Engine Water Pump Install

Water pump install isn't to bad. You don't have to drain all the coolant necessarily, but your going to end up draining most of it. You have to take loose the hose going to the bottom of the radiator. Use a catch pan and you can reuse it. If it looks bad it's a great time to replace it. For me the most frustrating thing about the water pump install is getting the fan/clutch assembly loose from the water pump and then out of the way. Once its loose you can let it sit in the fan shroud just be careful not to ruff up your radiator. I'm sure there are a lot of threads on here that go through the procedure.

You don't need a lot of experience to do the job. Just take your time and do a little research. Don't over torque anything. The last thing you want to do is snap a bolt off in the block. Removing a broken bold is a pain.

@1989LXFOX

You will notice the phrase “ in a zip bag or your loose parts bin” gets lots of repetition. This is an important concept to embrace, especially if the project stretches out more than a day or two. Some of us are neat and organized and work that way. Congratulations go out to you, because most of the hobbyist mechanics are not members of that elite group. You will need a box of sturdy quart size zip bags and a Sharpie marker to label them with along with the normal range of sockets and wrenches used in auto repair.

Time to complete this job will be 4-6 hours, maybe less if you are fast and don’t stop to take breaks.

Water pump removal
1.) Disconnect the battery negative terminal and cover the battery with heavy cardboard or at least 2 shop towels. You’ll thank me for this suggestion about the time you lay a long wrench or screwdriver over on top of the battery.

2.) Drain the radiator; most radiators have a drain valve or drain plug on the lower passenger side of the radiator. In most cases you either have to have really long skinny arms or have to jack the car up to get to it.
Plan B is a little simpler, but it involves more equipment: an air compressor, some air hose, a blowgun with a long skinny nozzle, and 6 ft. of scrap garden hose. A small diameter garden hose works better than large hose because you have to thread it through the radiator filler opening and past the transmission cooler. Cut a small hole just big enough to stick the blow gun nozzle in the garden hose about 6”-12” from the end, Stick the other end of the garden hose in the radiator as far down as you can get it. Stick the free end of the hose in your bucket or whatever container you are going to use. You’ll need to be able to capture about 1 ½ - 2 gallons of coolant. Stick the blowgun in the cut you made in the hose and give it a squeeze. If you are careful, it will start to siphon all of the coolant out the radiator and not spray coolant everywhere.

3.) Now comes the messy part; crawl under the car and remove the lower radiator hose clamp, radiator hose and then the radiator. Plan on spilling some coolant and getting wet in the process. I have done it 3 times over the last year and have always got a bath in coolant and a big spill to rinse down when I finished.

4.) Disconnect the upper radiator hose and the auto transmission cooler lines if this is an auto transmission car; be sure to cap the transmission cooler lines on the radiator and the lines to keep dirt and trash out of them.

5.) Remove the two10MM hex head radiator hold down bolts and brackets and put them in your parts bucket.

If this the first time you have done this job, put each set of fasters or small parts in individual zip bags and mark the bag with a description of where they came from with a sharpie marker. About the time you go to putting it back together, you’ll be glad that you took the time to do this. This is a good habit to develop if your project looks like it will stretch out longer than a day or two.

6.) Remove the fan shroud bolts that secure the fan shroud to the radiator and put them in you parts storage container or zip bag. Lift the radiator shroud clear of the slip clips that hold it to the bottom of the radiator and move it as far back away from the radiator as possible. Trim a large piece of cardboard to the width of the radiator and about 6” taller than the radiator. Now slide the cardboard down between the radiator and the fan shroud and lift the radiator out. You have prevented dinging the radiator or poking holes in it with this simple step. Save the cardboard, you will use it again when you put the radiator back in the car. Remove the radiator shroud and put it in a safe place along with the radiator. Watch out for the coolant in the overflow tank; a pan or jug needs to be handy to drain the coolant stored in it.

7.) Serpentine belt; if you have anything other than the stock arrangement, take a picture of how it fits around the pulleys BEFORE doing anything else.
Use a 17 MM socket and a long breaker bar to lift the belt tensioner off the serpentine belt. Remove the belt from the pulleys and check it over for frayed places or cracks; replace it now while you have it off and in hand. This is especially true if you have a non- stock belt arrangement.

