How to change water pump on 2L FWD Transit

After 7 years our first van had its first real component failure, which can’t be bad.  The water pump seems to have failed due to a seal going between it and the power steering pump. resulting in coolant leaking very slowly down and over the starter motor.  Getting it changed at a garage was quoted at £320-£380 at Ford and other garages which is a little steep.  The job isn’t trivial or simple, but isn’t actually too difficult if you know what to do.

Total cost using Ford bits, can be £120, or £50 for cheaper versions.

However, on our investigations we didn’t find any definitive answer, so a good friend came over (Thanks Chris Rabbit!) and we tackled it together.  Probably took a relaxed 5 hours, but with hindsight (and these instructions), probably a 3 hour job.

We took some advice from the Ford TIS and the Ford Transit forum (thanks to the people that offered some advice) – we took some advice, ignored others, and made it work!

These instructions are based on a 2005 Mk6 FWD 2.0L TDCi 125ps Ford Transit.  The instructions should help any 2L varient, but you may have different pipework as you may or may not have an intercooler or EGR.

So take this guide as a GUIDE ONLY.  And remember I’m not a mechanic, so you really should disregard anything in here and ignore it!  Follow it at your own risk as I accept no liability for yoy being mad enough to trust an Interent stranger! 🙂

Tools required

• Socket set and ratchet
• Medium & long extension bars
• 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 10mm,  12mm, 15mm sockets
• 10mm spanner
• couple of screw drivers, one rather large flat head
• Small torque wrench
• bigger torque wrench
• Electical or gaffa tape
• Silicone lube
• Recommended host-pipe-clip removal tool (really, makes life SO MUCH easier)
• Recommended Clic pliers for air intake pipes.  Either this or swear for 20 mintues
• Recommended belt tensioner tool, though you can get away with screw drivers and 3 hands.

Parts required

• Replacement water pump
• Replacement water pump gasket
• Special spline grease
• (All above from single eBay supplier who is a genuine Ford garage, £105 delivered, though cheaper non-branded parts available – see http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Keith-Motors-For-Genuine-FORD-Parts – ordered and came 9am next day)
• 5L  (well 3-5L) of FORD 10 year coolant  (Ford provided stuff dilutes 50/50 with tap water, cheaper ones only offer 5 year protection and may be pre diluted)

Additionally

• Consider changing power steering pump belt (eBay £8 delivered)
• Consider getting a blank EGR gasket to seal off EGR valve

The main problem with this job is the posititon of the water pump.  In itself, it isn’t a tough job, its just a right b*****d to get at, but hopefully this guide will help.

1 – Drain the coolant

There is a drain plug, slightly recessed, in the bottom right corner of the radiator (when standing at the van looking under the bonnet).  Its easier to get at underneath, and feeling (as its blind and you may have to push a cable out of the way), just undo the big plug and the coolant will drain.

Put a big large container underneath as it will splash.  And take off the coolant tank cap to allow it to empty.

2 – Remove air resonator

The top box with “DuraTorq” on is the air resonator.

• Undo the two hoses circled with a screw driver or special clip tool. Disconnect hoses.
• Unclip the oil filler bracket and rotate 90′
• Undo the two hidden nuts at the back, you will probably need to unclip the pipework at rear.  These are 12mm.
• Once nuts removed, slight right-hand side of air box “back” and then rotate slightly up, and then slight right.  This motion makes it clear the bungs.  Make sure you don’t lose the nuts or the rubber bungs.

3 – Remove EGR outlet pipe

Remove he EGR outlet pipe on the right, this is simply two jubilee clips.  Be warned, this pipe may be full of black sh*t from the EGR, so it can vet very messy very quickly.

4 – Remove Power Steering pump belt cover

This is a simple plastic cover on the right hand side covering the power steering belt.  Its a 10mm nut at the front side, and the rear just prises off with a screw driver.

5 – Remove EGR pipe

Had we done this at this stage it’d have made life so much easier as this entire pipe gets in the way.  Ford do not recommend moving it, but really, you should!

• Remove the 2x 10mm bolts at the front end
• Disconnect the intercooler hose via simple jubilee clip
• Remove the two bolts holding the pipe to the EGR valve (8mm)  Beware that when you remove these bolts a narrow gasket may fall out, so try and catch it.  (you can use an EGR blanking plate here when you reassemble!)
• Remove entire pipe section (should be just metal pipe as shown on left pic (as hoses should now be disconected) – and the metal pipe out the back covered in the heatshield)

6 – Remove Power Steering Belt

This is a bit of a pain if you don’t have a tensioner tool as the tensioner is spring loaded and keeps the belt tight, but this means the belt can’t just come off, the tensioner needs to be released.

We’re sure there is a tool or technique, but reglardless, here is what we did.  (Edit 14 Sept 2013:  Grant (see comments, says:  First, the hole on the tensioner is for a 1/4 drive ratchet to go in, makes it a one-handed, 5-second job levering the tensioner off.  It’d be good if you couldput that note on the instructions).  Nicely found Grant!!!

• Put a scew driver in the square hole, and held it tight. (red X)
• Put a big screw driver between the nut and the scrrewdriver above (blue line)
• Rotate screwdriver against nut and little screwdriver in direction of green arror causing the tensioner to release (under load), so with your 4th hand, get the belt off and then release the tensioner slowly.

