What Water Pump would you choose?

[RealDeal75]

Water pump went out at 52,000 miles on my 2015 Gt premium. Wanted to get your opinion on which to go with:
Duralast Water Pump US8116
Part #US8116
SKU #797589
Or
Ford Performance
M-8501-M50A
N/a at the moment but would like to supercharge in the future.
Thanks for your input.

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[DrZed]

My personal philosophy is never put an aftermarket part on my car that could leave it stranded or in unsafe condition. That means no more aftermarket balljoints, strut mounts, springs, control arms, water pumps, fuel pumps etc...

I'll use aftermarket brake pads, rotors, and other consumables, but for long term replacements parts as I feel aftermarket is becoming worse and worse quality. I've had wheel bearings last only 8000 kms, rebuilt calipers a few months before seizing, and the list goes on and on. "at least OEM quality" is not true in my experience.

The OEM designs every part to last many years and many thousands of kms. After market can't say the same. I recognize the price can be 5x, but doing the labour twice just bothers me. JMHO.

 

[BlueThunder16]

Hi all. Resurrecting this thread as I'm planning to replace my water pump this fall/winter as preventative maintenance. So I'm starting my research from now. Anyone out there who installed the Ford Performance one and has a review of it? I'm leaning toward that one, but also considering the Duralast since it has a metal impeller whereas the Ford Performance one still has a plastic one. I don't want to do all that work for it to fail like the stock one eventually will due to using the same impeller material and/or bearing.

Also, if anyone cares to offer some advice on the following, I'm also going to upgrade the thermostat to a 170 and put a lightweight pulley in, and I guess I'll do a drain and fill on the coolant as well since removing all those parts will spill put a bunch anyway. Lastly, I'll inspect the serpentine belt too while I'm in there and replace if needed...Might as well. Although I believe the belt should have some life left in it at only 21K miles so far, but it is 7 years old too.

...And yes, I've read the other threads on this topic already, but I guess I just need more convincing lol.

THANKS!

 

[BlueThunder16]

Anyone who can offer some insight here, I'd appreciate it. And if you've done this replacement and have some tips, I'm all ears. Thanks again.

 

[BlueThunder16]

I was doing some thinking (possibly overthinking like I often do) and another question popped into my head that maybe someone can offer an opinion on. The FP water pump says it provides 30% more flow than stock. The extra coolant flow sounds nice, but will it also raise coolant pressure and stress other components of the coolant loop that was designed around the normal flow of the stock pump? I don't want to open up a can of worms. Thoughts?

 

[K4fxd]

Thoughts?

Good questions.

Faster water speed or flow will draw more power from the engine. It could force water into areas where cooling is marginal. Cylinder 4 & 8. It could also flow too fast for optimal cooling, water needs time to absorb heat and release it in the radiator.

I know no help, but I wonder also.

Has anyone who tracks changed to this pump and does it cool better?

 

[BlueThunder16]

Thanks for the input. I should mention I'm not tracking the car. So a stock water pump and a 170 thermostat will probably keep the car plenty cool for street driving, without upgrading to the Ford Performance pump. I just figured if I'm replacing it I should use the opportunity to upgrade it while I'm at it. I'm hoping to only do the job once.

But if I stay stock, I don't want to replace my current functioning pump with the same exact OEM part that has a reputation for premature failure. It kind of defeats the purpose of giving me peace of mind. At the same time, I am also leery of replacing such a critical engine part with an aftermarket, i.e. the Duralast one I mentioned above. I've read some reviews that it's supposedly a quality part with metal impellers, and that sounds better than the plastic stock one.

 

[Cory S]

I’m still on the original water pump. Works as it was intended for. If it ever fails, I have no problem replacing it with the same exact product again.

 

[ice445]

Thanks for the input. I should mention I'm not tracking the car. So a stock water pump and a 170 thermostat will probably keep the car plenty cool for street driving, without upgrading to the Ford Performance pump. I just figured if I'm replacing it I should use the opportunity to upgrade it while I'm at it. I'm hoping to only do the job once.

But if I stay stock, I don't want to replace my current functioning pump with the same exact OEM part that has a reputation for premature failure. It kind of defeats the purpose of giving me peace of mind. At the same time, I am also leery of replacing such a critical engine part with an aftermarket, i.e. the Duralast one I mentioned above. I've read some reviews that it's supposedly a quality part with metal impellers, and that sounds better than the plastic stock one.

The new OEM water pump is much better than the original one that came on the 15-17 cars. It has a metal impeller. I would install a new updated stock one and not think about it again. I wouldn't trust parts store brands for a critical application personally.

The FP one seems more intended for track use, but these cars are mostly airflow/rad limited anyway.

 

[BlueThunder16]

The new OEM water pump is much better than the original one that came on the 15-17 cars. It has a metal impeller. I would install a new updated stock one and not think about it again. I wouldn't trust parts store brands for a critical application personally.

The FP one seems more intended for track use, but these cars are mostly airflow/rad limited anyway.

Thanks. Yea the FP is definitely for a more track oriented car, but even if I'm not tracking it, it seems like a stoutly built unit. The impeller on that also is listed as a composite material, not metal, but I haven't heard of them blowing up like the stock ones.

Do you happen to know if there is a different part number for the updated stock part? Every time I pull one up online it shows images that appear to still have the plastic impeller. The current number I've found is BR3Z-8501-S, and on some sites it says it replaces the following parts: BR3Z-8501-P, BR3Z-8501-R, PW-587, PW-618. I'm not sure if one of those is the one that my car originally came with. Worse comes to worse I can start calling some parts departments and pick their brains.