8.) Use a 7/16” flat ratchet or gearwrench to remove the 4 bolts that hold the fan on the water pump. Remove the nuts from the 3 studs on the water pump, and the 2 power steering mount bolts and the 3 bolts that secure the A/C compressor (if present) to the A/C & PS mount plate. Loosen one bolt on the rear of the lower A/C mount; this will require a long extension and maybe universal joint socket. Put the bolt and the nuts in a zip bag or your loose parts bin.

9.) Remove the lower radiator hose from the water pump and put both hose clamps in a zip bag or loose parts bin.
Take a cardboard box, and 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. 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. Put the cardboard with the bolts in it out of the way with the rest of the larger parts.

10.) Loosen the 4 hose clamps on the water pump heater and thermostat bypass hoses. Pull the water pump down and remove the hoses from the water pump and from the engine mounted plumbing that that they connect to. Set the water pump aside with the rest of the large parts.
Take note that the upper thermostat bypass hose goes to the thermostat housing and the lower hose goes to the heater return feed tubing. Put the hoses and hose clamps in a zip bag or your loose parts bin.

This is the end of the water pump removal section.

16.) REASSEMBLY:
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).

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.

Long shank 5/16” taps

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAGE=267 5/16” pulley tap, 6” shank P/N 04801189

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=266 extension tap, 6” reduced diameter shank P/N 04701181
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

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

It’s time to double check the parts and gasket mating surfaces to make sure that they are clean and have no bits of leftover gasket material, damage to the mating surfaces, dirt or debris. I recommend that you use the following stay in place gasket trick to keep the gasket from shifting out of place during installation. Wipe down the gasket mating surfaces with acetone so that they are perfectly free of oil, debris and dirt. Mock fit the gasket so that you know which side faces the water pump. Spray the gasket mating surface of the water pump with weather strip adhesive and also spray the pump gasket side that mates to the water pump. Follow the instructions on the can as to drying time; the surfaces should be tacky, but not damp or dry. CAREFULLY align the gasket with the holes on the water pump; you will have a very limited opportunity to reposition the gasket once it is pressed in place. Apply a thin coat of silicone gasket sealer to the timing cover face around the water passages. Remember that the silicone sealer starts to set within 3-5 minutes and you want to assemble it while it is still soft and sticky. Bolt the water pump to the timing cover using the 3 short bolts across the top of the water pump; torque to 15-18 ft/lbs or 180-210 in/lbs.


18.) Put the short heater feed hose and thermostat bypass hose on the water pump along with the 4 hose clamps. All of the hose clamps will need to be oriented so that the screw head is on the driver’s side facing forward or up. Some twisting and turning will be needed to get the hoses in place.

Now that you have the water pump assembly bolted in place, go back and move the 4 hose clamps into their final positions and tighten them securely. You may need to twist, turn and tug to get the clamps properly positioned, but do it now because it gets harder with the fan blades and radiator shroud in place Install the lower radiator hose on the water pump and position the clamp so that it is easily accessible. Some tape with one end folded over to make a pull tab is one way to secure the clamp in position so that it doesn’t turn or slide out of position. When you have the hose and clamp just like you want it and don’t plan of moving them when the work is done, tighten the clamp and pull the tape off.

21.) Install the power steering and A/C compressor mount plate, and coat the studs with Never Seez if you haven’t already done so. Put on the nuts from the 3 studs on the water pump, and the 2 power steering mount bolts and the 3 bolts that secure the A/C compressor (if present) to the A/C & PS mount plate. Tighten one bolt on the rear of the lower A/C mount; this will require a long extension and maybe a universal joint socket.

22.) Mount the fan/clutch assembly on the water pump shaft. A 5/16” fine thread bolt with the head cut off makes an excellent alignment aid; screw it into one of the bolt holes. I usually file the end of the bolt to a smooth point to assist in getting it started in a blind location where it is hard to see where the tapped hole is located. Once you have the bolt holes lined up, install the water pump pulley, fan assembly and then fan mount bolts. A 7/16” flat ratchet or gearwrench is a handy tool to use about this time. The alignment aid bolt is usually the last thing you remove when mounting the fan assembly in place.

