'09 Taurus 150k 3.5L internal water pump, should I replace before it goes?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

This was given to us by my wife’s employer because I loved it. I have all the maintenance records and everything was done on schedule. When I acquired it 20k ago I switched to synthetic motor oil. I have learned that this particular engine has an internal water pump and when it fails it can destroy the engine and is very expensive to replace along with the timing chain, etc. What can I do so that it lasts longer? Should I have it changed before failure?

2

All I can say is, water pumps, timing chains and guides don’t last forever.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=8305016&cc=1443431&jsn=474

Ya feel lucky, punk?

Well, do ya?

Dirty Harry.

Tester

3

11 hours labor to replace the water pump. whew!!! I can see why you want it to last longer. Keeping the coolant replaced frequently and the cooling system air-free are about the only pro-active things you can do. New coolant will contain chemicals that helps protect the pump, so error on the side of replacing it too soon rather than too late. Air in the cooling system will increase corrosion, so ask you shop to always bleed the air out when doing a fluid change, and pressure test the cooling system to make sure there are no small leaks.

There’s an upside to that design btw. It forces you (or shop) to inspect the inside of the timing cover once in a while, so you have a chance to find problems like broken timing chain guides that you wouldn’t otherwise.

4

Nothing lasts forever as one already said… if it were me I would bite the bullet and just have it changed out for peace of mind. Because in the end the car does have 150k miles & who knows how much this part has left in it.

5

I guess I will start saving my money. Currently I am only putting on 12k miles per year. I have a trusted mechanic and plan to replace the water pump, timing chain plus all the guides, etc. I will have him inspect the engine to see what else or, if it looks bad, abort.

I also have a 2008 PT Cruiser coming up to 97k miles and I will need to do a timing belt replacement on that one first. Thank you all for helping me to arrive at a decision!