Water pump flange fell off

[Carpenter78]

I was in the garage warming my engine to do some tuning, when all of a sudden the fan flew off. I shut everything down and found that the fan, clutch, pulley, and flange was laying on the other side of the garage. Can anyone tell me how the flange is held on the shaft? I can't see any provisions for an internal faster or spot weld. Is it just a press fit? This is on a standard rotation Flow Kooler water pump.

 

[evintho]

I think I'd give Flow Kooler a call and mention there's an issue!

 

[nickyb]

That could have taken out an expensive radiator. That company should ship you a new one asap.
If they won't then I would drill a small hole and tap it for a set screw.

 

[Noobz347]

That could have taken out an expensive radiator. That company should ship you a new one asap.

Agreed!

If they won't then I would drill a small hole and tap it for a set screw.

There is no way I would reuse that pump.

 

[Bullitt347]

That flange is a press fit.
Obviously the parts were not spec'd correctly when it was put together.

 

[Carpenter78]

It did take out my radiator. If it happened 30 seconds later, I would have been standing over the fan with a timing light. I plan on pressing hub back on with Loctite 638 and tapping for a set screw. I can't believe these are relying on a press fit with no way to retain the assembly.

 

[General karthief]

Most all factory power steering pump pulleys are press fit for all my life and only seen a few come off.
I would document the damage and give them a ring, you bought it from them right?

 

[Carpenter78]

Yes sir. I purchased the pump about 2.5 years ago while stock piling part for the build, only ran for less than a hour. I can maybe understand a power steering pump pulley, that doesn't have a 5lbs + rotating blades attached though. I will reach out to Flow Kooler with little expectations due to the purchase date.

 

[General karthief]

Yeah it should not have come off, assembly defect, I mean ya gotta buy or fix the radiator that was garred up now too, see what they say, press a little, assert your masculinity, well maybe a little, they shouldn't like the dis-likes in their social media, just be nice about it.

 

[nickyb]

Agree with General, email them pics of pump and damage, be nice but if they don't do what's right you can post emails and pics of them being dicks.

 

[85GTStangGuy]

There is no way I would reuse that pump.

Yea.... I think that's a good idea.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

This is really disappointing. I had their pump on my future parts-to-order list, mainly because there aren't too many water pump options for SN95s. Now I'm second guessing that potential purchase.

This is the kind of stuff that really ticks me off about aftermarket parts. I've never heard of this happening on a factory pump.

Does Edelbrock still make a Fox Body water pump? I used to run their pumps on my 460s back in '90s and they were really good quality at that time.

 

[2000xp8]

Does Edelbrock still make a Fox Body water pump? I used to run their pumps on my 460s back in '90s and they were really good quality at that time.

Lmr looks to have foxbody Motorcraft water pumps for $60.
I see no reason to use any other (when it comes to 86-93)

 

[AeroCoupe]

Edelbrock still makes water pumps and they are still pricey but like WhiteCobra95 my experience with them has been really good. Still running the one I bought for the T-Bird over 25 years ago.

Water Pump Ford 5.0 V8 Reverse Rotation in Satin Finish

Edelbrock #8840 Water Pump Ford 5.0L 1986-93 Reverse Rotation Ideal to prevent overheating in street rods and street machines

www.edelbrock.com

I have a Motorcraft on the Coupe and I have had zero issues so I would probably just buy another one.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have the Edelbrock as well. A little spendy.

The impeller design does vary between different brands and such. There are higher flow versions which move more coolant. The Edelbrock is the high flow design but I also think FLowcoolers are as well.

How much that translates to actual real world cooling improvement i have no idea

 

[Carpenter78]

I hope my decision to repair this pump doesn't come back to bite me but... I decided to drill and tap the hub for 10-32 set screws on opposite sides of the hub. I also pressed hub on with Loctite 638 retaining compound. I've been known to make some less than sensible decisions in the past, I guess I'll see if this repair holds up. Thanks for all the input.

 

[2000xp8]

I would absolutely NOT do this.
Call the company and if they don't handle it, find a big name place that still sells it, buy it, put this one in the box and return it.
I've seen serpentine belts come off and take out AC and power steering hoses.
I can only imagine the carnage from the fan coming off too at 5000rpm while you are driving.
I'm also not sure of the shear strength of 10-32's or if they really make grade 8 versions. As an electrician we use them all the time and if you pull on them, they are strong, if you side load them they can be bent or broken.

This is a pointless gamble and you may spend the rest of the time you own the car wondering when the fan is going to fly off and if and when you forget, that's when it will happen.
I've broken a belt when driving, it's kinda scary for a moment as you really don't know what's going on, especially since the steering barely works.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I concur. I would not repair this. The cons outweigh the pros here. The fact that the press fit failed means it will fail again and you are putting too much trust on loctite and 10-32s.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

I agree 100% - call FlowKooler and ask them what's up with this! This type of failure is completely unacceptable for their price point, let alone any water pump, and completely undermines the air of quality they promote for their products. I'm really curious to see what they do to rectify this - it will definitely have an impact on what direction I go for water pumps in the future.

The only way I would run that pump is if I was switching to an electric fan and the hub could somehow be TIG'ed in place. But I'm not much of a welder, so I would have to check with the techs in my lab at work to see if that's even possible with a water pump.

 

[LX Dave]

This is like deja vu. I had the same thing happen last fall, but going down the road. The parts store I got it from replaced every part that was affected. New fan, fan clutch, water pump (of course) and payed for a re-core on the NOS radiator that was in the car. Just the re-core was 950.00. That company should do the same. I wouldn't trust fixing it because the fitment isn't correct to begin with. Make them replace it.

When I got the new water pump for mine, I ground two small spots on the front side in the corner where the flange meets the shaft and welded the flange on. Being press fit, I didn't want to drill a hole and put a set screw or pin in and weaken the flange in that spot. I felt that would guarantee a crack would start from that spot and just have another failure.