Hey all. Our 5.0 decided it wanted to eat the water pump for breakfast yesterday, and while I've perused the forums as much as I can, I feel like I'm missing some answers before I set to replacing it.

I keep seeing recommendations to get the metal impeller - or not to, I really don't care to get into the debate either way - but it looks like the pumps with the three-bolt pulley flange have a metal impeller as a semi-accessible option, and the four-bolt pumps are almost exclusively plastic. Is the recommendation to get the metal impeller, three-bolt pump, and swap over to the other pulley as well? Are they even interchangeable? Ours has the four-bolt from the factory, and I really don't want to run around making excessive changes without reassurance they'll be functional haha.

Also, what was the determining factor for which color coolant I ought to have? I've heard nothing but garbage about orange, but gold doesn't seem to be highly acclaimed either. I'm content to throw universal in it forever, but I figured I should at least ask.

Is there a thread where all of this has been discussed that I'm just not seeing? Any weird things I should know before I dive into it? Thanks in advance

 

Not sure on the water pump as my 5.0L, 2014 3 hole is still good, however I just flushed the old orange fluid out and put in the new Motorcraft yellow coolant Ford now recommends. They say it's compatible with mixing it with the orange, but I elected to do a total flush. Rock Auto had a good price on it. Something about the orange creating problems with heater cores.

 

There's a few threads, and nothing truly conclusive, mainly because people see/report the symptoms, not the cause - there's no evidence the plastic impellers are failing, but the more likely failure is the bearings, causing the impellers to crash and burn.

So it doesn't matter, just replace with OE or a reputable aftermarket.

 

There really isn't debate over the coolant. Gold was never recommended. Orange was discontinued by Ford. Ford yellow is the proper coolant for your truck. (some people think it looks greenish)

 

Yup, shouldn't be able to get hold of orange anymore unless you go aftermarket, should be yellow, certainly not gold.

This is yellow and orange mixed, about half of each, depends on the medium it's in as to what colour it appears, all i did was decant it, it was a different colour again in the degas bottle, yellow does appear yellow when poured into a white container.

 

When my water pump blew up in 2019 and my dealership did the warranty repair, those a-holes put orange coolant in my truck. They weren't reusing my coolant--i lost all of it in the blowup. Those a-holes still had orange coolant sitting at their shop, 1 year after Ford discontinued it.

 

Thanks for clarifying everything! I did find out that the Gates 4-bolt replacements that NAPA carries have a metal impeller - even though their data sheets say it's plastic.

Ill make sure to pick up the appropriate yellow coolant for this endeavor Any other good tips? Secrets for draining the coolant successfully?

 

Make sure you use only distilled water for any flushing or coolant dilution.

The yellow coolant does not react well with the minerals in tap water.

 

There should be a drain petcock valve on the lower corner/back side of the radiator, passenger side. Should be able to turn it by hand, or with w socket...can't remember the size...13mm maybe?

 

know this is an old thread how did you make out with the napa water pump