7 – Remove Air Intake Manifold

This is an easy bit (as I watched Chris do it!)

• Its 9x 10mm bolts which all need to be removed.  These are all captive so don’t worry about dropping them.
• The dip-stick holder needs to be removed
• You will possibily need a long reach socket and an extension bar just to get access, but apart from working out how to get the nuts, then should come off.
• There is a cable attached to white clips.  We sensed if we pulled these clips they’d snap, so we removed the tape and left the clips in situ.  The cable is then “free”.
• Be careful when removing as there are 8 rubber gaskets.  They didn’t fall off for us, but keep an eye out just in case.

At this point, you should look like the picture.  Also pic of manifold removed

8 – Loosen coolant hose support bracket

There s a coolent hose support bracket in the way of the power steering pump, it sort of “lipped”.  The Ford TIS reckons there are 4 nuts on it, but I only found two!  And removing these nuts gave enough movement to move it out of the way.   The bracket is shown in “green” and rough nut locations in red.

• Remove 2 nuts – 15mm.  These may be very tight/rusted, so may need to soak
• Leave bracket in engine and hoses still connected.

9 – Detach power steering pump

Note:  The power steering pump stays in place – so be careful not to strain any pipes connected to it!

• Note on image, green is rough outline of bracket holding power steering pump on, red the bolts.
• The top & bottom bolts are 10mm and are long and go through the water pump.  Remove these.
• Remove the middle bolt, 8mm
• Remove the two remaining bolts, 10mm
• The bracket will then come off, rememeber which way round it went!

The power steering pump is now free and you should be able to separate it from the water pump (pull away from water pump as the water pump has a spline going into the PAS pump.

Check spline for wear, as if you have been leaking for a while and the grease has been washed out, it may be damanged and you may need a new PAS pump.  We caught it early, so grease still present.  Clean old grease out if you can.

10 – Remove water pump

• Disconnect 3 hoses from water pump.  That special tool I mentioned at the start is very handy!
• There are then 4 bolts holding the water pump to the engine.  The top 2 are bolts, the bottom 2 are bolts with thread both sides.
• Unclip wiring clip from bottom bolts
• Remove all 4 bults (10mm)
• Remove water pump (NOTE: make sure gasket comes with it, and make sure PAS pump is safe)
• Once removed, undo the nut holding the coolant engine sensor (8mm), and “pull out” the sensor  (note:  This may or may not have a cable attached!)

Thats it!  Everything is now removed.  You should now have something resembling:-

At this point, have a cuppa, and clean up all the bits you think necessary.

Not going to bother with pictures for reassembly, the ones above should suffice.

11 – Install water pump

• Ensure O ring on water engine sensor thing is good, if not replace
• Clean and tiny bit of spray silicone lube and put sensor into new pump
• Tighten nut (8mm, 10NM))
• Put on new water pump gasket and put pump back into engine, ensure you keep gasket clean and don’t damage it. (Remember bolts are different top & bottom!)
• Tighten up, 10mm, 24NM, opposites first
• Attach wiring harness clips to bottom bolts
• Reconnect hoses using special tool

12 – Install power steering pump

• Clean spline hole
• Fill with the special grease
• Use special grease on the water pump shaf
• Put PAS pump back in place
• Put bracket back in place
• Re bolt all 5 bolts.  (4x 10mm 22NM, 1x 8mm 22NM.  Note, TIS says 22NM for the 8mm bolt too, but felt a bit too tight…)

13 – Connect coolant hose support bracket

• Move bracket back into place
• Screw on 2 nuts, 15mm, 22NM

14 – Install air intake manifold

• Put manifold back in place
• Make sure gaskets all in place
• 9 nuts, 10mm, 15NM
• Reattach oil dipsick older
• Tape on cable to plastic connectors

15 – Install Power Steering belt

• Using same technique to slacken the belt tensioner, do this and connect PAS belt
• Recommend a new belt
• Check belt is around alll pullies correctly and lipped-in
• Release tensioner slowly

16 – Install EGR pipe

• Manuvure EGR pipe back into place
• Front side, 2x 10mm bolts, 24NM
• Rear side, ensure gasket goes in (or new EGR blanking plate) – and tighten up with 8mm bolt

17 – Install belt pully cover

• Slot belt cover over rear connector and push down
• Install nut at front side, 10mm 10NM

18 – Connect EGR Pipes

• Connect intercooler pipe to EGR pipework
• Connect air intake pipe from metal pipework to air intake manifold

19 – Install air resonator

• Ensure rubber grommets with metal inserts are in place
• Wilggle into place, e.g. slide right, forward, and rotate down.  Obvious if you remember how you took it out.  (be aware of catching pipework at rear and the air pipework can block movement)
• But 2 bolts in behind
• Attach air pipes
• connect clips
• Clip hoses neatly at rear

20 – Fill with coolant

• Ensure radiator drain plug is closed!
• Fill with coolant to “max”
• Wait and have a cuppa
• Make sure no tools balanced on engine or bonnet….
• Start engine and check all is okay
• Keep coolant at/near max
• Get up to temp, stop and cool down, and top coolant up if necesary

Check everything, and jobs a good un.

 

Hope this helps someone – I know I’d have been more confident doing it had I read this at the start!  Cheers to Chris again for his help.