Next up: The water pump has failed

[MidwestBoater]

2016 XLT, 97,*** miles. I noticed that classic hot antifreeze smell while sitting at a stop light Saturday.. When I got home I jacked up the front end, removed the skid plate that was soaked in coolant and saw the tell tale signs of a leaking water pump. This must not be a common failure on these engines since no auto chains near me carry the pump, not even half a dozen dealerships within 25 miles (and I live near a pretty large city). Nobody local could get a water pump before Wednesday, so I'm having one overnight-ed from Rock Auto.

Has anyone else here had a water pump fail on an EB Expedition?

 

[jeff kushner]

78K on my '17 w/o any issues. Fwiw, I have not heard of WP failures either......


good luck,

jeff

 

[Trainmaster]

First I've heard of one go bad...

You're a lucky guy.

 

[JExpedition07]

If the 3.5 Eco is like it’s NA versions the 3.5 and 3.7 Duratec the water pump is internal. Check for milk oil asap if you are losing coolant.

 

[MidwestBoater]

It's only internal on the transverse mounted engines (wrong wheel drive) due to space constraints. The expedition and F150 have an external water pump.

If the 3.5 EcoBoost is like it’s NA brother the 3.5 and 3.7 Duratec the water pump is internal. Check for milk oil asap if you are losing coolant.

 

[JExpedition07]

It's only internal on the transverse mounted engines (wrong wheel drive) due to space constraints. The expedition and F150 have an external water pump.

Thank God

 

[MidwestBoater]

My wife has a 2011 Ford Edge with the 3.5 and the internal water pump, believe me, I keep a VERY close eye on it. There is a weep hole in the engine valley that you can't even see unless you remove the engine cover. If I do ever have to do a water pump on that thing it looks like a major PITA. Between that and the PTU that barely holds any gear oil, I really want to get rid of that car.

Thank God

 

[762mm]

There could be a very easy and inexpensive fix for this. If the 3.5 Eco is anything like my Triton V8, the water pump has a giant O-ring around it where it connects to the engine block, which can start leaking.

After I removed my leaky water pump two months ago or so, I could clearly see that the likely source of the leak was this O-ring seal. Rockauto and other places sell new ones, or complete water pump assemblies with the seal. FYI, my water pump lasted 132,000 miles and it's an ex-cop car, so it must have some good idling time on it as well.

Btw, that Dexcool-like orange coolant Motorcraft uses is sh*t. Mine turned brownish and had gooey / sticky brown floaties in it, deposits of which could be found on the pump gasket and on the radiator cap. I suspect it's what made it leak, as it was stuck to the O-ring gasket in one place where the gasket got deformed. I flushed it all out and replaced with Prestone's green OAT coolant (suitable for all vehicles).

When replacing the pump, make sure to grease the O-ring before you put it back in, as it's very easy to pinch / damage this seal if you try to do it dry... also, use equal force on all sides when pushing it into place, then finish by torquing the bolts a little at a time so it goes in straight.

 

[Cyclone]

My Water pump is also leaking in my 2015 XLT with 77k miles. Its under powertrain warranty, so I will be getting it addressed on Thursday.

 

[MidwestBoater]

I've done a water pump on a Ford modular v8 before, that was probably the best water pump design ever, one big oring. The water pump on these doesn't look particularly hard or anything, but it's not near as easy as those were.

There could be a very easy and inexpensive fix for this. If the 3.5 Eco is anything like my Triton V8, the water pump has a giant O-ring around it where it connects to the engine block, which can start leaking.

After I removed my leaky water pump two months ago or so, I could clearly see that the likely source of the leak was this O-ring seal. Rockauto and other places sell new ones, or complete water pump assemblies with the seal. FYI, my water pump lasted 132,000 miles and it's an ex-cop car, so it must have some good idling time on it as well.

Btw, that Dexcool-like orange coolant Motorcraft uses is sh*t. Mine turned brownish and had gooey / sticky brown floaties in it, deposits of which could be found on the pump gasket and on the radiator cap. I suspect it's what made it leak, as it was stuck to the O-ring gasket in one place where the gasket got deformed. I flushed it all out and replaced with Prestone's green OAT coolant (suitable for all vehicles).

When replacing the pump, make sure to grease the O-ring before you put it back in, as it's very easy to pinch / damage this seal if you try to do it dry... also, use equal force on all sides when pushing it into place, then finish by torquing the bolts a little at a time so it goes in straight.

 

[Cyclone]

 

[762mm]

Yeah, that indeed looks a little bit more involved than the Triton V8 water pump...

