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Hope everybody is having a better day than mine so far. The water pump failed this morning on my '02 V6. The bearing was shot and let coolant puke around the shaft seal. Luckily this happened at the end of my block and I was able to safely get the car home.
I was able to get the day off from work to fix my car. NAPA, my preferred source, said they couldn't get one until the middle of next week. Fortunately, or so I thought at the time, I was able to find a new pump at AutoZone, about 45 minutes away. I spent about an hour removing the old one, and took it with me to match up with the new. All looked good side-by-side, but now I realize what I had overlooked. I got it home, swapped over the back plate, and then tried to install it. Much to my surprise, only two of the three bolt holes lined up with the engine. The picture shows the original pump centered atop the new Duralast CWP-9352 from AutoZone. Towards the back of the picture, two of the three bolt holes are aligned. Note how the arm for the third bolt is WAY off. There's no way the new pump can be installed like that:
Original on top, new Duralast CWP-9352 on the bottom.
Anybody got a lead on a brand/part number that you know will fit an early V6? Preferably from a major auto parts chain, so I can pick up one locally. Has anybody tried a Gates 43090?:
More details to make it easier to spot the difference:
1) The good pump has a wide arm that spans 3 bolt holes for the cover plate.
2) The bad pump has a narrow arm that only spans 2 bolt holes for the cover plate.
Fingers crossed. I found a local source for the Gates pump. It should be here tomorrow afternoon. I’ll pick it up after work, and then I’m off the next two days. At least I’ll know what to look for when I see it.
I've got the Gates 43090 in hand. It looks to be correct. I'll know for certain tonight. Too hot this afternoon to work in the direct sun. I plan to dive in after dinner when I've got some shade.
I've got the Gates 43090 in hand. It looks to be correct.
The Gates 43090 fit perfectly on my '02 V6. In fact, it fit so well, all I had to do was open the box and place it near the front of the engine. The water pump then proceeded to jump out of the box and install itself. I was impressed. You'd think Gates would mention that feature a bit more prominently in their advertising...
All seriousness aside, I found this nice cross-reference guide from Gates. No idea if Gates is the actual manufacturer, or they just put their name on the box like other vendors, but it's a handy guide nonetheless:
If you search the PDF by Gates part number, you will see all sorts of cross-references, including the stock numbers for different part store chains. They also have photos of the pumps. This guide could come in handy if in a pinch for time like I was, and you needed to find local stock and be positive it was correct.
Gates 43090 has the wide arm needed for '00-'02 V6 on the S-Type and Lincoln LS.
Gates 43013 has the narrow arm for '03+, and that crossed over to the wrong part Autozone had listed for my car. Poking around at Autozone and other sources, it would appear many vendors (but not all) list the late model narrow arm version as being applicable to all years, when it is definitely not.
Just for giggles, I did a reverse search at Autozone using their part number for the wide arm version needed for my '02, and it kept giving me warning this part would not fit. When I brought the part back for a refund, the clerk agreed their website was wrong, but I doubt that will ever get fixed. Just be aware Autozone (and others) have the wrong part listed for the early model V6.
Hopefully this saves somebody some grief down the line.
07-13-2018, 05:15 PM
Water Pump Fitment - '02 3.0 V6
