How difficult is it to change out the water pump & thermostat in a 1996 F-150 5.0L? How much time would I need to invest?

I also have a leaky driverside headlight assembly. Everytime I hit a puddle the headlight assembly fills up with water and my bulb explodes! Has anyone ever changed one of these?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

I just put a new water pump on my truck last night. Its not that difficult to do. The T stat is fairly easy. I would say that most shadetree mechanics can do it in a few hours.

You can get a new one with a life time warranty from Advance Auto for about 35 bucks. The reman ones don't last long.

I would get a new bypass hose and probably the upper and lower radiator hoses too.

You do have to remove the AC and power steering bracket (3 bolts) and swing it to the driver side a little. You also have to remove the fan and shroud. The belt tensioner is in the way for the bolt directly behind it. Just have someone hold the tensioner while you remove that bolt. There is also metal line that attaches to the heater hose that mounts to the top alternator bolt.

I would clean the bolts and put a small amount of anti-seize on the bolt thread before reinstalling. Keep trake of the water pump bolts they are different.

Also make sure the mounting surfaces are clean and smooth. Wipe them with acetone before reinstalling new gaskets. I would also apply a thin layer of high temp RTV around the ports on both sides of the gasket.

 

As for the headlights, they are kind of a pain to replace. Its not complicated though.

You have to remove the grille which is easy. Then the parking lamp and side marker bezel. Those lights mount to it. There are 2 8mm I think nuts on the back side directly behind the parking/turnsignal on either side of the bulb socket. They are kind of hard to get to. Don't overtighten these on reinstallation or they will break. Just snug them up real good.

Then you remove the header panel which is large black plastic part that the grille and lights mount to. I think it has 6 bolts. The lights have funky clips on them. I would replace both headlights so that they match.

I got a nice replacement set from JWC.

You can also get them from NPD and LMC and Ebay.

 

how about a timing chain while your there???