Cummins 5.9 water pump repalcement

[BravoXray]

Boy, this water pump thread sure went off on a tangent!

Update: Friend called today, was in town at a funeral home for a visitation and just before he got there the engine temperature went to the top of the range. Went back out a while later and said there was no water visible in the radiator, but the reservoir was still full.
I went in to take a look at it. Was just as he said, nothing in the radiator and the reservoir was right where I had filled it, and no visible leaks. He came out and said someone had seen him pull in the parking lot and said it looked like the left tire was smoking. He had checked it and it was no hotter than the right side, only warm.
I pulled the dipstick, and low and behold it was two gallons over full with gray goo. That's not good, looks like a blown head gasket. The head was replaced last summer with a new one, but I suppose it could be cracked. The original head had cracked in one of the exhaust ports, and it only had 130K on it.
So I called a friend that does any of my automotive repair that I don't want to do, and he said he could get it in the first of next week. That was good, so he sent a tow truck and picked it up.
Took my friend back to my place and gave him my '04 Town Car to drive. He and his wife live in Gaylord, MI, 270 miles north of me. They have borrowed the TC four or five times before when they have had car or truck trouble and needed to get back north. I think they have put more miles on it than I have. Luckily, I just recharged the A/C last week, so it blowing nice and cold again. Was the first time in the 14 years I have owned it that I have had to recharge it.

I'll report back when I get the diagnosis. I hope it's nothing more serious than a head gasket. I wonder if they need to be retorqued after so long?

On the other end of the spectrum, I have another friend with a '95 Dodge 2500 duallie he pulls boats with. Has over 1,100,000 on his 5.9 and has never had the head or pan off it. I've been harassing him about at least putting a set of bearings in it.

 

[Snobdds]

Actually, it’s not weird or random and it is backed up by facts

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2021/07/02/ford-to-shut-down-its-chicago-explorer-plant-for-t.html

Ford to shut some North American plants for weeks over chip shortage - Autoblog

Ford announced several North American factories will be shut for weeks in July and August due to a semiconductor shortage. Here are the affected models.

www.autoblog.com

Ford confirms further downtime at North America plants due to chip shortage

A Ford spokesperson said the automaker is prioritizing completing vehicles that were assembled without certain parts due to the chip shortage.

www.detroitnews.com

And IMO, 5030 is right. Auto manufacturers are run by bean counters who sit around and fight with each other about saving 5 cents on a part from China.
Now their chickens are coming home to roost.

You don't find it odd to talk about ford microchips issues in a Cummins water pump thread.

OK.

 

[chris the wrench]

The h20 pump in my 06 2500 with the 5.9 failed me once in rural Montana. I swapped it out in a Napa parking lot and was back on the road in less than an hour.

 

[DieselBound]

Isn't it recommended to re-torque head bolts after one changes a head gasket? Would hope that this is the issue and not a cracked head (or warped).

Is this engine stock?

Having two head gasket problems is kind of like lightning striking twice in the same place. Can happen, but the odds are pretty remote. Now, then, if big mods then that is an odds leveler... (but it takes a bit)

Regarding the (off-topic) chip shortages, Toyota learned about this supply weakness (in their Just In Time process) following the Fukushima nuclear meltdown event. They decided that critical, hard to source, items should be stocked in larger quantities: they were being too literal with their JIT; the overall process was about getting out a good product, not necessarily keeping parts bins small...

 

[BravoXray]

Isn't it recommended to re-torque head bolts after one changes a head gasket? Would hope that this is the issue and not a cracked head (or warped).

Is this engine stock?

Having two head gasket problems is kind of like lightning striking twice in the same place. Can happen, but the odds are pretty remote. Now, then, if big mods then that is an odds leveler... (but it takes a bit)

I don't know, I've never worked on a 5.9 before, but I guess it would depend on the type of head gasket that was used. If it was an all metal steel shim type, like the old NTC engines used, then no retorque is required. If it's a sandwich type, then probably so.

The engine is bone stock.

This is the first head gasket problem on the engine, the previous problem was a cracked head.

In further conversation with my friend, about 3,000 miles after the head was replaced, while on a trip, the oil light came on and the oil pressure gauge fluttered up and down.
He stopped immediately and checked the oil, there was none on the dipstick. Fortunately there was an auto parts store across the street, so he bought some oil and ended up putting in five quarts. The engine holds nine quarts. It had never used oil before that, and hasn't since. So, the repair shop apparently only put five quarts in and never checked it. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the rest of the work they did.

 

[Hay Dude]

You don't find it odd to talk about ford microchips issues in a Cummins water pump thread.

OK.

Just responding to your unpredictable turn off topic bro.

