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

 

they do with enough right stuff. gasket on the airtex is terrible. the impeller is metal

they are not the same and haven’t been for a while

 

I don't know what the point would be of using the metal gasket with an Airtex pump if it requires lots of silicone to fill in the gaps. I don't know if you've noticed what I have about Right Stuff, but it doesn't seem to adhere to metal surfaces as well as Ultra Black. I do like the faster cure time of Right Stuff though. I just don't know if it will seal as well long-term.

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