Help! Broke down in Jacksonville Fl. need a water pump and some one to install it

saburai

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Hi Gang!
We caught some bad luck! My Wife and I are on the road north pulling our 30ft RV with our '90 7.3 idi F-250. We arrived in Jax at a friend's house and started smelling coolant. Leaking a stream out the bottom near where the pump housing mates to the block. We're o.k. in that we are at a friend's house so we have a place to stay with out hemorrhaging money, so that's good. The problem is that we have a business commitment in NY on Thursday. I'm a pretty fair mechanic, but the tools are packed up pretty tight and mostly we're falling behind schedule for the upcoming business in NY. Can anyone help? Recommend a shop nearby? We'd be happy to pay someone or a shop who could be trusted with the job. I'm reading the water pump threads right now...
 

shawn deere

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Its not too bad of a job. Just watch the top two bolts on it. - some variation can extend into the timing gears and cause some hate and discontent. New water pump is less than $50 i believe
 

Macrobb

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Um... Not sure about the shop or anyone who could help, but replacing the water pump isn't a huge job. It's a greasy pain, but not too hard - a day job if you have a few tools.

Basically, it's a matter of removing:
1. The fan.
2. Belts.
3. The shroud, for clearance. I tend to just cut mine, and take if off in two pieces if needed.
4. Any brackets that bolt to the water pump(with a 90, you should have a v-belt system; PS and AC brackets need to be removed)
5. Remove the water pump pulley bolts.
6. Pry off water pump, making sure you have a catch bucket.
7. Clean up gasket surface
8. Install new pump. See directions in the water pump box - there are issues with the two middle top and bottom bolts being a different length on stock pumps, but newer castings remove that requirement. Now, they are the same length as most of the other bolts.

Reinstall everything you removed.

A $30 set of sockets from Harbor Freight will do the job nicely; perhaps get a set of wrenches and a gasket scraper too.
 

saburai

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Hi Shawn, thanks for the quick reply! About how long would you allow for the job? Reading the other water pump threads now, seems like the fan/clutch can be problematic...
 

saburai

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Um... Not sure about the shop or anyone who could help, but replacing the water pump isn't a huge job. It's a greasy pain, but not too hard - a day job if you have a few tools.

Basically, it's a matter of removing:
1. The fan.
2. Belts.
3. The shroud, for clearance. I tend to just cut mine, and take if off in two pieces if needed.
4. Any brackets that bolt to the water pump(with a 90, you should have a v-belt system; PS and AC brackets need to be removed)
5. Remove the water pump pulley bolts.
6. Pry off water pump, making sure you have a catch bucket.
7. Clean up gasket surface
8. Install new pump. See directions in the water pump box - there are issues with the two middle top and bottom bolts being a different length on stock pumps, but newer castings remove that requirement. Now, they are the same length as most of the other bolts.

Reinstall everything you removed.

A $30 set of sockets from Harbor Freight will do the job nicely; perhaps get a set of wrenches and a gasket scraper too.

Thanks for the speedy reply! I've got my tools with me. Other than a new Motorcraft pump, any special tools needed? What's the best coolant?
 

saburai

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Um... Not sure about the shop or anyone who could help, but replacing the water pump isn't a huge job. It's a greasy pain, but not too hard - a day job if you have a few tools.

Basically, it's a matter of removing:
1. The fan.
2. Belts.
3. The shroud, for clearance. I tend to just cut mine, and take if off in two pieces if needed.
4. Any brackets that bolt to the water pump(with a 90, you should have a v-belt system; PS and AC brackets need to be removed)
5. Remove the water pump pulley bolts.
6. Pry off water pump, making sure you have a catch bucket.
7. Clean up gasket surface
8. Install new pump. See directions in the water pump box - there are issues with the two middle top and bottom bolts being a different length on stock pumps, but newer castings remove that requirement. Now, they are the same length as most of the other bolts.

Reinstall everything you removed.

A $30 set of sockets from Harbor Freight will do the job nicely; perhaps get a set of wrenches and a gasket scraper too.
/

Thanks for the speedy reply! I've got my tools with me. Other than a new Motorcraft pump, any special tools needed? What's the best coolant?
 

hexpheen

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Best coolant is probably what the factory recommended which is Motorcraft gold, I believe, with SCAs.

People use all different types of coolant, including ELC like Zerex. Some here will recommend against that.

I think the best advice is to go with a low-silica concentrate, dilute 50/50 with distilled water, add SCAs...then test for proper SCA levels. I use NAPA green because it is low-silica, cheap, and widely available. I then add Motorcraft VC8 (2 pints).

-hex
 

shawn deere

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Hi Shawn, thanks for the quick reply! About how long would you allow for the job? Reading the other water pump threads now, seems like the fan/clutch can be problematic...
I would say 4 hrs for a first time bush fix would get it done.
To remove fan clutch - leav all belts on. Get a big cressant wrench on it and start hitting with a hammer. Ive always got em off. Sometimes itll take 20 minutes of whack a mole. But it does come free.
Dont cut fan schroud. Lol
Itll come off with fan clutch at the same time
I put just a little silicone on my gaskets when i did it. Like width of the lead in a number 2 pencil- no more, pry a little less wiuld be better. Let it sit a day - if time allows then fill up with coolant
Good luck!
 

Macrobb

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I've used Autozone water pumps in all my trucks; no failures yet!

Coolant wise, I believe in Zerex HD ELC. Napa carries it, P/N: ZXED1 - Usually about $20/gal for concentrate.
 

saburai

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icanfixall

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Happy to read your fixed and back on the road. Breakdowns are part of the trip. We can't replace everything before a trip but we try to be ready anyway.
 

saburai

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O.K., we're settled in for the night at a scenic Walmart parking lot in PA. Some day I'll post about our off grid RV: 960W of solar power, on board 12v 70gpd RO system and lots of other cool stuff. We live in it full-time... Let me take a moment to thank you again for your willingness to help! I'm glad that I wimped out and paid Brian for 3.5 hours labor. I would have been working in a sandy back yard with no provision for a car to run out if something didn't go as planned. It was also a day of torrential rains at my buddies house! I don't mind getting wet but all of my tools bags and anything else would have been absolutely soaked... Brian did a proper system flush, replaced the thermostat, cleaned the front of the engine bay and just generally did a superb job. I do wish I had more time to hang out here with you guys instead of just coming for information or when I need help with a problem...
 

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