water pump impeller gone bad?

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:59:41 -0400, "Steve W." >
wrote:

>Ashton Crusher wrote:
>> I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>> It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>> getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. I changed out the
>> thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>> it ever did before. Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>> antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>> rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>> problems.
>>
>> How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>> cause of this? Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>> changing the wp again.
>
>It's far more common that it used to be. Especially with re-man pumps.
>
>Did it start running hotter suddenly or has it been creeping up?
>Check the fan clutch yet?
>Radiator clean through the fins, A/C condenser clean?
>Have you checked to see if that is REALLY the operating temp. using a
>mechanical gauge? Could be a sender going bad.

Depends on what you call suddenly but it ran fine for 4000 miles cross
country this summer and then a month later started running hot on a
mountain trip and hotter, according to the gauge, even around town.
Actual temp has been verified with an infrared gun, old thermo was
replaced with no improvement (bad thermo was my first thought). I
used to be able to tow a boat at high speed on the hottest summer day
with the AC on and the temp barely rose. Now it goes to mid scale
some of the time even on just a warm day driving around town or on
local freeways. Something's changed but I can't figure out what.

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 06:22:43 +0000 (UTC), Brent
> wrote:

>On 2012-10-22, Ashton Crusher > wrote:
>> I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>> It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>> getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. I changed out the
>> thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>> it ever did before. Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>> antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>> rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>> problems.
>
>> How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>> cause of this? Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>> changing the wp again.
>
>Check and see if the radiator is covered with debris. I tracked down a
>cooling issue to the radiator, no leaks, I had maintained everything
>properly, but it just wasn't doing the job. Given the high milage I
>figured I'd just replace it since I could get a deal on a upgraded unit
>from ford racing. When I went to put it in I found the main portion of
>the radiator, that I couldn't see because of the AC heat exchanger
>(between it and the radiator), was almost entirely blocked with debris.
>I swapped it out anyway. On another car of the same model I just cleaned
>off the debris and the problem went away.
>
>On another note, if all else fails might want to check the catalyst and
>see if it's becomming plugged.
>

The rads been suggested a couple times so I'm going to get out my
inspection mirror and flashlight and see if I can see up there. I had
the AC condenser off last year and the rad was very clean at that
time. I guess the cat could be on it's last legs, how would I check
that?

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:36:27 -0700 (PDT), m6onz5a
> wrote:

>On Oct 22, 1:55*pm, Ashton Crusher > wrote:
>> I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 *miles ago.
>> It was OK at that time. *Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>> getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. *I changed out the
>> thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>> it ever did before. *Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>> antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>> rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>> problems.
>>
>> How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>> cause of this? *Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>> changing the wp again.
>
>I've seen impellers that been eaten away ( not in 10k though),
>impellers that have broken loose from the w/p shaft, impellers
>installed wrong on the w/p. It is possible you have a defective
>pump.
>
>Also double check you have the serp belt routed properly in case the
>water pump is running backwards.

That's an interesting idea. I did recently replace the belt, who
knows, maybe things fit two ways. I'm giving it low odds though
because that would make the fan turn the wrong direction and I'd think
that would make a funny noise. At least it's easy to check.

On Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:42:59 -0700, Bill >
wrote:

>In article >,
>says...
>>
>> I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>> It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>> getting up to around 240 on mountain grades.
>>
>
>WHY did you replace the water pump 10,000 miles ago?
>
>The job of the water pump is to circulate coolant.
>
>The job of the thermostat is to regulate the flow of coolant to the
>radiator. Closed if too cool / open if too hot.
>
>With that said, is the top of the radiator too hot to touch when it
>reaches 240?
>
>Is the air blowing out of the radiator hot?
>
>Is the bottom of the radiator cooler than the top of the radiator?

Old water pump had started leaking. I took temp reading at several
spots but don't recall the readings. I'll have to do it again
sometime and see how the top of radiator temp compares to thermo
housing temp, etc.

On Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:55:14 -0700, Ashton Crusher >
wrote:

>I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. I changed out the
>thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>it ever did before. Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>problems.
>
>How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>cause of this? Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>changing the wp again.


I posted the above 18 months ago and got a lot of helpful answers.
Don't drive the vehicle much so just lived with it last summer for the
few times I drove it. It was really heating up at the Drive-Through
windows and still running hot most of the time on the highway.

Anyway.... a couple weeks ago I bit the bullet and got a new water
pump from rockauto. Took the old one off and put the new one on. The
old one still looked like new, no wear at all on the impeller. Since
they were different brands there were slight difference between the
exact shapes of the impellers but nothing that looked significant. The
thing I was looking for and the only thing that appeared to be
different was that on the new pump the clearance between the impeller
and the housing that forms the "pump cavity" was about half what it
was on the old pump - along the lines of 0.030 on the old overheating
pump and 0.015 on the new pump.

With the new pump in place the truck now runs at the temps it always
did before, very cool. Maybe there was some difference in the pumps
besides the clearance but I couldn't see any. I've heard from many
Pontiac people that they clearance their water pump separator plates
on the old V8's because a very slight increase in clearance reduces
pump flow significantly so they make it as tight as they can without
it rubbing. It's the only thing I can figure for this Ford pump.
O'Rielly's gave me my money back for the old lifetime warranty pump,
never even asked what was wrong with it.

