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99-up PowerStroke Water Pump Replacement
by Todd D. Smith

Recently I noticed the water pump in my 1999 Ford F250 Super Duty was leaking. A small puddle of coolant would accumulate daily under the truck directly below the fan pully. While running I could also smell coolant while walking around the front of the vehicle. I haven't been happy with the service from the local dealers,  so I decided to perform this R/R myself. Under warranty there was a $100 deductible anyway. I found a re-manufactured water pump from NAPA (lifetime warranty) for about $180.

I have heard that Auto Zone may carry a re-man pump for this application for a bit less ($120), but there is limited availability. The price at the local International dealer was about $260. The Ford dealer price is about $400.

This article describes the water pump replacement process in detail. The job requires about 3 hours. The truck should be allowed to fully cool before performing this job. You can do it yourself, but a few special tools are required. 

Parts required for this job:

Water pump: NAPA part #58-554 (includes the water pump molded seal)

Thermostat gasket: Ford Part #F4TZ-8255-A, NAPA Part #1106 ($1.00)  (Pictured left)

Heater Hose Fitting O-Ring: Ford #1825293-C1 (International same number, <$1.00) (Pictured center)

Intake Pipe Gasket: Ford #F81Z-8255-AA  <$1.00) (Pictured right)

(Optional) Thermostat - Obtain from Ford or International Dealer.

Teflon pipe thread sealant

4-gallons Distilled Water (~$1.00/gallon)

up to 4 pints FW-15/16 or DCA4 supplementary coolant additive (SCA).

4-gallons Anti-freeze Fleetrite #ZJJ996723A , about $7.00/gallon

(optional) High Temp RTV Permatex (black)

(optional) Assortment of Stainless Steel Hose Clamps to replace stock spring loaded clamps.

Special Tools required for this job:

1-7/8 inch open end wrench (Fan removal). A large pipe wrench would also work if you cannot obtain the wrench. Ford also specifies special tools for fan clutch removal, but a "shadetree mechanic" probably wouldn't have access to these special Ford tools.

Strap wrench (to hold fan pully for fan removal) or a universal pully holder (likely available at your local auto parts store)

1 inch open/box end wrench for water pump heater hose fitting

19mm wrench for coolant sensor

The balance of tools are a mix of standard/metric hand tools.

Here are the steps required in performing a water pump replacement:

Remove the negative battery terminal connections.

WARNING: Never remove the pressure relief cap while the engine is operating or when the cooling system is hot. Failure to follow these instructions can result in damage to the cooling system or engine and/or result in personal injury. To avoid having scalding hot coolant or steam blow out of the degas bottle when removing the pressure relief cap, wait until the engine has cooled, then wrap a thick cloth around the pressure relief cap and turn it slowly. Step back while the pressure is released from the cooling system. when you are sure all the pressure has been released, (still with a cloth) turn and remove the pressure relief cap.

Loosen the pressure relief cap on the degas bottle (coolant reservoir).

Two five gallon pails or equivalent are required to drain the coolant. Place the pail under the drain valve at the left end of the radiator (drivers side). Open the radiator draincock and allow coolant to drain completely. About 80 percent of the coolant is drained from the system during this step. 

Note: do not completely remove the white knob from the drain.

About 20 percent of the coolant is left in the engine. If total coolant replacement is required, locate the coolant drain plugs at the rear of the engine block and remove the plugs to drain  the balance of the coolant.  Removing the starter makes draining the passenger side of the engine easier. Make sure your bucket is placed in the proper position, as the coolant will quickly run out of the block upon removing the plug.

At this point you can optionally perform a cooling system flush. I won't cover this in detail, but an excellent reference article is located here. 

Apply fresh thread sealer to block coolant plugs and replace the block coolant plugs when the coolant is fully drained (and optional flush is complete). Tighten block drain plug to 12-18 Lb*Ft.  Replace the starter if removed. Torque starter bolts to 20 Lb*Ft.

Remove the lug wrench and tools from above the radiator.

Remove the three bolts from the degas bottle and rotate the degas bottle out of the way.

Squeeze the clamps from the upper radiator hose and remove the upper radiator hose. You may want to consider replacing the squeeze clamps at this time with stainless steel worm gear hose clamps. The spring loaded clamps have a nasty habit of breaking at the worst place and time. Those spring clamps should be outlawed!

Remove the serpentine drive belt at this time. Use a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar to relieve the belt tensioner.

Remove the fan and fan clutch from the water pump pulley. The large clutch assembly has a right-hand thread and must be turned counter-clockwise to remove. Hold on to the belt pulley with the strap wrench, and use a 1-7/8 inch open end wrench to break the fan free. When removed from the pulley, carefully lay the fan down into the shroud temporarily.

Remove the two fan shroud bolts using an 8mm socket/ratchet. Now pull the fan shroud/fan clutch/blade out as a unit. Be careful not to damage the radiator.

Disconnect the heater hose from the brass water pump fitting.

Remove the three bolts (8mm socket) holding the thermostat cover. Leave the thermostat in the pump for now.

Remove the two bolts holding on the water inlet tube and remove the water inlet tube from the right side of the water pump.

Disconnect the water temp sensor electrical connector.

Disconnect the camshaft position sensor (CPS) wiring harness push-pin from the water pump housing on the left side. Disconnect the CPS electrical connector from the sensor and position the wiring harness out of the way.

Remove the nine bolts holding the water pump. There are three long bolts denoted by "L", one medium length "M" bolt, and five short bolts. Remove the water pump from the engine.You may have to tap the pump with a rubber mallet to dislodge the pump. Note the position of the Cam Position Sensor (CPS).

