Car guy quiz & poll - internal water pump question

OK, so this is a car-guy quiz. As far as I can tell, there is only one V6 engine series with an internal water pump. Some of this series (but not all) utilize this design feature. I am curious to see how many of you know which is the correct selection from the 7 choices above?

Here is a pic of the engine in question. The water pump is under the timing chain cover, driven by the timing chain. And, as you might guess, if it leaks it can easily ruin the whole engine.

So the answer is:
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#5 - 3.5L Ford Ecoboost; used in these vehicles:

• Ford Edge 2007–2010.
• Ford Edge 2015–Present.
• Ford Edge 285 2011–2014.
• Ford Explorer 2011–Present.
• Ford F-150 282 2015–2017.
• Ford Flex 2009–Present.
• Ford Fusion Sport 2010–2012.
• Ford Taurus 2008–Present.

These was also a lawsuit over this, still not finally settled AFAIK.

Knew that because I had a little moment of panic when mine went on my 2012 f150. I was relieved when I saw I had the external pump.

Seems hard to believe they couldn’t fit the external pump on all of them

I am gonna go with Ecoboost because I see "FoMoCo" in that photo on the block

All of the ones I have replace have leaked externally. They did put a weep hole on the side of the block behind the alternator to let you know their is a problem. The only time we have replaced one is when an officer drove through water and sucked it in the engine.

Don’t forget it’s also in all Lincoln vehicles with the 3.5L. It’s the same in N/A and turbo versions. I have seen it leak internally and mix oil with coolant. Replaced it and car ran fine. Still going too as far as know. Lol

I guess the 2018+ F150's don't have this or the 2.7's?

That’s why you avoid a high mile police version Explorer or whatever it is called.


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SolarYellow said:

That’s why you avoid a high mile police version Explorer or whatever it is called.


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Interceptor.

We own a '19 Explorer Sport 3.5L. WITF anyone would engineer that on a transverse mounted engine is beyond me, when its not on the F150. Yes there is plenty of room.

7998 said:

I guess the 2018+ F150's don't have this or the 2.7's?

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I’m pretty sure 2.7 did not have this issue, and starting 2017 the 3.5 water pump was redesigned to be external. Easy way to check is look up the part for your vehicle.

Edit: Looks like the external pump is only on the F150 starting in 2017. Makes no sense. Pretty stupid either way.

My pump took a shit around 90k for whatever that’s worth

Iirc only the transverse ecoboosts had internal pumps. Aka fwd based vehicles.

Ford should have kept the duratec design with the water pumping the back of the block driven by the belt off of the camshaft.

I knew EXACTLY what engine that was before even looking at the list.

That damn water pump destroyed my mother in laws Edge. Luckily it was payed off but it was just outside of its warranty. I would have fought with ford over it but it was also supposed to be replaced about 8k before it let go. We also didn't know it was a replacement item either so we definitely share some blame.

I still can't understand WHY ford would do that crap though. They must have been taking pointers from Honda.

They do crap like that because they can. If it costs less to manufacture and it will make it through the warranty period it’s a win as far as the manufacturers are concerned. They all do stupid crap, there are thousands of examples out tbere.

SolarYellow said:

That’s why you avoid a high mile police version Explorer or whatever it is called.

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LOL, a while back, I was looking at buying a late-model (lightly used) Ford Explorer 'Platinum' model, with 3.5L Ecoboost. Then I started looking at the engine and found out about this insane internal water pump design, plus they have timing chain stretch issues if the oil is not changed enough, so I decided I am not buying.

VRYALT3R3D said:

I am gonna go with Ecoboost because I see "FoMoCo" in that photo on the block

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Haha, you've got a good eye!

Mojo88 said:

LOL, a while back, I was looking at buying a late-model (lightly used) Ford Explorer 'Platinum' model, with 3.5L Ecoboost. Then I started looking at the engine and found out about this insane internal water pump design, plus they have timing chain stretch issues if the oil is not changed enough, so I decided I am not buying.

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A SUV with a FWD based AWD system is generally junk IMO. When it came to the H2O pump Ford must have been thinking, hell, I have no idea what the company was thinking as it is really baffling. Such a design should be a deal breaker for those who pay their bills rather than having a locality or city pick up the tab.

We had to replace the water pump in my wife's previous 2016 Explorer Sport. What an expensive pain that was.

DriftwoodSVT said:

We had to replace the water pump in my wife's previous 2016 Explorer Sport. What an expensive pain that was.

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Yes, it's totally unforgivable IMHO. On my Chevy Silverado, I could replace the water pump (doing the work myself) for ~$50, and it would take maybe an hour or two. The Ford internal W/P design simply blows me away, I think that is one of the very dumbest designs I have ever seen for a maintenance item like a water pump.