WATER PUMP LEAK....

[lxwants12's]

hey guy my water pump is just starting to leak...im gonna replace the gasket tomorrow...any suggestions of gasket? and torque specs? cause i guess when i had tighten it the last time it was too tight on the bottom few bolts cause when i had the car in the air i could see drops of antifreeze from there and the gasket looked squished....it was a felpro by the way

 

[jrichker]

Take a cardboard box, & turn it upside down. Count the number of bolts that hold the water pump on, don’t forget to count the 4 funny looking studs too. Poke a hole in the box for each bolt/stud. Arrange the holes in a circular formation, and mark the box at the 12:00 point. When you remove a water pump bolt, put it in one of the holes in the box according to where it came out of the water pump. When you are done, all bolts will be arranged it the exact same order and position that you removed them from the water pump. That makes re-installing them easy, no wondering where does this bolt go.

A long shank tap should be used to chase the dirt & corrosion out of the original threads before you reassemble everything. Cleaning the threads will help prevent the bolts from seizing next time (yes, there will be a next time).

Use lots of antiseize on the bolts to protect them from corrosion and make them easier to remove next time.

A word about the links, if they don’t work, do a search on the part number (P/N). MSC updates their catalog regularly, and the pages may change, but the part numbers don’t. You will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which is also a free download – http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Long shank 5/16” taps

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAGE=279 5/16” pulley tap, 6” shank P/N 04801189 price $14.26

OR second choice, will not clean all the bottom threads unless you grind the end of the tap.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAGE=279 extension tap, 6” reduced diameter shank P/N 04701181 $16.17

See http://www.windsorfox.com/engtbk.htm for Stainless Steel Water Pump Bolts with Custom stainless steel studs. Allow the use of factory accessory brackets without hunting for obsolete parts or using spacers.

Kit comes complete with nine polished stainless 12 point bolts, four stainless studs and nine stainless oversized washers.

Price: $65.95

For another source for the stainless steel bolts,
See http://totallystainless.net/totally.html for the bolts. Last time I checked, they didn't have the studs. Nice folks, very into cars of all types. They have all kinds of stainless fasteners for almost every car. The prices are very reasonable, less the $8 for the water pump kit without the studs.

The studs are a Motormite item available at your local Advance Discount auto Parts store.

Motormite Water Pump Stud Kits for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks w/3.8L, 4.6L, 5.0L, 5.8L.

Part Number: 23744

 

[lxwants12's]

is there a specific gasket that is very good or should i just stick with the felpro i used the first time...and is there a special sequence and torque spec?

 

[jrichker]

is there a specific gasket that is very good or should i just stick with the felpro i used the first time...and is there a special sequence and torque spec?

I always used the one that came with the water pump. I use spray adhesive to stick the gasket to the pump except around the water passages. I use blue silicone around them. I don't recall using any special order to tighten the bolts. Check the Chilton Service manual if you have any questions about that or the torque figures.

 

[lxwants12's]

ok thanx for the links!!!