60K problems

[Troj84]

Did my 60K a few weekends ago. A problem has developed after about 300 miles. My car is leaking coolant from the front of the engine. Im sure its the waterpump. I put a new motorcraft one on when I did the 60K. I think it is leaking near the area where the pipe that runs across the top of the engine slides into the waterpump housing. The O-ring is the only seal. Is there any special trick to getting this right? I was leary of it when I did it and now of course my worst nightmare is coming true. Is there a way to see if the waterpump is leaking itself? Also when I took my belts off, after releasing the tensioners, I could not hardly get the belts off. I literally had to pry them off the pulleys. I had them replaced a few years back and wonder if maybe they put the wrong ones on. I had to loosen the alternator to get one off. I just didnt think it was that tough to get them removed, and of course putting them on was tough as well. Lastly, what trick is used to get the crank pully bolt torqued to its spec. The engine moves prior to getting the required spec. THanks for your help in advance. I love my SHO, but having to tear down to fix the waterpump has me very dissapointed. Time to put the car in the garage for the winter.

 

[sdpatt]

Welcome to the SHO Forum and I am sorry to hear about your misfortunes. If yuo had visited here first, you could have read about similar experiences and the means to avoid reproducing them.

You can check the integrity of the water pump's shaft seals by using a small mirrot to view the weep hole at approximately 7:00 position on the pump body. Being a new pump, this is probably not the problem. I have been using the A1 Cardone remanufactured Motorcraft (Aisan) pumps that are available for about $65 with a lifetime warranty. (I use those lifetime warranties).

The water pump seal most likely to leak is the thinner O-ring between the pump and the block. The application of any RTV at this mating surface will impair the sealing of the O-ring since it lessens the sealing force on the O-ring. The O-ring at the discharge tube has a cleaner environment and is easier fitted during the pump reinstallation. If you reused the old seals, you would be much better off replacing them with the $5 Fel-Pro ES70425 water pump gasket set available through many sources.

The accessory belts (two belts indicates you have a 3.0L engine with manual transaxle (MTX)?) are removed by loosening the 14mm nut on the tensioner pulley and rotating the 5mm Allen bolt at the top of each tensioner in the CCW direction. You stated the you released the tensioners, but you should be able to move the pulley down to the bottom of the adjustment range and have significant clearance to remove and replace the belts by hand.

The correct belts are the 3.0L Gates K040500 (4-rib 50.0" for PS pump and water pump) and K060445 (6-rib 44.5" for A/C compressor and alternator) available for about $13 each from RockAuto.com and other sources. If the tensioner was at full travel and the belts were still tight, the incorrect belts had been installed.

It is quite critical to torque the damper bolt to the high end of the 113-126 lb-ft range. This can be done on the MTX SHO by keeping the driver side front tire on the ground, placing the shifter in fourth gear and setting the parking brake (should already be set). Another option is to have a second person stand on the brakes in this configuration.

My chosen method is to use a strap wrench around the damper with the handle contacting a piece of wood placed on the front subframe crossmember. This method has easily allowed tensioning the bolt to its maximum value. You should be able to buy a strap wrench (set) from a place like Northern Tools, Harbor Freight or Sears for around $10. Very helpful tools.

I hope this helps.

 

[AutoSHO]

I had a leaky O-ring behind the water pump. Get the fel-pro set like Scott said. The trick is to **** them with a little something to get them to slide in easier without unseating. I think I used a little coolant.

 

[Troj84]

Thanks guys, that helps alot. I now know that the shop that put my belts on put the wrong ones on, tensioner were fully released and belts were TIGHT.. Always got to do things yourself these days..... Looks like I probably didnt **** the o-rings as needed. Will get the new gaskets and belts and get her back on the road later on. To darn cold up here now.

p.s. THanks for the part numbers

 

[sdpatt]

Try this topic for a few more part numbers and sources.