I have 00 f250 7.3L I notice a leak from the front of the engine. don't know where it is coming from. some one told me it was the water pump. But where is the water pump? Help

 

Mine started leaking a couple of months ago and for the life of me I couldn't see where it was coming from. Sometimes the leaks do come from the waterpump, but check your hoses VERY carefully first. Mine was doing it intermittently and after taking out the air box and using a mirror I discovered the radiator hose clamp had snapped and was just sitting there. The fluid was leaking from where it fits on the pump. A new worm clamp instead of the oem style and I'm good to go. Not a drop since. Good luck.

 

thanks for the insight I'll double check the hoses and clamps.

 

Not sure on a diesel, so I can be VERY wrong, but almost always the water pump is a cast iron housing at the front of the engine and usually it has one or more black rubber hoses going into it. It is usually about the size of a turkey sliced in half(very holiday like eh). Very often the fan and assorted belts will be on a pulley on the pump shaft. Usually a pump leak will be from the nose and you will spot dribbled coolant on the belts and pulleys right under it.

Unless the diesel is very different, for you to ask where the pump is makes me think this problem may be better handled by a mechanic with some experience. Or if you are adventuresome and can check shop manuals...

Usually the pump will leak around the shaft seal. The shaft seal is in the housing that is on the front of the housing and behind the fan. Most people just remove that subhousing, about the size of a pieplate, relatively flat and with the shaft and the fan mount on the end of the shaft. Most places will rebuild or exchange this sub assembly. If you are mechanically inclined, the seal and bearings are not that hard to replace but you will need tools not typical of amatuer mechanics. I would just have a rebuild.

In your further search for leaks, assuming it is not the pump, I would look for rust or coolant stained run marks around the engine. Again, I do NOT know diesels, but usually the leak spots are hoses and clamps, including the heater inside the cabin, the freeze plugs and engine block drain plugs(usually one on each side), some freeze plugs or just plugs on the back of the engine inside the bell housing. Also common leaks are the gaskets to the waterpump, the thermostat housing, and lord help you, the intake manifold and heads. Work from the front since that is what you suspect and work back until you find the leak. Pump shaft leaks are often quite obvious.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

You're right. The water pump is in the same general location as on a gasser. Unfortunately the fluid they used in mine is only lightly tinted and on the ground it just looks like water. It can be real tricky to locate the leak on the diesel because of the intercooler hose and the intake set up. The lower hose is pretty hidden where it connects to the pump. With his being a ~seven year old 7.3, there's a pretty good chance it is the pump.
If you can see the weep hole at the bottom of the pump, you can see if any water is coming out. If there is, it's your pump. If not, it's likely a hose or something else.