Install the fan shroud and set it as far back as you can get it. Put the cardboard in front of the fan and shroud and put the lower radiator support cushions back in place if you removed the. Remember that they are side specific and only properly fit one way. Position the radiator and lower it in place; the cardboard will protect the radiator from dings and other damage. Then install the upper radiator hold down brackets and cushions and install the bolts. Don’t tighten them until you are absolutely certain that the radiator is correctly seated in the lower radiator mount cushions. You’ll have to crawl under the car to see if the radiator is sitting perfectly in them. Move the radiator side to side until it is seated squarely in both cushions. Fail to do this and you will rub a hole in the radiator tanks and possibly damage one or more to the tubes.

The fan shroud bottom fits into 2 slip clips that are part of the lower radiator cross brace. They position the shroud so that it doesn’t move forward or backward. The top of the shroud bolts to the upper radiator top cross brace; there is a little maneuver room to move the shroud side to side and up and down. This is the crucial point because there is limited clearance between the tips of the fan blades and the radiator shroud. Rotate the fan blades and make sure that there is at least a finger width of space between the fan blade tips and the shroud. On my car, the shroud set a little bit high and it took some effort to get the shroud pushed down enough so that the fan blade tips didn’t scrape the bottom shroud opening. It is worthy to note that engine torque will lift the engine and decrease the clearance between the top of the shroud opening and the fan blades. Try to keep that in mind when you are bolting everything up after a final fitting.

23.) Now that the radiator is bolted in place, connect the upper and lower radiator hoses and tighten the hose clamps. Remember the tape trick to hold the lower clamp in place so that when you put a socket or screwdriver on them that the clamp doesn’t move out of position. I prefer to have the screw heads facing either up or forward so that they can be tightened without having to crawl under the car to get to them. If you have transmission cooler lines, uncap them along with the fittings on the radiator and install the lines at this time.
Install the serpentine belt; if you have anything but a stock belt routing, now this time to refer to the picture you took of the belt routing. Otherwise, use the belt routing diagram that is on the front radiator cross brace. Make sure that the belt fits inside the pulley flanges and isn’t hanging off the edge of any of the pulleys.

Take a survey of the engine compartment; you should have picked up and accounted for all of the tools, fasteners and miscellaneous stuff and stored it out of the way. Connect the battery and watch out for big sparks when you do. Big sparks or loud pops are an indication that you either left something turned on or there is a tool, nut or bolt lying on top of a bare electrical connector or wire. You may see a small spark due to the radio and computer memory powering on. If there are no big sparks or indication of an excessive electrical draw, then tighten down the negative battery cable.

Make sure that if you drained the radiator by using the removable plug or drain valve that it is plugged or tightened properly so that the coolant will not leak out. It takes somewhere around 2 -3 gallons of coolant depending on the radiator size and how much coolant drains out of the engine block while you are working on the engine.

24.) Final inspection time
Check all the bolts, screws and clamps to make sure that they are all properly tightened, and the fan blade turns freely without scraping the fan shroud. There should be no loose hoses or disconnected electrical components and no tools or other items left lying on top of the engine. Crank it up and listen for any unusual noises (I heard the timing pointer as it repeatedly hit the harmonic balancer); hopefully there will only the normal sounds of the engine running. Add coolant if necessary and then run the engine up to operating temperature to check the coolant level again. Look for leaks and be prepared to crawl under the car to do so. If there are no leaks, no unusual noises and nothing catches your eye or ear, take it for a short test drive. Keep an eye on the temp gauge, you may find that the coolant level is little low. When you get back, let the engine cool to the point where it is safe to remove the radiator cap and check the coolant level. Add coolant to the radiator and overflow tank to bring them up to the correct level. Do a second leak inspection, crawl under the car to check it out. Put the large piece of cardboard you used to protect the radiator during removal and installation under the engine to act as a drip indicator. No drip marks on the cardboard over the next few days is a good thing; you have fixed your leak or leaks.