 

[Cyclone]

Its all that turbo plumbing. I'm guessing if you're a mechanic who works on this 3.5L EB everyday, that it can quickly become 2nd nature to undo all of this and it can be a relatively quick job. I mean, this video is only 18 minutes long, and while much is cut out, it also go slower since he it explaining his steps as it progresses.

 

[762mm]

Hmm...

I can see plastic impellers inside that pump. Ford really cheaped out on this one, it seems... the V8 version I installed lately was all steel inside and had welded together impeller blades.

Scotty Kilmer says in one of his repair videos that the plastic impeller pumps have a tendency to fail a lot sooner. I wonder if it has anything to do with that, given that the EcoBoost has more torque than the V8?

 

[sunesta232]

I bought a Ford certified 15 Expedition EL Limited in July with 59k miles. Due to some issues at the dealer when I arrived to pick it up, they offered to deliver the truck to me (5 hours away). Hours after they dropped off the truck I noticed coolant leaking. I took it to my local dealer right away and they said everything is fine, no leaks. Got home again and it was pouring coolant. Took it right back to the dealer and they said the water pump was leaking and they didn't catch it the first time. I had to wait 3 days to get it back which seemed pretty excessive for a water pump.

 

[762mm]

I bought a Ford certified 15 Expedition EL Limited in July with 59k miles. Due to some issues at the dealer when I arrived to pick it up, they offered to deliver the truck to me (5 hours away). Hours after they dropped off the truck I noticed coolant leaking. I took it to my local dealer right away and they said everything is fine, no leaks. Got home again and it was pouring coolant. Took it right back to the dealer and they said the water pump was leaking and they didn't catch it the first time. I had to wait 3 days to get it back which seemed pretty excessive for a water pump.

If those OEM Motorcraft pumps fail at low mileage (which seems to be the trend here), I'd definitely replace it with an aftermarket one, not Motorcraft.

On Rockauto, the ACDELCO 252980 water pump appears to have metal impellers... definitely a nice upgrade from the plastic Motorcraft junk!


https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...harged,3308768,cooling+system,water+pump,2208

 

[jeff kushner]

There's a lot of truth to going aftermarket on many parts....depending on the car. Just goes to show, EVERYTHING is worth a bit of research before you buy it. I didn't know that the stock pump has a plastic impeller but not surprised. I grew up on the water where most of us "outboard" guys got rubber impellers! I would "fix"(lol) a 2 stroke outboard so they really produced power & still be reliant on a rubber finned pump impeller... They don't last either!



A lot of good info in this this thread, thanks for posting MidWest!



jeff

 

[Trainmaster]

The aftermarket is such a conundrum these days. Most of the stuff is Chinese, which is usually designed here in the States, sometimes with efforts for greatly improved features. The problem is that their quality control is more often garbage, and their metallurgy just sucks. All too often you're doing the job twice.

The best bet for aftermarket is finding real good American stuff, but that's getting harder and harder. Hopefully the present trade sanctions will bring some quality manufacturing back our way.

 

[Plati]

The aftermarket is such a conundrum these days. Most of the stuff is Chinese, which is usually designed here in the States, sometimes with efforts for greatly improved features. The problem is that their quality control is more often garbage, and their metallurgy just sucks. All too often you're doing the job twice.

The best bet for aftermarket is finding real good American stuff, but that's getting harder and harder. Hopefully the present trade sanctions will bring some quality manufacturing back our way.

It would be great if the Trump Tariffs and economic sanctions brought jobs and manufacturing to the US. I think that's his main goal. Unfortunately it looks like all they are doing is putting Americans out of work , raising prices for Americans , depressing the global economy , and motivating countries to move manufacturing to foreign countries other than China.

Maybe we should just pass laws requiring US manufacturing? So much for freedom though huh?

 

[JExpedition07]

The aftermarket is such a conundrum these days. Most of the stuff is Chinese, which is usually designed here in the States, sometimes with efforts for greatly improved features. The problem is that their quality control is more often garbage, and their metallurgy just sucks. All too often you're doing the job twice.

The best bet for aftermarket is finding real good American stuff, but that's getting harder and harder. Hopefully the present trade sanctions will bring some quality manufacturing back our way.

The Chinese workers are slowly starting to demand higher quality of life so their uneven playing field isn’t eternal thankfully. Once they saw how us and Europe live it was only a matter of time. Ford still makes most parts here in the USA, when I replaced my blower motor all the A/M ones were made in China and the blade wasn’t as big as stock. I ordered the Motorcraft OEM motor and it was made in USA with the proper cage no surprise there. Did I pay 50% more? Yep, but I won’t have to do it again. I suspect the knock off Chinese motors weren’t rated to turn the big stock wheel so they downsized it so not to burn out the cheaply made motors.