Ford Focus Water Pump Replacement

For this video I am going to be diagnosing an issue that I am having with my 2002 Ford Focus 2.0 DOHC. What was I was working is Charlotte and on my 3 hour drive back my engine overheated and I broke down. The computer popped up a code 1299 which is cylinder head over temperature. I am going to go over the steps that I took to determine what the problem is. I already had an Idea what was wrong with it.
First, I wanted to check the oil to make sure that it wasn’t milky meaning that coolant wasn’t getting into the engine. If that was the case I would have a blown head gasket that I would need to take care of. That might also not be the cause of the problem.
Next, I checked under the vehicle for any leaks. Since the engine ran I knew I didn’t have a crack in my engine block. When the bottom looked good I checked the coolant level to make sure that it was in the right place. Even though this picture says low it was perfect because it was on a slight incline. I still checked all of the radiator hoses that I replaced in a previous build.
With nothing leaking I had two possibilities A stuck thermostat or a water pump. Since I just replaced the thermostat a few months before that my guess was on the water pump. The only thing that I didn’t replace on my coolant system.
Next you want to take off the serpentine belt which is done by loosening the belt tensioner. I believe it was a 15 mm socket to rotate the tensioner.
You are going to want to jack up the front passenger side of the vehicle and remove the tire for more access through the wheel well.
Next, I supported the engine with a jack and a piece of wood so that I could remove the motor mount. You do not need to put much pressure at all on the jack. I have a video of how to remove the motor mount step by step in my playlist. Since the engine overheated I decided to replace my coolant. I first drained out the radiator. And then place the pan under the water for when it was removed.
To remove the water pump you first need to remove the pulley. There are three bolts. I used a prybar to prevent the pulley from rotating. My Niece was asking me to teach her what I was doing so that’s what I did. I loosened up the bolts and then she pulled the pulley off.
There were an additional 4 bolts to get the water pump out. Once we got the water pump out you can see that the inside was cracked and not allowing the pump to push coolant. The shaft would just spin.
I replaced it with a Duralast water pump number AWP-9102. Additionally, since the engine overheated I needed to replace the thermostat. I purchased a Failsafe thermostat number 7270-192 with the Felpro gasket 35284. I chose this one because they are designed to fail open. This will help to prevent you from overheating since the coolant would be constantly circling the system.
Before you put the new water pump in you want to make sure that they are the same part. You can see that on the Duralast water pump they changed the shaft design. Installation is in the exact opposite order.
While I had the serpentine belt off I decided to replace it with a Dayco belt part number 5060835.
Next you need to replace the thermostat. This was an easy job. All you have to do is take off the hose going to the housing and there are 4 torques screws to remove the housing. Pull out the thermostat and install the new one. When you are tightening up the screws remember you are screwing up into plastic so don’t crank it too hard especially if it’s hot.
My niece was still helping me and getting more confident with tools so I decided to give her a little more power. She completely installed my motor mount with me talking her through it. Remember you learn by doing.
Since I have the pump and serpentine belt on I filled up the coolant. You don’t have to do this next step but it will help if your oil got too hot as well and started to sludge up. I ran a quart of MOTOR FLUSH through my engine to help clear it all out. after the flush I used Royal Purple 5w20 and a royal purple filter number 20-400.

[@Trupics]

Awesome video! she will make an awesome mechanic some day. I'm trying to find a video for the serpentine belt diagram so I can do all of this.

[@DaveMedicus]

A video is hard to find because its not very accessible. the best thing I can say is use the diagram of the routing and an adjustable and flexible ratchet for the tensioner. its not a difficult job as long as you keep tension on the bottom of the belt

[@chrisbrown6969]

Best supporting actress goes to your niece!

[@DaveMedicus]

She really did a lot of the work herself. She still talks about helping me.

[@carahintz5843]

She wanted to be a mechanic for a while after helping him lol

[@chrisbrown6969]

We demand an encore! Bring her south for the bike project 👀 Uncle Robbie took Parker for a ride when he was that age 😉

[@DaveMedicus]

@@carahintz5843 she did installs my motor mount by herself at the age of 6. She has the smarts to diagnose anything.

[@DaveMedicus]

@@chrisbrown6969 I would but the bike project is finished. I just need to edit and post. I’ve been slacking. I have like 2 years of videos saved up that haven’t been posted yet

[@SunriseLAW]

2003 Ford Focus zx3. I successfully replaced the water pump WITHOUT messing with the motor mount. I can be done from underneath the car. The water pump comes out (and the new one goes in) by twisting and pulling the exact right way, with 1 mm clearance (if that). Changing the alternator is 'tight' like that. The water pump is even 'tighter' and there is exactly one way to get it in and out w/o lowering the engine.

[@DaveMedicus]

Thanks for the info. The motor mount is easy and quick to remove and it gave me a lot of room to work with. Removing it saved me a lot of time in the end. Thanks for watching!

[@SunriseLAW]

@@DaveMedicus I was "afraid" to try, like "what if I can't get it lined back up" or whatever. BTW, since then I sold my beloved Focus to a relative for $500 and bought a perfectly maintained (owned by an Asian chick) 2010 Corolla with clean title, 125k miles for $5250. I still smell her air freshener. :):). The jack and spare have never been used. !

[@timadams6154]

Awsome little helper you got. She won't forget memories like these. I see video is year old. You guys still a team?

[@DaveMedicus]

Nope she still talks about this. Thanks for watching.

[@luisponce1472]

This is A Double Head Motor hard to Heat up very Durable little Car 👍

[@DaveMedicus]

Yes it is. I do motor flushes every other oil change because it seems to run hot oil wise. 208,000 and counting

[@luisponce1472]

How do you Flush The Motor?

[@eusebioliwesdusayenjr]

what is the model of your focus sir?

[@DaveMedicus]

2002 ZTS Mach Edition 2.0 DOHC