Should there be any radial play in the water pump shaft?

I'm tearing the motor down to prep for pulling it out this weekend and when I started to remove the WP, the hub and shaft could be wiggled side-to-side a bit.

Is this normal, or the warning of a coming failure?

The truck has 37K miles and the pump is the stock 02 piece.

Thanks,
Herb

 

yes it should have some play, mine was the same way and i took it down to get it checked out for sure and all was good....

 

ABSOLUTELY NO!

No *radial* play at all. (ok I'll give you 0.001" at most) Axial up to 0.008".

Rich = aka the modular waterpump Godfather..

 

Thanks GodFada

I was hoping you'd see this question. I have suspicion about the shaft play, hence my post.

What would I expect to pay for a replacement pump? I figure I should go with a 03/04 if I going to swap it out.

Herb

 

A new Ford H20 Pump runs about $150- (Retail)
I've got an 02 pump with about 700 miles on it
I'll sell you for $35- + the ride. PM or e-mail me if
you are interested.
Blu Buy U

 

A new waterpump can be had for around $60 plus shipping. Although $35 for only 700miles is'nt too bad either.

All the modular pump bearings are "ball - roller" design. The rollers are right on the sheave line (center of belt) and the ***** are closer to the FFoB (front face of block)

What ever pump you wind up with you want it to be a 7 bladed impeller w/a shroud welded to the tops of the impeller vanes.

I'm pretty sure the 01+ pumps are all like this. Even the regular 4.6L and 5.4L from the standard F150s. Oh and make sure to compare that the hub height is the same from yours to what ever you get. You don't want to have the pulley too far in/out.

Rich

 

Thanks Rich,

It's just one more thing to add to the list. Looks like my oil pan and pick-up tube took some damage as a result of my rods and I'll new new units there too.

Thanks All,
Herb