Replacing Water Pump '93 Taurus 3.8L

[a777]

How do I access all the bolts/nuts on the water pump for a 1993 3.8L Ford Taurus sedan especially the lower ones between the water pump pulley and crankshaft pulley?

I have read the Haynes manual. Even after removing the serpentine belt and alternator I don't see how I can get a wrench on the lower bolts of the water pump. There is only about an inch of clearance between the hub of the water pump and the inner fender. So the water pump pulley can only be removed with the pump. But the water pump pulley blocks access to the lower bolts.

Crawling under the car I don't see any way to access the water pump bolts from underneath. And I don't want to remove the motor mount bolts and jack up the engine just to replace the water pump. I have googled and searched but have found no answer.

Any suggestions? Thank you.

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

According to the factory service manual for the 3.8L:
1. Drain engine coolant as outlined.

2. Disconnect battery ground cable.

3. Loosen drive belt tensioner and remove drive belts.

4. Remove two nuts and one bolt attaching drive belt tensioner to engine.

5. Disconnect heater hose at water pump.

6. Remove four water pump pulley hub bolts. The pulley will remain loose on hub due to insufficient clearance between inner fender and water pump, restricting removal from vehicle.

7. Remove 11 water pump-to-engine retaining bolts.

8. Lift water pump and water pump pulley out of vehicle.

-Rod

[a777]

Thanks Shorod. I have read those procedures many times before. The problem I am having is in step 7. There is so little clearance that I don't see how I can get a wrench on the lower bolts of the water pump. The water pump pulley blocks access to those lower bolts. And there is no way to remove the water pump pulley except to come out attached to the water pump because there is so little clearance. So it's like catch 22.

[tripletdaddy]

So, you have removed the four pulley hub bolts, separated the pulley from the pump hub, shifted the pulley as far as possible from the lower bolts and you still can not get to them? You may need a way to wedge or hold the pulley up. Are you only using a socket wrench? A box or open end wrench should fit. Ideally, a gear wrench would work in such a situation. You may not be able to remove the bolts from the water pump body, but at least they should back out of the engine so that you should be able to slide the water pump, pulley and loose bolts out together. Good luck and lots of patience!

[a777]

Originally Posted by tripletdaddy

So, you have removed the four pulley hub bolts, separated the pulley from the pump hub, shifted the pulley as far as possible from the lower bolts and you still can not get to them? You may need a way to wedge or hold the pulley up. Are you only using a socket wrench? A box or open end wrench should fit. Ideally, a gear wrench would work in such a situation. You may not be able to remove the bolts from the water pump body, but at least they should back out of the engine so that you should be able to slide the water pump, pulley and loose bolts out together. Good luck and lots of patience!

Thanks tripletdaddy. Now I have a new problem!

I finally was able to remove all the nuts and bolts and get the water pump loose. But there are 4 threaded studs remaining and the water pump does not have enough clearance to slide off the studs, it hits the inner fender. And there is not enough length to the studs to put a jam nut on and try to remove the studs. I had to use a lot of torque just to get the nuts off the studs and none of the studs loosened or came off with the nuts. Any more torque and I'm afraid they could break off. So the studs are probably rusted/frozen in there or close to it.

Please, any suggestion how to get this water pump out now?

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After some more research I found a possible solution in the next paragragh below. If I do what it says and remove just the nuts on two right motor mounts, will I able to jack up the motor about 4 or 5 inches on the right side (I think I need that much to slip the water pump off the studs and over the right fender apron) without doing damage to the left motor mounts, steering column, or anything else?
I really hate to have to jack up the engine so hopefully someone can suggest an alternate solution to getting the water pump out. Thank you.


Both the 3.0 and 3.8 have 2 motor mounts located on the passenger's side of the vehicle that are held to the subframe by a large nut(aprox 21 or 22mm). One is on the RF corner, the other is back by the firewall under the car on the subframe. If you jack up the car and remove those nuts, the engine can be raised a little using a floorjack with a block of wood under the oil pan to give additional clearance at the fender apron to get the water pump in and out.

Final Note: I eventually was able to get that water pump out by jacking up the engine. Instead of placing the jack under the oil pan I placed it under the motor mount bolt (after removing the nut). It turns out all I needed was about an inch raised.
After all this it seems like my problem was one of the studs holding the water pump was about a quarter inch too long. I got the car new in 1992 and the dealer replaced the engine under warranty with a remanufactured engine because of an unsolvable ping. At that time I thought it was going to be a new engine (that's what the manager told me) and not remanufactured. Anyway maybe that's why the stud(s) may have been too long.

Thank you Shorod and Tripletdaddy for your past comments.

[dannydanSKYDOG]

no dude... the remain has nothing to do with your clearence... I am replacing my w/p on our 93 3.8 wagon and am running into the same deal! The problem was IS the design engineers of a BASIC DIY componet! they are 's

[manaswee]

Mine is a 93 Taurus 3.8L station wagon. I just would like to make a brief comment after reading so many eventful things and experiencing a few "braving bushes and brambles" myself.
The way this whole car was designed was a statement to the world as in saying:
"Look, we know a harder way to get things done!"