Coolant Leak

[Funmart6]

In searching for a suitable replacement water pump, I see that some listings say the impeller rotation is "reverse", some say impeller rotation "clockwise", and some say impeller rotation "standard" even though they all look the same and state they are for a 1997 Taurus SHO 3.4 liter V8.
I know these engines use reverse flow cooling so, what gives?

The Duralast water pump sold at Autozone actually sounds decent, is reverse rotation, and the impeller is aluminum. I'm not sure if it comes with a new gasket though.
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[Funmart6]

So to be totally clear about this, can someone please confirm that I need a water pump that states "reverse" for the impeller rotation. I haven't got the thing apart yet to examine this.

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[Texas Marauder]

There is only one water pump for the V8 SHO.

 

[Funmart6]

There is only one water pump for the V8 SHO.

I understand there is one specific style of water pump for the SHO but my confusion is that there are a lot of them on ebay that say they are for a SHO but some say standard rotation or clockwise rotation. A few say reverse rotation.

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[Texas Marauder]

Again, there is only one pump. Ignore the rotation.

 

[Funmart6]

Again, there is only one pump. Ignore the rotation.

Okay, good to know. Thanks.

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[Funmart6]

Finally had time this morning and removed the water pump, housing and all. Now to find a suitable replacement.

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[luigisho]

There are only a few aftermarket options left out there. Good luck.

 

[Funmart6]

There are a lot of them on ebay and the usual auto parts places. The one that I removed from the housing has a plastic impeller. I have owned this car since 2003 and have never messed with the cooling system. I would think this is an original part but would Ford use a pump that has a plastic impeller? Heck the one from Autozone has an aluminum impeller.

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[luigisho]

I don't recall but I think they did use plastic impeller pumps. I have seen both impeller options on rock auto.

 

[Funmart6]

The replacement I ordered has an aluminum impeller. It should arrive tomorrow and hopefully the SHO will be back on the road soon. I ordered the one from Autozone because the quality looked to be better than the stuff I saw on ebay. Not sure if it comes with a gasket though.

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[luigisho]

I'd be pi ssed if it didn't come with one. Post back in case someone else is looking to replace.

 

[Funmart6]

Will do. The one I removed from the housing is metal and actually looks to be in good condition but yeah, you would think they would include a new gasket. I originally thought I would order the pump through the store because I have a 20 dollar credit. I called about it and asked if the thing came with a gasket and they had no idea, they were looking at the same thing I was looking at. When I asked about the time frame for delivery, they said by March 19th and delivery was to the store, hmmmm. So, I ordered the thing from the website, couldn't use my 20 dollar "store" credit though but that's okay, I will use it for something else. It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, delivered right to my front door.

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[Funmart6]

The water pump arrived this morning!!!
It came with a gasket but it is a crappy paper type of gasket. The pump itself looks good, feels solid, and spins smooth. The metal gasket I removed is in perfect condition and I will probably use it, I don't like the crappy paper one. Here are some water pump glamor shots!!!

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[luigisho]

Do you have a water pump gasket Ford part number? I wonder if there is a small supply of those somehow floating around.

 

[Funmart6]

Good idea I will look and see.

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I have been all around both sides of this gasket with my phone camera on 3x magnification and I do not see any part numbers at all, even at 10x, nothing. It is a metal gasket and has a thin black coating.

 

[luigisho]

Probably need a ford parts person or maybe the v8sho mailing list people have the part number. You might be able to reuse the original but it is really old.

 

[Funmart6]

I am going to use the one I have. When I reinstall all the cooling system components, I will pressure test the system before adding any coolant to see if it holds pressure and check for leaks.

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[Majestic]

There are a lot of them on ebay and the usual auto parts places. The one that I removed from the housing has a plastic impeller. I have owned this car since 2003 and have never messed with the cooling system. I would think this is an original part but would Ford use a pump that has a plastic impeller? Heck the one from Autozone has an aluminum impeller.

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I had a regular Taurus several years ago for travel purposes. It had plastic vanes in the water pump that eventually disappeared.

 

[Funmart6]

Okay. Yeah, I know the one I removed had to be the original one. The plastic impeller actually still looked good.

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