2003 Ranger 2.3-liter cooling system advice

[Scout24]

Hi there! I'm new to the forum and was looking for some quick cooling system advice.

I'm in the middle of swapping out a water pump that was weeping coolant.

I actually replaced the old pump with a new one a couple days ago. The old pump had started weeping around where the pump impeller mates to the housing. It turned out that the O-ring had crapped out.

So I get the new pump and new O-ring in place thinking I'm golden. It was not to be. I was still getting little drips of coolant on the driveway. It still appears to be coming from the water pump.

The coolant is dribbling down the edge of the timing cover, and I could see drops forming on the bottom of the pump contour that has the casting plug in the end of it.

Everything above that point on the pump is dry... The inside of the pulley is dry. It's difficult to tell for sure, But I think the coolant might be coming out from around that casting plug / freeze plug in the new pump.

My questions:

- Does anybody have any experience with CarQuest water pumps? Are these things likely to be junk right out of the box?

- If the O-ring on the pump is doing its job, then there shouldn't be any coolant getting past it and weeping out the mating surface between pump and housing, right?

- I'm considering trying 2 things...
1) putting the new O-ring on the old pump and re-installing the old pump.
2) putting a little RTV around the mating surface of the new pump before re-installing it to see if I still get any leakage.

Any advice before I start putting things back together? I'm kind of trying to avoid having to keep draining the coolant and swapping out parts until the drips stop.

Thanks!

 

[Scout24]

Just for illustration...

Here's a photo of the new pump. That little freeze plug is toward the bottom when the pump is installed. After driving when I would look up at the assembly from below there would be a drop of coolant visible on the bottom of that contour.

Thanks, Again!

 

[Scout24]

Well... I opted to try putting the new O-ring on the old pump and re-install the old pump.

The logic (though it may be dubious) that I followed was this:
I know the only place the old pump was leaking from was the joint between the pump and the housing... which turned out to be a very obviously bad O-ring (it was at least 1/2 an inch in diameter larger than the outside of the pump body). So , replace the part you know is bad, and leave the part that seems to be working alone, right?

Besides... I don't like putting RTV on stuff unless I absolutely have no choice.

I cleaned the pump and housing mating surfaces with some brake cleaner and a little Scotch Brite... Popped the new O-ring on the old pump... Lubed everything up with some coolant... and put it back together.

I filled it with coolant and bled out the air. So far everything appears to be holding. I'm going to do some driving with it tonight. I'll let you know if it's truly fixed or not.

 

[enjr44]

Since I wasn't there to take a look, I am guessing you got a bad "new" pump. Now a days, you are the manufacture's quality control department. They make them, box them and send them out. New no longer means good.

That is why most mechanics don't buy from the corner auto parts stores. They can't stand to be out the extra labor of doing the work twice.

That said, keep a close eye on the old pump. There is usually a reason the old seal failed. Like a worn impeller bearing.

 

[Scout24]

Thanks, ENJR44.

So far all is well. I drove it around quite a bit today on the old pump and everything is still holding tight.

There was a tiny, tiny bit of end play detectable in the old pump shaft, but I put it back in anyway.

I'm going to head back to the parts store on Monday and get them to give me a different pump in exchange the junk one. That way I'll have it on hand if the old one does finally crap out.

I can't blame pro shops for not wanting to gamble on having to do a job twice. I'm not really out anything except my time, but it's still annoying as all get out to have to do a job twice (or more) because nobody can manage to make stuff that actually works anymore.

I miss the days when you could go into the parts store, buy a new part, and be 99% sure it would work correctly. This isn't the first time I've gotten a bum replacement part that was brand new. I try not to buy the cheap stuff built by the lowest bidder. But even the brands that used to be fairly reliable over the years are getting spotty these days.

C'mon, people... we're the most advanced civilization the world has ever known. We can do better than this.