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I replaced my fan clutch around 180K miles and 10K miles later my water pump was on the way out...and I was taking the fan off again to do that work.
As for the block plugs, definitely spray them for a few days to loosen them up. They are not the hardest material so there's a risk of rounding out the square hole to remove them. Make sure you have a good 1/4" ratchet square that takes up the whole hole. The more play you have with the tool the easier it is to round out the square. I have that t-shirt.
I replaced my fan clutch around 180K miles and 10K miles later my water pump was on the way out...and I was taking the fan off again to do that work.
As for the block plugs, definitely spray them for a few days to loosen them up. They are not the hardest material so there's a risk of rounding out the square hole to remove them. Make sure you have a good 1/4" ratchet square that takes up the whole hole. The more play you have with the tool the easier it is to round out the square. I have that t-shirt.
243736 miles.
Water pump was done probably 100k miles ago by my Ford dealer, with a coolant flush.
I am doing my own first cooling flush, and replacing bad fan.
Believe me, I thought about doing water pump also, but have not finalized that decision yet.
Does anybody know the part numbers for these little block drain plugs.
I am thinking obviously the 1/4" drive is going to round it a little bit, so maybe the best practice would be to replace them with new ones EVERY TIME
OK I just found this on the forum using a google search.
But if anyone has a different actual part number that would be nice.
I believe that plug is 1/4-18. You can buy them at a good parts store, and you might get lucky and find one at Lowes or Home Depot in their specialty bins.
I think the part number is 444619... "plug, 1/4-18" - That is what the diagram shows. There is another plug near the oil cooler labeled in the book as "plug, oil cooler drain, 3/8 NPTF" with part # 445684
Last edited by marksman76; Sep 12, 2023 at 11:49 AM.
Reason: more info
No, on a level surface, the rear block drain holes are at the lowest point of the cooling system due to the tilt of the engine.
The other plugs you speak of with the 5/16" internal square are there to drain oil from accessories (like air compressors from medium-duty truck applications) mounted to the engine straight into the crankcase. You won't drain anything from those....but you will make a mess if they are left out with a running engine as the spinning crankshaft flings oil out.
So I called my local Motorcraft dealer today and told my parts guy I needed a water pump PW 455 , now apparently superseded by a PW 663,
and a lower radiator hose KM 4542.
So I unboxed the new water pump, and checked the country of origin CHINA.
Any way, inside was a water pump gasket with semi oval nibs on both sides.
So I am trying to fit it in there correctly, and I keep ending up with extra?
Any thoughts, tips, advice would be greatly appreciated.
No, on a level surface, the rear block drain holes are at the lowest point of the cooling system due to the tilt of the engine.
The other plugs you speak of with the 5/16" internal square are there to drain oil from accessories (like air compressors from medium-duty truck applications) mounted to the engine straight into the crankcase. You won't drain anything from those....but you will make a mess if they are left out with a running engine as the spinning crankshaft flings oil out.
I saw at least two plugs that were 1/4" external square nuts, ..... ..... not 1/4" internal square drive.
