I'm on my third water pump!

[Fourth Horseman]

Last month (Feb. 14th) I took my Marauder in for a leaking water pump. It was replaced under warranty and everything was cool until two days ago when I again saw coolant on the garage floor. Took the car back to the dealer and sure enough, another bad pump. They looked this pump over real close and found a flaw of some type (I didn't ask for specifics). So, I'm on my third water pump now. Here's hoping the third time is the charm.

Just thought I'd pass along my continuing efforts to find all the bad parts in the channel so the rest of you get good product. :)

Big, big props to Ford for their quality parts. Nice work, guys! :shake:

On a side note: my dealership had to order the part, so they paid for me to have a rental. It was a brand new 2004 Ford F-150. I'm not a huge truck fan, but this was a really nice piece of kit. Very solid chassis. No chassis twist going through gutters and quiet as can be over railroad tracks, etc. The 5.4 liter engine didn't seem overly powerful, but it was certainly adequate to move the big truck. Overall I was impressed.

[Dr Caleb]

Just thought I'd pass along my continuing efforts to find all the bad parts in the channel so the rest of you get good product. :)


Thanks for jumping on that grenade for us Fourth.

It's a testament to our cars that you keep coming back for more instead of double tapping it in the radiator :)

[RCSignals]

Just thought I'd pass along my continuing efforts to find all the bad parts in the channel so the rest of you get good product

We do appreciate you. Really :)

[David Morton]

Last month (Feb. 14th) I took my Marauder in for a leaking water pump. It was replaced under warranty and everything was cool until two days ago when I again saw coolant on the garage floor. Took the car back to the dealer and sure enough, another bad pump. They looked this pump over real close and found a flaw of some type (I didn't ask for specifics). So, I'm on my third water pump now. Here's hoping the third time is the charm.

Just thought I'd pass along my continuing efforts to find all the bad parts in the channel so the rest of you get good product. :)

Big, big props to Ford for their quality parts. Nice work, guys! :shake:
If I was a factory rep I'd be wondering if the tech skimped a little on the coolant cause if the pump failed and it wasn't a gasket mistake the tech made (could have been fixed same day) it could only have been the shaft surface destroying the seal. How they could see that by looking is beyond me because the seal hides the shaft surface (Duh). That would require disassambling the pump and that's a no no for warranty. They want to see that "bad" part.

It's the coolant that keeps the seal lubricated. I used to work with those boys in the shop. Every now and then you see a bad apple that thinks he's underpaid and is entitled to change the coolant in his car for free, so guess what?

My experience is that factory parts nowadays are very high quality. I have also seen the parts department boys get cute and put a non-factory part on a car under warranty in the techs hands and wink. Bad apples again.

I have a nice little tool that sucks up coolant and measures specific gravity too. That would tell me if I got a short mix on coolant. It wouldn't tell me if the lubricant was worn out, so I plan to do a drain and fill every spring, whether it needs it or not, cause it does. And those "flush" cleaners can screw, too. Fresh coolant and distilled water for me.

Frequent Fluid Changers Club member since 1989.

[metroplex]

I am running the 99-01 GT/Cobra water pump and haven't run into any leakage problems.

What type of pump does the Marauder have?

This is my Cobra water pump in the Vic:
http://www.redpulsar.us/~coldfusion/cobra.html

This is the stock water pump that started leaking after the first time I went above 5000 RPM w/ a chip:

http://www.redpulsar.us/~coldfusion/stockh20.html

[prchrman]

Just thought I'd pass along my continuing efforts to find all the bad parts in the channel so the rest of you get good product. :)

.

you didn't get all them...last week wife called and car was getting warm...got there it had cooled off...drove it about a mile and warm again...turned on the heat and no heat...no heat = no circulation...called hot line and got towed...they replaced thermo...no fix...ordered and replaced water pump...fixed...this is at 27,000 miles...did not get too hot so no harm to aluminum motor...I hope...willie

[TAF]

Since MARAUDERCHICK has "blazed the path"...most of us in the Southern Marauders are now thinking about the electric water pump she "modeled" at Breakfast last Saturday...she has dyno sheets that show 10 RWHP from it! :up:

[FordNut]

Since MARAUDERCHICK has "blazed the path"...most of us in the Southern Marauders are now thinking about the electric water pump she "modeled" at Breakfast last Saturday...she has dyno sheets that show 10 RWHP from it! :up:
Is that supposed to be a secret?? We've been bugging her for data ever since she posted the pic.

But mine is already on order. Oughta put me over 300.

[TAF]

Is that supposed to be a secret?? We've been bugging her for data ever since she posted the pic.

But mine is already on order. Oughta put me over 300.
I thought it was only a secret...until breakfast last Saturday. If not...I'm sure I have a "spankin" planned by MARAUDERCHICK (I didn't just say that...did I?):depress:

[metroplex]

Why even bother with an electric water pump on a street driven car? It WILL fail and earlier than a properly working mechanical pump. Why? Because its an electric pump. They can fail a lot easier than a mechanical pump.

I have no idea why your pumps are failing, and from the lack of responses to the type of pump used, I am assuming everyone is sending their cars to a garage/shop to have it replaced and not doing it by themselves.

