Coolant leak - use stop leak?

[Pagesx5]

I am slowing losing coolant and a pressure test showed it coming from the water pump housing which my mechanic said is a bear of a job to get to. My question is, is it safe to try a stop leak product or will that make things worse. Is there a downside to keep adding coolant as needed? I have a 2015 with 94K miles on it.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[yaycandy]

It always easier and cheaper to just get the issue fixed as soon as its noticed.

 

[luigisho]

How old is the car? If it is old enough or enough miles I would consider a replacement just to make sure the internal seal is good. Plus you can get a good look at the chain tensioners and chain
But yea it's alot of work to pull everything apart.

 

[yaycandy]

How old is the car? If it is old enough or enough miles I would consider a replacement just to make sure the internal seal is good. Plus you can get a good look at the chain tensioners and chain
But yea it's alot of work to pull everything apart.

Looks like nearly 100k. Pumps usually fail around 80k miles. Id change it out early before it gets any worse

 

[NoSlo]

Pump failure or leak will destroy this engine. Class action lawsuit etc. Your fellow member's wrecked engine and extended warranty denial: https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/the-saga-contiunues.142845/#post-1564078

 

[rubydist]

Stop leak is not a good idea in this application because the water pump is most likely leaking from one of the seals, and that leak can find its way into the oil which results in the dead engine described in the above post. Get the pump changed as soon as you possibly can. While they are in there, have them take a good look at timing chains and tensioners and replace anything suspect there at the same time.

 

[yaycandy]

Also good idea to clean or replace the vvt solenoid while your in there. The screens on them get very dirty and with the amount of mileage on the engine. It may not make a difference but it also wont hurt to check it quick

 

[Pagesx5]

Thank you for the advise. Do you recommend a Ford dealer or should a good mechanic be able to handle it. The guy I use said he doesn’t feel like dealing with it, I guess due to what a pain it is to fix.

 

[Pagesx5]

The mechanic who pressure tested it said it was leaking from the cover. Just to confirm, this could still mean that these seals are shot???

 

[Redbull14]

Leaking from the cover (and only the cover) won’t destroy your engine. But, if you have to take the cover off to replace the seal, might as well spring for the pump and timing chain work, especially if you intend to keep the car. My .02.

 

[SeanDev]

My 2013 Taurus lost its water pump at 152,000. Lucky for me it went out the weep hole, if it went the other way into crankcase, I would have lost the engine. For $1,800 at a Ford dealer I got a new pump, chain, cover and a 3yr 36,000 mile warranty on pump. I personally wouldn't ***** around, $1,800 is alot cheaper than buying another car, especially with the prices of used cars the way they are right now.

 

[yaycandy]

I just replaced the water pump on a 15' the other week. Paid less then 100$ for the oem pump and it wasnt bad to install. Replaced the chains also and some seals. I did it by the book so once you remove stuff out of the way you actually have room to work on it. Only took a few hours, also not the first one ive done

 

[Pagesx5]

Thanks for everyone’s reply. 50 years ago I tore apart motors in my backyard, changed clutches in front of my house and did just about everything to my car. Those days are long past me now. I still do oil changes and brake jobs but something like this is why I have a day job. But thanks for the info. My local Ford dealer quoted me $2700. They get $150 an hour. I’m talking to a local shop that did the same motor, I think they said in an explorer? I could be wrong. But apparently this motor is used in more than just the SHO. I have another guy I’ve used that replaced the head gaskets on my Subaru and races drag cars. So I know he could do it. I’ll take everything from this forum and get er done. Thanks again.

 

[SeanDev]

Thanks for everyone’s reply. 50 years ago I tore apart motors in my backyard, changed clutches in front of my house and did just about everything to my car. Those days are long past me now. I still do oil changes and brake jobs but something like this is why I have a day job. But thanks for the info. My local Ford dealer quoted me $2700. They get $150 an hour. I’m talking to a local shop that did the same motor, I think they said in an explorer? I could be wrong. But apparently this motor is used in more than just the SHO. I have another guy I’ve used that replaced the head gaskets on my Subaru and races drag cars. So I know he could do it. I’ll take everything from this forum and get er done. Thanks again.

Wow 2,700. I would find a different dealership, that's 900 more than what I paid just a year ago. Only the transverse 3.5 N/A and TT have the water pump inside instead of outside the engine. Was Fords bright idea to save space and squeeze a 3.5 into a 3.0 liter slot. Yaycandy is correct, parts are cheap and if your patient it can be easily done in a day on your own. But I get were your coming from, like you back in the day , this would have been a normal project for me. But my hands hurt, and well I'm not getting any younger, so I paid someone else for their time instead of spending mine.

 

[NoSlo]

Wow 2,700. I would find a different dealership, that's 900 more than what I paid just a year ago. Only the transverse 3.5 N/A and TT have the water pump inside instead of outside the engine. Was Fords bright idea to save space and squeeze a 3.5 into a 3.0 liter slot. Yaycandy is correct, parts are cheap and if your patient it can be easily done in a day on your own. But I get were your coming from, like you back in the day , this would have been a normal project for me. But my hands hurt, and well I'm not getting any younger, so I paid someone else for their time instead of spending mine.

You can ask them which:
They take three times as many hours as Ford will reimburse for warranty service because they are incompetent;
They charge $250 an hour because they think they are top-flite lawyers or something;
They are criminals.


At 79K, dealership, look at how they don't even put down hours, they just make it up:

 

[Ta2dResqr]

You can ask them which:
They take three times as many hours as Ford will reimburse for warranty service because they are incompetent;
They charge $250 an hour because they think they are top-flite lawyers or something;
They are criminals.


At 79K, dealership, look at how they don't even put down hours, they just make it up:

A 2015 with 94k miles probably is not a warranty claim (unless he answered the call for an extended warranty). Labor time for the water pump is 13.4 hours. He stated they charge $150/hr which not that crazy for a dealership labor rate. $2010 in labor, add parts (pump $125.16, Gasket $5.40), fluids, shop fees, etc at dealership prices and I would say $2700 is not a crazy price. That being said, as he is doing, I would find an independent and get it done at a cheaper price.

 

[Pagesx5]

Thank you both for this info. I was wondering what the shop hours were for a water pump. They said it could take 2 days. From what I have read, I should also have the chains replaced. The dealer that quoted $2700 said the chains only represent $100 of that $2700 so I figured I might as well get that done too, plus the VVT solenoid that someone else suggested. Either way, it's a lot of money but I hope to get another 90K out of it.

 

[luigisho]

I think explorer uses the same engine if you wanted to use that garage.

 

[yaycandy]

I wonder why they went with 5w20 oil

 

[Ta2dResqr]

I wonder why they went with 5w20 oil

Hopefully it was a typo. If not, my guess is they looked up 3.5L and saw 5w-20, didn't notice below that was 3.5L TT 5w-30.