Water pum x 4 in 7 mths WTF!!!

S

SNAKETER

Registered
I started leaking fluid out the weep hole and changed to the $68 lifetime CARDONE pump and 3 mths later leak. take it out and take it back another new one cardone 1.5 months later take it back 2.5 later leak again weep hole. this time it happened on my trip cross country, roswell flm dealer wanted 255 labor and 160 for the pump. no way ill drive at night when its not 110 degrees. it work till tn amd i bought theone from flm from there for 165 plus tax put that in and drove to nc. been here 1 month and leaking relly bad worst than the ones from kragen. the first 2 no sealant. the last two i used gray and blue sealant. dont really know wtf is wrong but this is ridiculos. all are new and i dont want to put another one in if i am doing something wrong.it is pretty much idiot proff on putting it in so what could be the problem. any help would be apreciated. just for yalls info there are know loose bolts and the belt is brand new maybe 5k onit to include driving cross country. i'm pretty sure the leak is out of the weep hole. but the leak is behind the har bal and always in the same spot. ps there is no hole or cracks in the timing chain cover and diffenttly no big hole in the engine anywhere that aint soppossed to be there. :frown:
 
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First you are lubricating the o-ring, right? If not, put some silicone grease on it - but not much. Maybe its being pinched. It must be slid in straight on - no tilting it or wiggling it.

Second, ONLY get a Ford one. They are probably cheaper and better. One for a 99 Cobra works great on these cars.
 
yea i got the ford lincol mercury one and it is the latest and greatest one that is leaking. i have a extra gasket and will try to put the silicone grease on it as well but i dont think that is the problem. but hey oviously a new water pump aint the problem cause i have put four on and that has not stopped the leak so ill give it a try. thanks
 
What does the o-ring seal surface on the block look like? There could be a pit or something.
 
looks good like it should. i have not put the grease on the actual ring but i will try it today or tommorow. while i have the thing drained if i change the t-stat to a 180 will i need to reprogram it or something. but buy visual inspection the thing looks to be fine ie, no pits or any thing. is the grease that big of a deal. i did put it around the part that seals around the pump to the engine. none on the ring itself. i saw a post on here about an electric pump install and the dude had the grease or silicone all overe the ring. if it is that, then it is not leaking out the weep hole is it. and if it is leaking somewhere else the bottom diffently, then does the pump need to be replaced. or just go get a new ring andf grease it up? thanks again for all you guys input. coolant is starting to get exspensive.
 
I would think the new o-ring with lubrication will seal it. How does it 'fit'? You may even consider a slightly fatter o-ring if the fit is loose. Our mechanics do this from time to time on many o-ring seals. Mine was tight, very tight... I had a fit trying to remove the OEM pump to put in the electric one. I had to use extreme patience in getting the new pump housing started straight and pulled in place evenly with the bolts. Once in part way, it bolted in place rather easily.
 
"while i have the thing drained if i change the t-stat to a 180 will i need to reprogram it or something"

No re-program needed.

Just buy a new-oring. And you can re-use your coolant to save $$ but keep an extra container on hand to compensate for some lose.
 
if the pump is leaking from the weep hole then a new o-ring is not going to fix anything. thats like changing your lug nuts to fix a nail in a tire. do you have under drive pulleys that might be changing the way the belt rides on the pump? do you drive it hard and wind the motor up and spinning the pump high rpms and wearing out the seal on the shaft? when you change the pump does the one that you take out still feel like it has drag then you spin it by hand with no pulley? new pumps have some drag because of the tight bearings and seals. when it leaks how bad does it leak? when my pump went out it would drain my whole system in about 3-4 miles. my teacher at school saw it leaking a little and said thats it about to go out. sure enough right as i got home from school that day it went out like a water hose was turned on.

FOR TESTING ONLY try to plug the weep hole with a SHORT bolt or something that you know wont leak and see if you still get a leak. if you still have a leak with the hole plugged up then its coming from somewhere else. DO NOT leave the plug in the weep hole for to long as it might cause other problems.
 
7 sek mark said:
if the pump is leaking from the weep hole then a new o-ring is not going to fix anything. thats like changing your lug nuts to fix a nail in a tire. do you have under drive pulleys that might be changing the way the belt rides on the pump? do you drive it hard and wind the motor up and spinning the pump high rpms and wearing out the seal on the shaft? when you change the pump does the one that you take out still feel like it has drag then you spin it by hand with no pulley? new pumps have some drag because of the tight bearings and seals. when it leaks how bad does it leak? when my pump went out it would drain my whole system in about 3-4 miles. my teacher at school saw it leaking a little and said thats it about to go out. sure enough right as i got home from school that day it went out like a water hose was turned on.

