Water pump reliability?

[pistolpete1]

My parents have a 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 (115bhp) Ghia. They have had the cam belt changed in the past two years,  but the garage at the time said there was no need to fit a new water pump, after inspecting the old one.

Anyway, I am potentially buying the car off them, and wonder whether I should get the pump changed straight away. The car has done 80k miles so far, and will only do up to 5k a year in my ownership.

How reliable are the water pumps? Do they break without warning, and what damage do they cause when they break on this type of engine? 

[Albert27]

2 hours ago, pistolpete1 said:

My parents have a 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 (115bhp) Ghia. They have had the cam belt changed in the past two years,  but the garage at the time said there was no need to fit a new water pump, after inspecting the old one.

Anyway, I am potentially buying the car off them, and wonder whether I should get the pump changed straight away. The car has done 80k miles so far, and will only do up to 5k a year in my ownership.

How reliable are the water pumps? Do they break without warning, and what damage do they cause when they break on this type of engine? 

Hi Pete, 

 

In the longer term it is better to have the water pump changed at the same time as the Cambelt as if the water pump fails in the future the same work/labour has to be done to get at it as with the timing belt (removing it).  Whereas if you have it done with the Cambelt, you're pretty much only paying an extra £30 for the part.  

I'm not sure what exactly would happen if the pump suddenly failed so won't comment but I would have thought it's probably more likely that the gasket would go first which would result in coolant leaking from the pump.  If you didn't notice the coolant level dropping and it went too low you're engine would probably overheat.  

So long as there was no major problem other than inconvenience if the Pump suddenly failed, personally I would be inclined to leave it alone unless I got symptoms or until the next cambelt change was due.

[pistolpete1]

6 hours ago, Albert27 said:

Hi Pete, 

 

In the longer term it is better to have the water pump changed at the same time as the Cambelt as if the water pump fails in the future the same work/labour has to be done to get at it as with the timing belt (removing it).  Whereas if you have it done with the Cambelt, you're pretty much only paying an extra £30 for the part.  

I'm not sure what exactly would happen if the pump suddenly failed so won't comment but I would have thought it's probably more likely that the gasket would go first which would result in coolant leaking from the pump.  If you didn't notice the coolant level dropping and it went too low you're engine would probably overheat.  

So long as there was no major problem other than inconvenience if the Pump suddenly failed, personally I would be inclined to leave it alone unless I got symptoms or until the next cambelt change was due.

Thanks for your reply Albert27. 

I did suggest to my parents to have the pump changed at the time, but they didn't due to the advice from the garage.

If the only concern is the gasket, I can live with that as I'll be checking the coolant level regularly as it currently has a fault with the heater matrix and is due to have a replacement fitted. And to be honest I'm getting the car really cheap so it's worth a punt as long as the engine can't be wrecked if the water pump fails.

 

[Albert27]

7 hours ago, pistolpete1 said:

Thanks for your reply Albert27. 

I did suggest to my parents to have the pump changed at the time, but they didn't due to the advice from the garage.

If the only concern is the gasket, I can live with that as I'll be checking the coolant level regularly as it currently has a fault with the heater matrix and is due to have a replacement fitted. And to be honest I'm getting the car really cheap so it's worth a punt as long as the engine can't be wrecked if the water pump fails.

 

I agree, on a car that age it's worth a punt.  Just check on that last point re sudden failure as opposed to gasket as I'm not sure exactly on the internal workings of the pump!  @TomsFocus will know.....

[TomsFocus]

The waterpump isn't run by the cambelt on the 1.6 petrol so it can be changed separately from the cambelt kit when it does fail.

There's very little inside a waterpump, just the pulley on the outside and then an impellor (similar to a fan) inside the waterway.  Some impellors are plastic and can break but I believe the originals were metal so won't break.  So the usual issue with these is coolant leaking past the shaft seal.  You should notice a puddle on the floor and the coolant dropping before any major issues.  If you leave it long enough eventually it'll overheat which can at best blow the headgasket or at worst warp the head or crack the block.  That said, a 2005 Focus is now worth about 50p, so not really worth replacing it unless it breaks on that car imo.

[Albert27]

7 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The waterpump isn't run by the cambelt on the 1.6 petrol so it can be changed separately from the cambelt kit when it does fail.

What does it run off on the Petrol?  Is it the aux belt?   

[TomsFocus]

3 hours ago, Albert27 said:

What does it run off on the Petrol?  Is it the aux belt?   

Yep.  The 1.25, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engines in Focus and Fiestas of that era are 'Zetec' engines and totally Ford designed.  The water pump is aux driven on all of them.  

[pistolpete1]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Yep.  The 1.25, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engines in Focus and Fiestas of that era are 'Zetec' engines and totally Ford designed.  The water pump is aux driven on all of them.  

Thanks for your input TomsFocus

You say 1.6 petrol engines, but this is the ti-vct version (115bhp). Does the same still apply to that engine? Still aux driven?

[iantt]

yep, still aux driven. 

[pistolpete1]

Brilliant!

Good news all round. .....loving this forum and it's knowledgeable members....your help is much appreciated! 

[pistolpete1]

I am now the owner of this 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 (115bhp)Ghia . £950 including the heater matrix being professionally replaced (leak) and only 80k on the clock. Comes with a full break down of work done on it since 2011.

Will be spending a bit of money on it to make it more my taste. After a good clean, polish and wax treatment, the interior wood veneer will be covered by carbon fibre looking vinyl. Heater knobs replaced, and a new stereo added to get some sort of hands free functionality. 

Additional light fitted in the boot, and it should be ready to go. ...

[dtulip8]

Good price that, I paid 1590 for mine and still having to get things sorted on it

[pistolpete1]

Small update..... 

Had car for a few months now. It passed the Mot without cost. I've replaced the front tires, and headlights (bulb blew two weeks after MOT), and added isofix points. 

The rear Speakers were not working, so sourced some second hand original Speakers and just added them in the past few days. Added the heater knobs and bought a 'titanium' centre console surround cheaply. 

Underfloor rattle has been sorted (heatshield), and heater matrix fix works well. Visor hands free module added too. Oh, and I've added thin rubber sheeting to compartment in the arm rest, to stop rattling noises from there. 

Boot light to be done, and the front door check strap to be replaced. Bought one off eBay, so maybe a job for next week. 

Love the car, and the wife (learning to drive in it), seems to be getting on with it too. 

Good times....