Anyone have a link to a write-up on replacing the water pump ?

We have a 1986 F250 2wd SuperCab 4speed/4.10:1 gears
285k miles Full Banks Turbo kit and Gear Venders OD (installed when truck was new)

Thanks in advance

 

She has a good amount of miles on her...Not really any writeups that I am aware of, I do know it involves pulling rad, and the crank pulley/fan/fan clutch.

 

The truck has been around.
Daily driver for the past ten years,

 

Huh? Negative on the radiator.

No writeups that I know of, but here's the short version:

Purchase new water pump, thermostat, upper & lower radiator hoses. (thermostat **must** be ford or IH only)

You'll want some gasket adhesive or RTV. I prefer the permatex gasket adhesive. (sold in a small can with a screw top)

Tools: Basic sockets, srcrew drivers and wrenches. The only special thing you need is a fan clutch wrench or large pair of channel locks. You need to hold the fan pulley while turning the fan clutch nut off. The clutch nut is something like a 1 5/8" hex, so a large pair of channel locks or large open end wrench would work. The hard part is holding the pulley. I've been able to wedge a bar between a bolt head and the clutch nut and make it work but it's much easier to have the right tool. Unfortunetely it's not something you can rent easily, but I think it's like $50 on ebay? Search for 6.9l fan clutch wrench.

The hardest part is removing the fan. If you have the tools it's easy, if not you'll fight with it for a while and then wonder why the f you didn't just buy the wrench. **it is a left hand thread** It's confusing. Pull that and the fan shroud off (fan shroud is 4 8mm bolts) Drain the system (block drains as well if they're not rusted solid) and remove you radiator hoses. The water pump will then unbolt and lift off. ***Pay attention to the 2 top center bolts*** These go into the front casing and if you use the wrong ones (too long) they'll bottom out on the injection pump drive gear and snap your injection pump drive off when you try to start the truck. Bad day. The new pump should come with 2 new bolts and a little sheet telling you to use them. If not, then reuse the old ones but make sure you put them in the same holes and that the water pump casting is the same thickness. At one point there were different design pumps and some were about 1/4" thinner where those bolts are, causing the problem. I think most are all the same now, but still check.

After cleaning the gasket and all install is just bolting it on. Remember the 2 top bolts mentioned above, and some of the bolts will need a dab of RTV on the threads. Getting the fan threaded back on is a PIA too, but nothing you can really do other than keep trying. Remember it's a left hand thread, so the opposite of how you think you should do it.

 

I don't think you have to pull the crank pulley either but I may be wrong.

I'd do the thermostat and hoses at the same time and flush your block out while you're there.

Overall probably a ~2 hour job?

 

I seem to have forgotten removing the PS & AC brackets as well.

Scans from the ford manual attached here:
PG1
PG2

 

Thanks

 

I don't know where you are, but like every Autozone should have tool rentals. Other similar places may as well. Make sure you get the right ones before you leave the parking lot. The first set they tried to rent me didn't work. The one for the fan clutch side is huge. Again remember the fan is LEFT hand threads, so its the reverse of usual bolts. Its also pretty darn tight with locktite. Leave the belts on until you get the fan off, that will help hold it in place a little bit.

Alternator, vac pump and AC have to come off. For some reason I don't think I needed to remove the PS pump though?

If you're careful you can leave the radiator shroud in place. Some people have mentioned putting some cardboard against the radiator to protect it. Certainly would ruin your day to smash it up while taking the fan off.

When replacing the fan use RED locktite. You don't want the fan to loosen up as it will take out the radiator.

 

I'd be very surprised if Autozone or any of the parts stores had a rental wrench that would fit these things. Could be wrong, I haven't checked. I don't even think Napa stocks the wrench set. They may have a fan clutch set but I doubt it would have the one for these trucks.

I think it's the PS pump & AC brackets that do have to come off, 95% sure that the alternator & vac don't for the pump. They do for the thermostat, which I recommend replacing.

Agree on the cardboard. It's not that easy to nick a tube, but easy enough that you should be careful. I think removing the fan shroud is way less work than trying to do the job without. It's only 4 bolts.

I strongly disagree with using locktite. It's a left hand thread specifically to keep it from falling off. The fan load is going to tighten the clutch onto the pump nose. The only way it could possibly unscrew would be something trying to rotate the fan faster than the water pump with the clutch locked up. I've never heard of one coming off or loosening up at all. As hard as they are to take off anyway, red locktite would pretty much permanently glue that thing on there.

 

I'd be very surprised if Autozone or any of the parts stores had a rental wrench that would fit these things. Could be wrong, I haven't checked. I don't even think Napa stocks the wrench set. They may have a fan clutch set but I doubt it would have the one for these trucks.

I think it's the PS pump & AC brackets that do have to come off, 95% sure that the alternator & vac don't for the pump. They do for the thermostat, which I recommend replacing.

Agree on the cardboard. It's not that easy to nick a tube, but easy enough that you should be careful. I think removing the fan shroud is way less work than trying to do the job without. It's only 4 bolts.

I strongly disagree with using locktite. It's a left hand thread specifically to keep it from falling off. The fan load is going to tighten the clutch onto the pump nose. The only way it could possibly unscrew would be something trying to rotate the fan faster than the water pump with the clutch locked up. I've never heard of one coming off or loosening up at all. As hard as they are to take off anyway, red locktite would pretty much permanently glue that thing on there.

 

This took me about 30 seconds and 5 mouseclicks to find:
OEM/5 pcs. fan clutch wrench set (27141) | Fan Clutch Wrench | AutoZone.com
The other set they have is too small (and what they gave me the first time that didn't fit)

Also found this which mentions that actual wrench sizes (48mm and 83mm):
Amazon.com: KD Tools 3296 Ford Fan Clutch Wrench Set for 6.9- and 7.3-L Engines: Home Improvement

Left or Right hand thread on fan clutches depend on the direction the water pump turns. They are always picked so the resistance of the fan tightens the nut as the engine is turning. Problem happens when the truck shuts off. After reading several threads on replacing a water pump, I choose to use red loctite on mine 2.5 years ago. My pump went south again and I replaced it about 2 months ago. No problem breaking the clutch free, and I once again used some loctite on it. If you don't want to use red, at least use blue.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post10807748

 

Mine came off once. 5th gear WOT..... caught traction and stalled engine instantly... turbo... WOP WOP WOP.

Fan clutch/fan... on the ground.

I would use anti seize on that thing if anything.

 

Just did my water pump this morning. Nothing in the free world would remove the old fan clutch, so I used a sawsall and cut it off Had a brand new one on closeout from rock Auto so I wasn't worried about wrecking it. Other than that not a terrible job...

 

Too bad you didn't make a video of that.

 

thanks for all the help guys,

it all went fairly easy. (the 2 hours you guys said it would take, ended up being like 6+)
(except for all the trips back into town, AutoZone gave us the wrong upper radiator hose, took the radiator to a shop to be tested, flushing, loosing parts, etc...)



btw,
the water pump looked great, no play in the shaft, bearings felt just fine. blades looked new (just like the blades on the new one) it had very little mineral build up
the gasket looked like it had been leaking and the weep hole was defiantly dripping

we did find out the radiator has some tiny leaks (radiator shop guy did a flow test and pressure test)
flowed a little slow, and was leaking all along the top at about 20psi.
the guy said to put a lower pressure radiator cap on it and keep an eye on the level.
he said it was from Electrolysis erosion from being on a diesel with the big alternator and dual battery's
but 300,000 miles and 25 years isn't too bad for original water pump, hoses, and radiator


btw,
I said it had 285K miles on it,
that was like 2 years ago, when the spedo broke