The water pump in your F-150 pickup’s 5.4-liter V8 is held in by four bolts, all of which are buried behind the smooth pulley that carries the clutch fan. You have to remove that pulley to access the water pump bolts, but once all of those bolts have been removed, you can carefully wiggle the old unit out of the engine block, noting that the o-ring makes for a very snug fit.
You will re-use that pulley, so you will want to clean that piece up with some light grit sandpaper and set it aside, along with the bolts that held it in place. Also, while the water pump is out of the block, carefully wipe out the area where the pump pushes into the engine block.
Once everything is cleaned up, you can begin the installation of the new water pump in your F-150.
Inset the new pump in the block, bolt it into place and replace the pulley that carries the clutch fan. Once the water pump assembly is all tightened up, replace the serpentine belt followed by the clutch fan and the radiator shroud. Reconnect the upper radiator hose, replace the engine air intake and refill the coolant system and you are ready to fire up your F-150 and top off the coolant system.
Click here for a closer look at the write-up with many more photos and in-depth details on how to replace the water pump in a Ford F-150 with the 5.4-liter V8.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
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"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
