How can I tell if the water pump on my 1995 Ford Taurus is bad? I have a severe water leak.?
The leak started yesterday. I cannot see exactly where the leak is coming from however the coolant is running down right beside the water pump. I just cannot see where it is.
Tagged with: coolant
Filed under: Ford Taurus 1992-1995
I’m pretty sure that if you take the pump off - you’ll see that the base is cracked.
Pretty common for the Taurus - like bad head gaskets.
Hurry and get it fixed
only thing else in that area would be a heater hose. unless u have a head gasket leak but it would smoke out the tailpipe if that was it
When a water pump leaks it is usually behind the pulley around the shaft.
G,DAY CHAMP IF YOU LISTEN TO THE PUMP PUT A LONG FLAT SCREW DRIVER ON IT AND IFHERE A SCREAMING NOISE THAT MEANS THAT THE BEARINGS ARE SHOT.THEN AGAIN IF YOU TAKE THE ROCKET COVER FILLLER OFF [WHERE YOU REFILL THE OIL] IN AND IT IS A CREAMY COULOR THAT MEANS YOU HAVE DONE THE HEAD GASKET.SO THOSE ARE THE 2 WAYS OF FINDING OUT CHAMP REGARDS TATTS
You didn’t mention which motor is in your Taurus but in any case the 12 and 24 valve water pumps are easy to change if you have patience and tools.
If you’re working on the 24 valve motor it’s necessary to remove the serpentine belt and the splash panel underneath the car so you can get to the radiator drain valve on the left side. Drain the coolant into a clean plastic pail. Next comes the coolant recovery tank beside the right front fender held by a small metric screw at the end facing the power steering pump reservoir.
The next part isn’t fun at all. You must take the three long bolts out of the power steering pump, followed by the power-steering pump steel line retaining clip on top of the alternator. This must be done as there is a heater core hose buried behind the power steering pump. Remove the right front wheel and set the car on jackstands. The following work must be done through the fenderwell opening. The forward inner fender-well plastic splash panel must come off to gain access to the the four bolts which hold the water pump housing on the engine block. You will see a lower hose that must come off and without a set of water pump pliers to remove the factory Ford pain in the a*s clamp.
If you have a 12 valve motor the job is mush easier but you still need to remove the alternator to gain access to the large plate which has many smaller bolts to remove. You must remove the water pump pulley bolts from the water pump to gain access to all of the waterpump flange bolts. Srape all block surfaces clean. Its best to run a bead of blue silicone around the block gasket surface and the waterpump gasket surface before laying on the new waterpump gasket.
Good luck with your project!
get a small mirror and look behind the waterpump pulley. if you see stain or water coming out from the tiny hole, it a bad waterpump.