The weep hole cover plate of the new water pump shown in the quote above is installed upside down.

The way it is installed in the photo above defeats the entire purpose of the weeping well, which is to contain the naturally occurring seal seepage until evaporation.

With the hole oriented on the bottom of the steel disc cover that caps the weeping well, no fluid is retained, and therefore the entire point of the weep well is defeated.

Below is a photo of the original production water pump.



Notice the orientation of the weep hole cover over the weep well. The color service publication by Ford and International known as the 7.3L Anthology, aka "coffee table book", discusses the evolution of this weep well in the 7.3L water pump.

Also notice the International part number cast into the flange of the housing 1831005C2.

You asked if the pump you removed could have been original. The photo you posted of your used pump was of the back side. If the front side doesn't have the above part number cast into it, then it is not an original pump. If it does have the number, it still may not be an original pump, because for a long while the original pumps were collected as cores and remanufactured by Motorcraft and others. For quite a few years, the replacement water pumps sold at the Ford dealer had an "RM" suffixed to the part number. Those remans might also have the 1831005C2 number cast into the housing. But if yours doesn't have that number at all, then your old pump quite likely was not original.

And, I don't think your new pump is a Motorcraft either. New Motorcraft pumps, ever since Motorcraft stopped selling "RM" versions, have the Motorcraft brand cast into the front face of the housing. It looks like this:



I don't see that anywhere on the front of the new water pump you showed with the upside down weep hole cover. I'm kind of worried about that water pump. If whoever rebuilt it, or manufactured it, didn't have the know how or the process quality control to install the weep hole cover correctly, I wonder how they seated the seal, or what quality seal was used. Seals are the heart of the water pump, and are quite varied and sophisticated in mechanical design. Here are some examples of seals:













As you can see, there is a great deal of variation in seal designs, which opens up a great deal of opportunity to cut corners so as to reduce cost. Not only are there mechanical differences, there are material property differences. The upside down weep hole cover, and the lack of any Ford, International, or Motorcraft brand or part number embossements cast into the housing, lead me to believe that this water pump is not what it was billed to be on CL, even if it came in a Motorcraft box. I suspect a switcheroo.

 

 

I've never tried it, but you have an old pump you can experiment with.

 

 

Your going to have every member that installed a wp, to verify weep hole orientation...ill report back on finding of pump removed in 2010 for oem vs am

Removed with roughly 105k-110k as prev maint

Weep hole oriented at 12oclock

Casting numbers

 

John, I can't answer the million dollar question.

But I can show you what the Ford / International training manual says about the weep hole design update for the Ford '99 up 7.3L:




The genuine Motorcraft replacement water pump (purchased from dealership) that I installed recently also had the hole in the weep hole cover plate oriented north up top at 12 noon position, not down at the bottom at 6 o'clock like that "Bus Aftermarket" sample does. Even the CARQUEST aftermarket water pump that I rejected at least had the weep hole at 12 noon.

The weep hole cover plate orientation is not that big of a deal. Earlier (94-95) water pumps didn't even have a reservoir to evaporate the weep. Just a hole, without a well cast into the housing at all. I just pointed out the fact that it was upside down to give you a heads up that you most likely do not have a Motorcraft waterpump, and you most likely did not remove a Motorcraft waterpump. And if whoever in China is building some of these aftermarket pumps can't look at photos of the part they are knocking off to get the cover plate on correctly, what other tolerances or issues are off in the build of the seal, shaft, or bearing?

 

 

 

Great info Y2! Appreciated...

 

Here's my 1,000,000 answer Marabeth...run the damn thing. Your out the price of it anyhow so you might as well use it. But, if bent on the hole location issue, sell it. Sure, some1 will use it, me being 1 of them if price right...will check my 2 Airtex when the sun pops out.

 

I second the run it at this point, the last one was that way too, did you notice anything wrong with how it worked?

 

The only bolts I replace are the thermostat ones

 

If one was to look at the weep hole on say, a small block Chev pump......it's a hole at the 6 o'clock position of the casting.

 

 

Colorado....you are way over thinking this.