FOR TESTING ONLY try to plug the weep hole with a SHORT bolt or something that you know wont leak and see if you still get a leak. if you still have a leak with the hole plugged up then its coming from somewhere else. DO NOT leave the plug in the weep hole for to long as it might cause other problems.
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no i dont have underdrive pullys and i dont every wind it out past 5600 and then im just doing it every now and again cause i hate the smell of burnt tran fluid. both the new and the old look and spin exactly the same. they are identical. even the ( bad ) one, 2mnths old tops, has the same spin as the new one. the first three, drained the resivor in about three days the new ford lincoln mercury one drains it imediately after the engine warms up. the hole thing. this one is buy far the worst. but im going to try the sealant on the ring/gasket thing and hopefully it will work there is no statictical way that 4 pumps in this short of time have went bad and started leaking out the weep hole. i'll have to try the expierment, but it to hard to see behind the pulleys, harmonic and water pump. im just screwed.
 
Please learn to type. I read 4 sentences and decided if its not important enough for you to type it out correctly, its not important enough for me to read. Look at the members of the forum who have been here a while. They use proper spelling, punctuation and capitalization. If its not worth the effort for you to make it easy for me to read, than its not worth it for me either. Often times the difference between getting help on a detailed issue will be whether you make it readable or not.
 
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SNAKETER said:
there is no statictical way that 4 pumps in this short of time have went bad and started leaking out the weep hole.
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I agree. It's a seal problem. Either the seal is being damaged upon installation each time or the sealing surface on the block is damaged. Make sure to carefully feel the edges for any burrs that may be cutting the o-ring. Get an inspection mirror and thoroughly inspect the sealing surface on the block for any pitting and/or scale. Perhaps take some fine emery cloth and smooth the edges and the sealing surface.

BTW, the manual calls for lubricating the o-ring with coolant.

Installation

1. Replace water pump O-ring seal and clean sealing surface of engine block.

2. Lubricate O-ring seal with clean antifreeze.

3. Locate water pump onto engine assembly and press into position until seated.

4. Install four retaining bolts. Tighten to 20-30 N-m (15-22 lb-ft).

5. Position water pump pulley on water pump and install four retaining bolts. Tighten bolts to 20-30 N-m (15-22 lb-ft).

6. Install accessory drive belt. Refer to «Section 03-05».

CAUTION:
Use extreme care to keep coolant mixture off of the accessory drive belt and pulleys. If needed, remove accessory drive belt and rinse with clear water. Clean pulleys and install accessory drive belt. Belt squeal and early belt fatigue will occur otherwise.

7. Fill cooling system. Refer to «Section 03-03».

8. Check for leaks.
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Again, the pump has to go in straight and even - you cannot pull in the top then the bottom - that will twist or cut the o-ring every time. The above instructions indicate you push it straight in but I had to use the bolts to pull it in. If you do you must tighten each bolt in small increments evenly like mounting a tire to pull the pump into place straight. I feel that is where your problem may be.

If the pump simply pushes into place without having to pull it in with bolts, again you must be certain it goes in straight. You cannot for instance, put the top in and roll the bottom into place.

Bottom line, something is fundamentally wrong with either the installation procedure or the sealing surface.
 
KyleH said:
Please learn to type. I read 4 sentences and decided if its not important enough for you to type it out correctly, its not important enough for me to read. Look at the members of the forum who have been here a while. They use proper spelling, punctuation and capitalization. If its not worth the effort for you to make it easy for me to read, than its not worth it for me either. Often times the difference between getting help on a detailed issue will be whether you make it readable or not.
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sorri u kant red mi riten, u don't hav 2 red it then, sori i aint as experenced as u and the other long time board members.
 
That is supposed to be funny. Don't get all butthurt bout it. Any way the area IS pitted a little bit after further inspection. guess you was right driller.
 
Yo driller,it is diffently the weep hole. I checked it again and after i cleaned it with accetone, the black area that i thought were pits cleaned up pretty good. so i guess they aint pits. But I changed gaskets pretty easy. I mean it aint tight like you was talkin. filled it up with water to test it and no sooner than that, i started leaking out the weep hole again. Could this be just my luck or could i really have 4 new ( not reman) pumps and they all go out bout the same time. Or could something my engine is doing make them fail. I took extra special care to put the thing in as straight as i coul. I'm at wits in with this thing. I'm ready to put a mouth piece in, football helmet and seat belt on and ram a 3 ft dia tree at about 45, 50 mph, collect insurance and find another one somewhere else. JJ but really.
 
Very weird.

I feel your pain. The water pump is easy enough to swap, the coolant draining, refilling and burping is what I hate.

I don't think the weep hole is present in electric pumps but I didn't really look. The purpose of the weep hole is to allow any coolant that leaks past the water pump seal to exit the water pump case instead of through the sealed bearing in the end of the housing.

I can't honestly think of any reason the seals would fail repetively like that. Except... maybe too much coolant pressure? But if that were the case, the reservoir cap should vent. I suppose it could be bad but then you would have to ask why is there so much pressue?
 
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