = WP9033

The heater hose and the bypass hose are basically 90 degree hoses that have to be trimmed with a razor blade to fit.

Kurt

 

[lparsons]

When I took my water pump off, turning the pulley would create a squeaking noise. So that part of the diagnosis sounds right. Have you looked for leaks? Start the engine and look under the car find where its dripping and follow it back. Its possible that the pump is making noise but its leaking somewhere else......you should still replace it if its making noise though

I had previously suspected that the leak was from the coolant reservoir - I ordered a replacement for it but never got around to putting it in (I guess I'll do it now, with the water pump while I have the coolant drained).

Thanks for confirming my suspicion, I wanted to make sure I wasn't tearing out the water pump just for my own entertainment.

Got these numbers off of partsamerica.com. Part numbers should be the same at Advance and interchangeable at Autozone or NAPA.

Lower Radiator hose = C71773
Upper Raidator hose = D71772
Bypass Hose = A70646
Heater Hose = 80411
Water Pump = WP9033

The heater hose and the bypass hose are basically 90 degree hoses that have to be trimmed with a razor blade to fit.

Thanks for finding those for me! I already had a source on the water pump, now I'll call around and see who can get me the whole shopping list. Thankfully even here in upstate New York we have autozone, advance auto, napa, and pep boys - often all within a few blocks of each other.

 

[lparsons]

Arrrgh!

Well I have now spent about 6hours, plus around $200 worth of parts (not including cost of gas in my wife's car to get them), and I am, at best, in the same situation I was in before.

I find that I am still leaking antifreeze like a sieve. A little bit of steam comes out from under the hood as well. Oddly enough I found that my coolant reservoir appears to be empty after a drive of less than 1 mile. Coolant leak is still coming from the block area, have not yet found vertically where it is originating.

I also found that when I went to pull the car back into the garage I saw the "low oil" light for the first time in my life. Not sure how they could be related, and have not yet confirmed it on the dipstick.

I think the previous squealing *may* have gone away, though when I removed the old pump it turned just fine by hand outside the car. So now I am inclined to say that I just removed a working (ford) water pump and replaced it with an after market because I'm a blithering idiot and diagnosed the problem incorrectly.

Is my pump just not tight enough? I RTV'ed both sides of the gasket before installing, as the manual said. To me, the current problem seems too similar to the one I thought I was solving.

 

[fyassine]

Don't beat yourself up over it. I too removed a working working water pump, cracked a bolt, had to pull the timing cover, and then found out it was a @#$@# fan issue not coming on when it was supposed to.

 

[j_lutter31]

I would get the car running and look at every possible angle to see where it may be coming from, look for it under the car and work your way up......not sure what antifreeze does under a black light, but you could try looking for leaks with that.....just an idea, no clue if it works or not....good luck to ya, hopefully it only gets better from here.

 

[Labora]

Did you check the timing cover for leaks? Did you check the oil for coolant?