Water pump failure... second time in less than 6 months.?

Question

I have a 2002 Ford F-250 XL crew cab long bed 2WD automatic 7.3 powerstroke turbo diesel pickup. For the second time I find myself having to replace the water pump and it's been less than 6 months since the first one.
The pump is not leaking. What's happening is the pump shaft is working its way forward over time and this causes the pulley to become misaligned and makes the belt squeal like crazy. This also causes the impeller to start carving away at the housing, which puts metal shavings all throughout the system. I flushed out the system thoroughly before installing everything, thinking the new pump was going to last me a few years, but what else could possibly cause my pump to go bad so fast?! I've never heard of such a thing.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I'm not a diesel guy but it sounds like you are getting bad pumps. Switch brands but also replace the tensioner arm and pulley if it has one, those spring loaded tensioner arms go bad at the pivot and misalign the belt. This could cause increased axial load on the pump.

? · Answer

I must question why a sixteen year old American boy needs a turbo diesel long bed Ford truck to go to high school and back. Furthermore, I question why this boy considers himself a mechanic qualified to do any repairs on this or any vehicle.  Do American driving license arrive with a mechanical repairs license as well?  Water or coolant pumps are rather simple devices. You know the source of the replacement device. Is this a Ford part of a separate company? Was it installed correctly or not? Is the pulley assembly aligned? Was the belt tightened to specific tension?  Kids wish to play "mechanic" since, I mean, these are "simple" replacements. Right? Well, now you know they are not.  This is 13 to 14 year old vehicle with over 150,000 miles and its mechanic condition is unknown. The only proper and responsible answer is the same always. Please procure the services of a trained, certified, licensed and experienced auto mechanic for proper and warranted repairs.

Pat F85 · Answer

Could be a pump quality issue, as Ucant'..says, but also check the fan clutch operation, and the blade for trueness & balance. A worn clutch and/or an out of balance blade will do a water pump bearing in .

Robert M · Answer

WHO made the REPLACEMENT PUMP for you! Get ONLY a genuine FORD rebuilt one! USE ONLY GENUINE FORD COOLANT ! Read your MANUAL about the COLOR and GRADE of coolant needed! there are more than THIRTY types of COOLANTS OUT THERE! the WRONG one will eat up IMPELLERS and more! USE ONLY a REAL SYNTHETIC OIL IN THERE as well! SHELL HELIX is EXCELLENT for DIESELS,and GERMAN made DIESEL OIL from PENTOSYNTH is UNREAL! REBUILT p[umps are many times ROTTEN to begin with! BYE NOW! CHECK AL PULLEY and IDLERS as well! BAD REBUILDS are EVERYWHERE OUT THERE! BEY NOW! WHO did the WORK FOR YOU! GO BACK and ***** about it! Get a REAL GENUINE FORD PUMP! The ORIGINAL lasted a VERY LONG TIME< right! There is a REASON for this to happen! This also happens with REBUILT steering racks, CALIPERS and more! the GENUINE FACTORY PART is the one you should BUY and USE! You can even GOOGLE the part number and get GREAT PRICES with NO added charges on them!  NEVER trust ANYONE using a OFF BRAND rebuild on your truck! BYE NOW!

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J J · Answer

My best guess is the pump is a rebuilt and not a very good one. Try somewhere other then Pep Boys next time.

Water pump failure... second time in less than 6 months.?

6 Answers