On Wednesday, April 2, 2014 7:48:22 PM UTC-6, Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:55:14 -0700, Ashton Crusher >
>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>
> >It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>
> >getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. I changed out the
>
> >thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>
> >it ever did before. Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>
> >antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>
> >rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>
> >problems.
>
> >
>
> >How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>
> >cause of this? Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>
> >changing the wp again.
>
>
>
>
>
> I posted the above 18 months ago and got a lot of helpful answers.
>
> Don't drive the vehicle much so just lived with it last summer for the
>
> few times I drove it. It was really heating up at the Drive-Through
>
> windows and still running hot most of the time on the highway.
>
>
>
> Anyway.... a couple weeks ago I bit the bullet and got a new water
>
> pump from rockauto. Took the old one off and put the new one on. The
>
> old one still looked like new, no wear at all on the impeller. Since
>
> they were different brands there were slight difference between the
>
> exact shapes of the impellers but nothing that looked significant. The
>
> thing I was looking for and the only thing that appeared to be
>
> different was that on the new pump the clearance between the impeller
>
> and the housing that forms the "pump cavity" was about half what it
>
> was on the old pump - along the lines of 0.030 on the old overheating
>
> pump and 0.015 on the new pump.
>
>
>
> With the new pump in place the truck now runs at the temps it always
>
> did before, very cool. Maybe there was some difference in the pumps
>
> besides the clearance but I couldn't see any. I've heard from many
>
> Pontiac people that they clearance their water pump separator plates
>
> on the old V8's because a very slight increase in clearance reduces
>
> pump flow significantly so they make it as tight as they can without
>
> it rubbing. It's the only thing I can figure for this Ford pump.
>
> O'Rielly's gave me my money back for the old lifetime warranty pump,
>
> never even asked what was wrong with it.

Interesting but doesn't explain why it ran great for 4000 miles. At least you got it worked out. Will be interesting to see if it comes back in 4k miles.

On Wednesday, April 2, 2014 9:48:22 PM UTC-4, Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:55:14 -0700, Ashton Crusher >
>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >I put a new water pump on my 92 explorer less then 10,000 miles ago.
>
> >It was OK at that time. Now it runs much hotter then it ever used to,
>
> >getting up to around 240 on mountain grades. I changed out the
>
> >thermostat, hoses, and anti-freeze but it still is running hotter then
>
> >it ever did before. Radiator has no leaks, has always had the
>
> >antifreeze maintained so I'm pretty sure there is no plugging on the
>
> >rad. Engine runs very smoothly with no evidence of any head gasket
>
> >problems.
>
> >
>
> >How many of you have ever seen the impeller of a water pump be the
>
> >cause of this? Since I can't find anything else I'm thinking of
>
> >changing the wp again.
>
>
>
>
>
> I posted the above 18 months ago and got a lot of helpful answers.
>
> Don't drive the vehicle much so just lived with it last summer for the
>
> few times I drove it. It was really heating up at the Drive-Through
>
> windows and still running hot most of the time on the highway.
>
>
>
> Anyway.... a couple weeks ago I bit the bullet and got a new water
>
> pump from rockauto. Took the old one off and put the new one on. The
>
> old one still looked like new, no wear at all on the impeller. Since
>
> they were different brands there were slight difference between the
>
> exact shapes of the impellers but nothing that looked significant. The
>
> thing I was looking for and the only thing that appeared to be
>
> different was that on the new pump the clearance between the impeller
>
> and the housing that forms the "pump cavity" was about half what it
>
> was on the old pump - along the lines of 0.030 on the old overheating
>
> pump and 0.015 on the new pump.
>
>
>
> With the new pump in place the truck now runs at the temps it always
>
> did before, very cool. Maybe there was some difference in the pumps
>
> besides the clearance but I couldn't see any. I've heard from many
>
> Pontiac people that they clearance their water pump separator plates
>
> on the old V8's because a very slight increase in clearance reduces
>
> pump flow significantly so they make it as tight as they can without
>
> it rubbing. It's the only thing I can figure for this Ford pump.
>
> O'Rielly's gave me my money back for the old lifetime warranty pump,
>
> never even asked what was wrong with it.

In the meantime, I actually have seen a WP impeller failure, oddly enough on a different Ford V6.

Car (late-ish model Mustang) came in with an overheating complaint and a noise that sounded like a bad WP but customer didn't authorize changing it as there was also a coolant leak from thermostat housing. New housing, stat, and gaskets later, leak gone, car still overheating after a few minutes of running. With belt removed, WP rotated freely and bearings did not wobble.. No leak from WP.

thermostat was then removed, reassembled without stat, upper hose removed from radiator, water from garden hose would flow through engine/rad in either direction. Engine started and revved, no flow evident through hose. Informed customer that the next step was removing water pump, when impeller spinning on shaft was found. New WP installed, problem solved.

nate