I won't be starting on mine for a while. Will probably not be able to get started on mine until April or so.

 

cold...in Kentucky? It's been absolutely brutal here in north-west New Jersey. Average temps in the 20's and a metric-ton of snow.

Anyhoo, I heard it was going to warm up this week for a bit. Maybe in the 30's? That's like a heat wave... I haven't had the ambition to try and attempt anything on the truck except pass by it as I walk to my car (ha-ha). Hopefully this week I'll start to dig in and can post some feedback or better yet positive news! I know though once I get the truck back on the road we'll no longer need 4 wheel drive until next winter. Anyone wanna come help? LOL!

 

Well I finally got a weekend of beautiful weather. I managed to get the entire water pump project done however I have a small dilemma.

After topping off the coolant and running the truck to burp out any of the remaining air in the system, I found a small leak atop the water pump (where the pump meets the block). I was hoping it was a loose bolt or a bad seal on the thermostat housing but unfortunately not. It's really only a pin hole leak but a leak none the less.

Anyone have a suggestion on a simple fix to something like this? I made sure the block was clean before I put everything back together BUT i could have very well missed a small chunk of debris. I'm 99% sure the o-ring was seated properly and not shifted (the o-ring had these little nifty nubs that kept it centered and in place).

I was thinking maybe I could put a small (very small) bead of RTV around the perimeter of the pump face and re-assemble. Any reason not to?

I suppose I could just live with it since it's such a small amount but I'd rather not. With my luck I'd be taking a trip long distance and the o-ring would give or something.

I'm happy to have finally gotten the new pump on but man oh man small leaks like this aggravate me to no end!

I did choose to go with the international pump by the way (the one with the filter). Very pleased at how easy it was to "convert" it. Anyone contemplating doing the swap, don't hesitate, it's much easier than it looks or sounds.

Thanks for any input!

 

I would not hesitate to put a little Ford grey stuff around the bead.

 

Some grey is good but I would want to examine the surface and gasket.it should seal on its own . I sure couldn't live with it I know that.

 

Yeah, I've never had any luck at all sealing leaks from the outside. I would bite the proverbial bullet and pull the pump off and fix whatever it is that's causing the leak.

 

I had to replace my water pump this last weekend, no problem changing the pump, got the pump form NAPA and change all the hoses and T-stat. my question is I have 97 F250 7.3L but when started to take everything apart, the fan had 1999 7.3T written on it and the pump looks different then the one I but on, there are 2 temp sensors one just below the T-stat that had no wires connected to it, I looked for loose wires but found none. everything works no leaks, Temp gauge works. What is this sensor for and dose it make a different if 99 clutch fan is on it. Also had to get longer belt than what part store said goes on my truck,

 

Just out of curiosity, is there any benefit to getting a later year fan? The fan I have looks pretty good considering it's 21 years old, but I have a new fan clutch, and if there is a benefit, would I have to change out the fan clutch as well for it?

 

I have a 6.0 fan, its suppose to move more air. Same clutch.

 

I see. I'll have to try it out then.

Thanks Glenn

 

I did the 6.0 fan mod on my '96. I like it mainly because the polymer fan is a LOT lighter than the original steel fan and it seems like it places less load on the water pump bearings. However, there are some caveats:

1. I understand due to different pulley sizes the 6.0 fans turned a little bit slower than the OBS fans. If your motor is modified and you're revving high a lot, you may overstress your fan. I don't have personal knowledge of this, I picked it up on one of the discussion threads.

2. The 6.0 fan ends up being closer to the radiator than the stock OBS fan. Under hard acceleration or turning it can possibly hit the upper shroud and deflect into the radiator, with unsatisfactory results. I cut the flat area on the front upper part of my shroud away to provide more clearance. It has no measurable impact on air flow and gives the fan more clearance. Here's a link to a thread discussing this problem. There are more to be found by searching:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...fan-mod-2.html

Bob

 

I read some of that Bob and went out to look and my clearance. I could run my thumb all the way around mine. I can't imagine it hitting the shroud. Anyway, I never heard of the #1 above, that's interesting.

 

Interesting, The NBS 7.3's had a polymer fan as well. It was a 9 blade, but I wonder if your clearance issues would be fixed using that one instead?