My husband just recently bought this car and the guy told him that he had just put a new water pump on. Keep in mind y’all this car is loud as heck. I mean its a beast. But it goes lol anyways we to grocery store and otw home and it started making this sound louder sound so we pull over and it just poured steam out or smoke whatever u call it. So my husband checks the water or coolant thing we had put water in it earlier or the day before but anyways BONE DRY when he raised the hood. So we put some more and try to get home going slow and like every couple miles we would stop and have to put more water more water more water. So he gets in contact with the guy and he says its probably the time belt cover. But I mean we looked cuz one of the times we stopped at a Walgreens so when he put it in I mean u could see it just pour on the pavement or basically. And u cant see where its leaking from but when u look and feel for it its down pretty far like to my elbow or a little before my elbow. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated! cuz we are broke now and my husband is wanting to buy a nee water pump when we dont even know if thats it and cant really afford to waste any more money. Please help.
Timing belt cover has NOTHING to do with this.
Sounds like the water pump was improperly installed.
Need to find where the leak is? Hose not properly reconnected after the pump change? Water pump gasket? Diagnosing over the internet is damn hear impossible. If you or your husband can’t determine where the leak is coming from then you need to take it to a qualified mechanic who can.
i have done 2. yes the timing CHAIN cover does leak and it will look like the water pump is the issue. both can leak. the gasket for the timing cover can fail and it will leak coolant into the oil. which is not good. the WP bolts to the TC. it is fairly common on the taurus to leak there. the TC bolts to the oil pan at the bottom and is a pain to get the bolts out
I’ve got to see this system. Why is there a gasket for a timing belt cover? Timing belts are a dry system…so no gasket is needed.
Definitely find someone who can diagnose this issue properly- and stop driving this car until you do. Putting a new water pump on when you don’t know that is the actual issue is a bad move and will likely only cost you more money than getting this properly diagnosed.
off hand, some guesses (and they are just guesses since I cannot see your car,)
-water pump was never actually replaced
-water pump was improperly installed
-hose clamp was left loose, causing a hose to pop off (cheap and easy fix)
-split hose unrelated to water pump replacement
-split radiator, also unrelated to water pump replacement
-cracked reservoir tank, also unrelated to water p[ump replacement
Water leaks aren’t hard to find, but you have to get in there and look. Under the car, on top of the car, what ever it takes.
I’ve not heard of what @Cavell is talking about with a gasketed timing belt cover, but I wouldn’t put it past Ford to use an engine that does that.
my taurus was a 2001. it had a 3.0 vulcan pushrod motor with a timing chain. the WP is bolted to the TC cover and it can leak at the gasket. the OP said timing belt which is not correct. i do not know for sure if the 98 even had the 3.0. maybe it was the 3.8 that ford had in other cars? my 2001 did leak a bit at TC gasket. it did not gush coolant. though the cast cover can corrode and cause a good leak
there was a 3.0 DOHC duratec but i dont know the years
If there’s a time chain then yes that makes sense since it needs oil for lubrication. Timing belt - I don’t know why there would be a gasket.
does it look like this? that is the duratec. uses chain also. not familiar with the timing cover design though
I expect you already know this OP, but this problem needs to be resolved before driving the car again. It could well be a minor and easily repaired problem, but if not repaired the overheating could ruin the engine in short order.
My guess however is the car was sold b/c it was overheating and the owner couldn’t figure out why. Hard to figure out overheating problems are pretty common. And the problem is continuing.