Clean the water pump gasket surfaces.

Remove the old gasket from the water inlet tube. Clean the water inlet tube at both ends. A wire wheel works well for cleaning the hose end. Install the new seal on the inlet tube and install the tube into the new water pump. Tighten the two bolts to 35-46 Lb*Ft.

Inspect and clean the upper and lower radiator hose ends. Rust may accumulate here. Inspect the hoses and replace them if they show signs of rot or excessive wear.

Remove the pulley from the old pump. I used a 10mm socket/ratchet with a big screwdriver for this job. Install the pulley on the new water pump. Tighten the four bolts to 35-46 Lb*Ft.

 

Remove brass heater hose fitting from the old pump using a 1 inch end wrench. Remove the old o-ring and replace with a new o-ring. Install this brass fitting into the new pump. Tighten until snug with the 1 inch end wrench.

Remove the thermostat from the old pump. This can be replaced with a new one at this time if desired. If not, make sure the old t-stat is clean. Install the thermostat into the housing, pointing the arrow to the rear bolt hole. Then place the new thermostat gasket into the groove. Clean the discharge tube and then re-attach to water pump, tightening each of the three screws to 15-20 Lb*Ft.

Remove the coolant sensor from the old pump using a 19mm wrench. Clean any old pipe sealant from the threads and apply some new pipe thread sealant. Install the sensor into the new pump and tighten until snug.

 

 

 

 

Remove the plug pointed to by the arrow on the right. Make sure to apply thread sealant on this plug and re-install into the new pump. Tighten until snug.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the new pump, showing the molded o-ring assembly placed into the grooves. Inspect the perimeter of the new pump, making sure no metal protrusions stick out from the mating surfaces. A problem here could result in a leak after installation. You can remove these "bumps" with a small flat metal file. Make sure to remove the o-ring before filing. Clean the o-ring grooves and mating surfaces before re-installing the o-ring. You may have to use a bit of high temp permatex (black) in a few strategic points to prevent the o-ring from falling out of the groove. My application did not require this, though. The o-ring on this pump was very cooperative staying in place.

Verify the water pump gasket surface on the engine is clean. Install the new water pump onto the engine. Verify that the pump o-ring stays in position.

Make sure the bolts are placed into the correct positions (see above picture of bolt holes for correct bolt placement)

Tighten the water pump bolts to35-46 Lb*Ft.

Install the heater hose on the brass water pump fitting..

Plug the electrical connector into the coolant sensor.

Plug the electrical connector into the CPS connector. Push the wiring harness pin into the water pump hole at the left side of the pump.

Connect the water inlet hose to the water inlet tube.

Install the fan/clutch/shroud assembly into the engine compartment. Make sure the two tabs at the bottom of the fan shroud engage correctly. Install the fan onto the water pump pulley. Using the strap wrench and 1-7/8 inch wrench, tighten the fan nut snug. Remove the strap wrench from the belt pulley.

Install the fan shroud bolts. Tighten the bolts to 80 Lb*Inch.

Install the serpentine belt. Use the diagram found to the right of the radiator for proper belt placement around the pulleys.

Install the upper radiator hose.

Install the degas bottle. Tighten the three bolts to 80 Lb*Inch.

Close the radiator drain valve.

Give a once-over to verify all reinstallation steps are complete.

Add a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze/distilled water to the cooling system. Also add FW-16 at the rate of 4 ounces per gallon of coolant. I added about 6 gallons of coolant, so I added 24 ounces of  FW-16 coolant additive. Install the pressure cap on top of the degas bottle.

Connect the negative battery terminal connections.

Move the temperature blend selector inside the cab to the full warm position (full clockwise).

Start and run the engine at 2000 rpm for 5 minutes or until it reaches operating temperature. Check for coolant leaks at this time.

Turn off the engine and allow cooling system to cool.

Add the proper coolant mixture to the degas bottle until the level is between min and max marks.

Repeat the above 3 steps until proper coolant level is obtained.

After a few days, test the SCA levels in the coolant by obtaining test strips or by submitting a coolant sample to a lab. Add FW-16 as required to bring the SCA level to 2-3 units. You can take a sample by briefly opening the radiator draincock.

Old water pump analysis: I removed the weep hole cover on the old pump and found that the seal had been leaking. Premature pump seal failure is fairly common on these trucks. Possible reasons include poor seal quality control, excessive FW-16 levels, coolant contamination (water with high mineral content), or cooling system contamination (high casting sand content).

I will venture a guess my pump failed due to excessive SCA concentration. When tested, SCA's were at the high end of normal. In the future, I'll attempt to run at the low end of normal SCA levels.

I've tried to eliminate some of these failure mode conditions by installing a coolant filter as shown at the right. I would recommend using filters without SCA precharge (no units).

I obtained the filter and base mount from my local International dealer. I found some brass fittings at the local Home Depot. I obtained a piece of 1/8" thick metal to fabricate a mounting bracket. As you can see, there is not much room to put the filter.

An excellent article discussing coolant filters for a Powerstroke application can be found here.

Here's a picture showing the tap points into the heater hoses for the coolant filter. The hose on the right feeds the filter, and the hose on the left is the return from the filter. The filter contains a built-in orifice which limits the amount of coolant flow diverted from the heater hoses. You don't have to worry about the coolant filter causing a loss of cab heat in the winter.

Questions and comments are welcome.

E-mail: tmeister73@yahoo.com