The only one I saw that shows a metal impeller is the Duralast one, and it looks nice, but I don't really want to put an aftermarket one in there.

 

[ice445]

Thanks. Yea the FP is definitely for a more track oriented car, but even if I'm not tracking it, it seems like a stoutly built unit. The impeller on that also is listed as a composite material, not metal, but I haven't heard of them blowing up like the stock ones.

Do you happen to know if there is a different part number for the updated stock part? Every time I pull one up online it shows images that appear to still have the plastic impeller. The current number I've found is BR3Z-8501-S, and on some sites it says it replaces the following parts: BR3Z-8501-P, BR3Z-8501-R, PW-587, PW-618. I'm not sure if one of those is the one that my car originally came with. Worse comes to worse I can start calling some parts departments and pick their brains.

The only one I saw that shows a metal impeller is the Duralast one, and it looks nice, but I don't really want to put an aftermarket one in there.

Yep, that is the latest part number (or PW-639). Maybe the impeller still is plastic, it's one of those things that I read about on here but never personally experienced. I just know the part was revised and improved. Plastic impellers are fine as long as they're made with the right material and tolerances.

Ultimately I understand wanting to do it once and be done with it, and it's hard to trust an OEM part when it has failed prematurely, but Ford seems to be pretty good about revising parts that have issues over their vehicle runs.

 

[BlueThunder16]

I also am wondering how widespread this water pump problem really is, or has it been skewed by a relatively small percentage of unlucky ones that have actually taken the time to post about it on a forum. A lot of reviews I've been reading on water pumps seem to be from F-150 guys, and a few big name vendors I've contacted to ask some tech questions about the Ford Performance one all seem to claim they're not aware of any premature water pump failures on these cars. And Ford has never issued a recall or TSB on this to my knowledge...

Just got me thinking that's all. I'm still going to replace mine for peace of mind since the worry seed has already been planted firmly in my mind. Plus, it's not too expensive and gives me a chance to wrench on my car and upgrade a few other things while I'm in that area anyway. But as for the pump, I'll definitely be replacing something that is currently working flawlessly and may do so for another 10 years for all I know. Not sure if I'm doing something stupid here.

 

[BlueThunder16]

Yep, that is the latest part number (or PW-639). Maybe the impeller still is plastic, it's one of those things that I read about on here but never personally experienced. I just know the part was revised and improved. Plastic impellers are fine as long as they're made with the right material and tolerances.

Thanks. In my research, I've also read it could be more of a bearing problem rather than a plastic impeller problem that causes eventual failure on these things.

 

[ice445]

I also am wondering how widespread this water pump problem really is, or has it been skewed by a relatively small percentage of unlucky ones that have actually taken the time to post about it on a forum. A lot of reviews I've been reading on water pumps seem to be from F-150 guys, and a few big name vendors I've contacted to ask some tech questions about the Ford Performance one all set to claim they're not aware of any premature water pump failures on these cars. And fors has never issued a recall or TSB on this to my knowledge...

Just got me thinking that's all. I'm still going to replace mine for peace of mind since the worry seed has already been planted firmly in my mind. Plus, it's not too expensive and gives me a chance to wrench on my car and upgrade a few other things while I'm in that area anyway. But as for the pump, I'll definitely be replacing something that is currently working flawlessly and may do so for another 10 years for all I know. Not sure if I'm doing something stupid here.

Oh, I just realized you weren't OP, lol.

The simple answer is that replacing all that stuff is a waste of time and money. The belt may be worth replacing, but that's it. The 170 T Stat has almost no purpose versus the stock 180, especially if you aren't tuning the ECU for the fans to match it.

As far as the commonality of water pump failures, in my few years on this forum, pretty much everyone who had a failure had a 15-17MY car from what I remember. But I'd wager it's not actually common at all. If I had to guess, it was just a bad run of bearings from a supplier that led to the premature failures. One thing you can check with the belt off is to see if there's any fore or aft play in the water pump shaft. If it's tight as a drum, then I'd just leave it alone. At most you can buy one and stuff it somewhere in case you need it later. If the bearing starts to fail, the water pump will weep coolant on the ground before it completely gives up.

 

[BlueThunder16]

Oh, I just realized you weren't OP, lol.

The simple answer is that replacing all that stuff is a waste of time and money. The belt may be worth replacing, but that's it. The 170 T Stat has almost no purpose versus the stock 180, especially if you aren't tuning the ECU for the fans to match it.

As far as the commonality of water pump failures, in my few years on this forum, pretty much everyone who had a failure had a 15-17MY car from what I remember. But I'd wager it's not actually common at all. If I had to guess, it was just a bad run of bearings from a supplier that led to the premature failures. One thing you can check with the belt off is to see if there's any fore or aft play in the water pump shaft. If it's tight as a drum, then I'd just leave it alone. At most you can buy one and stuff it somewhere in case you need it later. If the bearing starts to fail, the water pump will weep coolant on the ground before it completely gives up.

Buying one and storing it isn't a bad idea, except for some people I've read this thing just exploded on a highway leaving them stranded, and that's what worries me. I've already checked for the weeping as I'm familiar with that symptom, and all is good/dry. And my coolant level is consistent, no signs of leaks. Perhaps when I get a chance I'll take the belt off and check that the bearing is tight and spins smoothly.

As for the 170 thermostat, I am tuned, and I would definitely benefit from one in my opinion, as well as my tuner's and vendor's opinions.

Thanks again for the input. I appreciate it.

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