'97 Taurus GL 3.0L: Water Pump Recommendations?
What should I be looking for in a water pump replacement for this car (if I don’t go with the Motorcraft dealer unit)?
1.) Should I avoid remanufactured units?
2.) Are there any special features that are worth paying for (like particular impeller designs, special bearings, etc.)
3.) What about AutoZone’s Duralast units? Any opinions?
4.) Are these things sold in pieces such that I may have to transfer parts off the old unit to the new if I buy the “wrong” thing? For example, does the “neck” come with the new unit. My “neck” rotted out a few years ago and I hammered in a brass replacement. Will I have to do that again?
5.) What kind of sealant is used? I’ve got a tube of sealant left over from my Lower Intake Manifold gasket job on my '02 Impala. It’s the black (Permatex). Can this stuff be used?
A high quality remanufactured water pump will work fine. These meet or exceeds the original manufacturers specifications. For example, you remove the original water pump and find that it has the cheap stamped metal impeller blades where the remanufactured unit has cast iron impeller blades. This was probably done because the original design impeller blades had a history of being erroded away. So the remanufacturer did an upgrade in materials for the impeller blades to make sure this didn’t happen. Same holds true for the bearing and seal. If there’s an upgrade in the design of these components, the remanufacturer included these upgrades.
What comes off the car as the water pump is what you get in the box of the remanufactured unit.
When replacing a component that comes with a gasket, I use that gasket. Sealers are fine if you remove part that has a gasket but don’t have a replacement gasket for the part when it’s reinstalled. I know a gasket isn’t going to ooze out from between the mating surfaces when the bolts are tightened. Thereby preventing possible leaks in the future.
Tester