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't know, I've never worked on a 5.9 before, but I guess it would depend on the type of head gasket that was used. If it was an all metal steel shim type, like the old NTC engines used, then no retorque is required. If it's a sandwich type, then probably so.

The engine is bone stock.

This is the first head gasket problem on the engine, the previous problem was a cracked head.

In further conversation with my friend, about 3,000 miles after the head was replaced, while on a trip, the oil light came on and the oil pressure gauge fluttered up and down.
He stopped immediately and checked the oil, there was none on the dipstick. Fortunately there was an auto parts store across the street, so he bought some oil and ended up putting in five quarts. The engine holds nine quarts. It had never used oil before that, and hasn't since. So, the repair shop apparently only put five quarts in and never checked it. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the rest of the work they did.

Heck no. I can see why not. Wonder how far he ran on 5 quarts. That’s Cummins abuse!

 

[JimRB]

My 2004.5 Cummins takes 3 gallons for an oil change. I looked in a few places and it seems they take 12 quarts in 1993 and 1994.

My aftermarket water pump failed with less than 30,000 miles. Probably a Gates water pump. Cheesy Murray pump installed with a lifetime warranty. If it crums out prematurely I may go and get a Cummins sourced water pump.

 

[blee03]

Yeah, all the 5.9 and 6.7 Cummins used by Dodge / Ram are 3 gallons oil capacity

 

[JimRB]

Cheesy Murray water pump lasted 5 months and less than 4,000 miles. Leaking from weep hole. Warranted and changed but still. I guess I need to get a Cummins water pump to carry with me.

 

[BravoXray]

Just to let you know what happened with the vehicle, here's how it all played out.

Owner had it towed to a friend of mine's shop, said he worked on quite a few 5.9s, so he could get it fixed up. However, after it sat there for over a month and hadn't been touched, the owner got, rightly, grouchy and sent a tow truck from Gaylord, MI, where he lives, down to pick up the truck and take it to a local shop that said they would get it in and see what the problem was. They did, and after pulling the head, they found not only was the head gasket leaking, it had scored four of the six cylinders, and the engine would have to come out for a complete overhaul costing $10K-$12K. Owner said even though he really liked the truck, there was no way he would put that much money in a '96.
So, he decided to sell it as is. I mentioned it to a friend of mine down here in the Elkhart area, said he was interested in it, so I gave him the owner's number, and he bought it for a grand.
The next Saturday, I rode with him to Gaylord, 270 miles north, in his '95 Dodge dually pulling a trailer to pick up the truck and bring it back to Indiana. After a six hour ride (my friend never got over 55mph) we got to the shop to pick up the truck. Lotsa fun there, it's raining, unpaved lot with about a half inch of slurry on top, had to drop the trailer so they could use a big forklift to pull the truck onto the trailer, did I mention it was raining? Got hooked back up to the trailer, put six 2" ratchet straps on it and loaded the ramps back up.
We were cold, drenched and hungry, so we decided to get some lunch, so we jumped in my Town Car which the owner had left at the shop for me to drive back, and went to BK for a bite to eat. Came back and headed back to Indiana, but about 10 miles down the road, my friend missed a turn and I had to flag him down and get turned around to go back to the turn-off. I followed him all the way back, (at 55mph max) until we split up to go our separate ways.
He gets it back to his place, unloads it the next day and parks it next to his shop. He intended to pull the motor and go through it when he got the time. About a month later, the farmer that leases some land from him saw setting it there and wants to buy it, so he sells it for $5K.
End of story.

 

[jyoutz]

I’ve done a few water pumps on my old 5.9’s and my current 6.7.... I’ve heard horror stories about aftermarket units so I’ve always bit the bullet and bought oem genuine Cummins water pumps. ($200)

And hopefully you buy them from the Cummins dealer not the Dodge dealer. Dodge just takes genuine Cummins parts, reboxes them and marks up the price. I buy all my 5.9 parts and filters directly from the Cummins shop. Thankfully I’ve mostly had to buy filters and fluids and not many parts.

 

[R_Walter]

Yeah, all the 5.9 and 6.7 Cummins used by Dodge / Ram are 3 gallons oil capacity

Wrong... the 96s take 11 quarts..... Probably same for 12 valve 97s and 98s. Check owners manual.

I replaced the water pump in Aug on my 96 12 valve automatic at 275,000. First water pump replacement since new.

 

[Smokeydog]

Replaced the water pump twice in 200k miles on my 96. Both leaked at shaft seal at ~80K. Two bolts and <15 minutes. Simple O-ring seal. Hardest part releasing belt tension and retention. ~$50 from local Cummins shop.