[TAF]

Why even bother with an electric water pump on a street driven car? It WILL fail and earlier than a properly working mechanical pump. Why? Because its an electric pump. They can fail a lot easier than a mechanical pump.

I have no idea why your pumps are failing, and from the lack of responses to the type of pump used, I am assuming everyone is sending their cars to a garage/shop to have it replaced and not doing it by themselves.
You're wrong here...and I've got much better minds for this car giving it a thumbs up than you.

[FordNut]

Why even bother with an electric water pump on a street driven car? It WILL fail and earlier than a properly working mechanical pump. Why? Because its an electric pump. They can fail a lot easier than a mechanical pump.

I have no idea why your pumps are failing, and from the lack of responses to the type of pump used, I am assuming everyone is sending their cars to a garage/shop to have it replaced and not doing it by themselves.
I know someone who has been running one for 2 years with no problems. And just because it's electric why would that mean it WILL fail sooner than a mechanical pump? We're using electric fuel pumps instead of mechanical ones aren't we?

[metroplex]

Are you talking about the Meziere pumps?

I know a lot of people that run them.... on race cars/weekend drivers.

The reason it will fail faster than a mechanical pump is because you're going to need it running all the time when you run your vehicle. On some electric pump designs, if it shuts off, water cannot flow properly (impeller blocks water flow).

A mechanical pump is a mechanical pump - the only real way for it to fail is mechanically. Kinda hard to do for a properly installed fully functional water pump. There's nothing special about the Marauder mechanical water pump.

I know ppl that run mechanical water pumps that last for 100k to 200k miles. I have never heard anyone running electric water pumps for that length of time w/o replacements.

Even with the Bosch intercooler pumps, they will fail sooner than a mechanical pump.

Even electric fuel pumps fail. And yes I do realize mechanical pumps in general fail, but what you're experiencing on the Marauder isn't heard of on any other Panther platform that gets run harder for day to day operations (Police cars, taxis, Limos, etc...)

Here's a list of electric stuff that can fail:
window motors (I have that happen on Fords all the time)
windshield wiper motors (happens every 50k-70k or so)
electric fuel pumps (not as often, but they still fail)
seat motors (the more mass you have, the more its going to be loaded down)

Going to an electric pump is a good idea for a weekend drag race car/weekend cruiser....
But as a daily driver I'd rather stick to a tried and true mechanical pump.

Perhaps your shop is installing the water pump incorrectly, damaging the bearings during installation?

It's your car and your money, do whatever you want. I don't need to care if you're taking my advice into consideration.

I know why people use electric water pumps and I know their limitations for daily driver use. I wouldn't put it on my daily driver period. I'd find another way to grab 10rwhp.

As for your cooling problems, there's something wrong with your installation or the pumps themselves. Figure it out. Unless you're running a reverse rotation water pump like the Continentals, your water pump should interchange with the 2V V8s. I'm running the Cobra (99-01 Cobra, 4.6L 4V V8) and GT water pump w/o any problems and I even have underdrive pulleys (these slow down the water pump even more)

My ECT stays under 205F even during the summer w/ the A/C on. :rock:

[David Morton]

I'm for the mechanical pump but for different reasons. If you change the coolant regularly, like just do a drain & fill every spring, the seal will almost never wear out, and when the pump does fail it will give you plenty of warning because it will be the bearing that goes. Electric pumps just stop all of a sudden. No limping back on WD40.


If you want some horsepower gains from coolant circulation there is probably a mechanical pump on the market that has a smaller impeller design, many such pumps save 10-15 HP.

My issues are dependability, durability, and performance and in that order. The factory goes with what works best cost-wise. So when it comes to cooling system design, I won't mess with it on my daily driver.

In the end, it's still gonna take HP to drive the water pump, whichever type you have, and that's gonna come right off the front crank pulley. Whether it drives a W/P pulley or the alternator that's dragging harder because it's having to put extra current into the system to drive the electric W/P. All we've really done with the electric W/P is wear out the alternator faster.

Electric W/Ps are great for a drag car that has plenty of time to charge up a battery before the run and doesn't even have a belt unless he's running with a blower.

Hope this helps.

[RCSignals]

.............................. .. from the lack of responses to the type of pump used, I am assuming everyone is sending their cars to a garage/shop to have it replaced and not doing it by themselves.
might have something to do with the car having a factory warranty.....

[metroplex]

Here's what I have, the PW-386 used on 99-01 Cobras and GTs.

I suppose with your Marauders you may need the factory warranty. Either that, or pay a vendor/speed shop/tuner for an overpriced solution. :beatnik:

[RCSignals]

I guess you either use the factory warranty to repair/replace items that require it, or you forget it and replace everything yourself and pay extra.

Why have you changed your water pump so often metro?

And belated Happy Birthday, you curmudgeon you

[Fourth Horseman]

Wasn't there something about the stock water pumps not flowing effeciently at higher RPMs? I thought the Cobras had a special design on the impeller to deal with this. Or am I all wet? Heh. Water pump. Wet. Oh, nevermind...