Third party water pump - any recommendations for or against?
#21
the gasket on the airtex is terrible, you can make it work with the old style metal gasket and a ton of rtv but the other gasket holding the two pieces together is no good either.
genuine/motorcraft is the way to go, if you’re cheap the acdelco which is basically the old 96jv but with a metal impeller is fine.
genuine/motorcraft is the way to go, if you’re cheap the acdelco which is basically the old 96jv but with a metal impeller is fine.
If the gasket between the two halves of the case concerns anyone, it is a simple matter to remove the two screws, separate the halves, apply a bead of RTV on the sealing surface of the case and reassemble. Or you can apply a thin layer of RTV to each side of the gasket. I haven't had any trouble with the Airtex pumps leaking and I've installed at least a couple dozen of them. Cleaning the screw threads and torquing them properly is critical regardless of what brand pump you install.
The Motorcraft pumps are also made in two halves, so no advantage there. But they do come with a metal/rubber gasket similar to the original one. The Motorcraft pumps also cost about twice as much as the Airtex ones, and it is quite possible that they are made by Airtex - many Ford pumps are.
Cheers,
Don
Last edited by Don B; 03-18-2023 at 04:38 PM.
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#22
The Airtex pump won't work with the old style metal/rubber gasket at all - they don't fit together.
If the gasket between the two halves of the case concerns anyone, it is a simple matter to remove the two screws, separate the halves, apply a bead of RTV on the sealing surface of the case and reassemble. Or you can apply a thin layer of RTV to each side of the gasket. I haven't had any trouble with the Airtex pumps leaking and I've installed at least a couple dozen of them. Cleaning the screw threads and torquing them properly is critical regardless of what brand pump you install.
The Motorcraft pumps are also made in two halves, so no advantage there. But they do come with a metal/rubber gasket similar to the original one. The Motorcraft pumps also cost about twice as much as the Airtex ones, and it is quite possible that they are made by Airtex - many Ford pumps are.
Cheers,
Don
If the gasket between the two halves of the case concerns anyone, it is a simple matter to remove the two screws, separate the halves, apply a bead of RTV on the sealing surface of the case and reassemble. Or you can apply a thin layer of RTV to each side of the gasket. I haven't had any trouble with the Airtex pumps leaking and I've installed at least a couple dozen of them. Cleaning the screw threads and torquing them properly is critical regardless of what brand pump you install.
The Motorcraft pumps are also made in two halves, so no advantage there. But they do come with a metal/rubber gasket similar to the original one. The Motorcraft pumps also cost about twice as much as the Airtex ones, and it is quite possible that they are made by Airtex - many Ford pumps are.
Cheers,
Don
they are not the same and haven’t been for a while
Last edited by xalty; 03-21-2023 at 07:24 PM.
#23
Lots of water pumps have used paper gaskets for decades, and more recently graphite gaskets that look like paper but are non-porous. I haven't had any problems with the Airtex pumps leaking. But for anyone who worries about such things, the Motorcraft pump gasket is more like the original (at twice the price). Mahle also makes a replacement metal/rubber gasket (K31850), but it won't properly fit the Airtex pump either.
I assume you mean the Motorcraft impeller is metal? The last Motorcraft waterpump I bought had a plastic impeller. According to most of the automakers who use OAT coolant, plastic is the preferred impeller material, since OAT coolants reportedly do not protect the impeller from cavitation erosion or electrolysis. Here's a photo of the current Motorcraft pump listed at Rock Auto:
On the other hand, I haven't heard of anyone having trouble with a metal-impeller water pump in a Jag V8, so the rate of metal impeller deterioration may be no big deal.
Cheers,
Don
Last edited by Don B; 03-21-2023 at 11:04 PM.
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