How to Change the Water Pump on a 97 Marquis

Between 1975 and 2011, the Grand Marquis sat near the top of Mercurys lineup as its full-size, sub-luxury vehicle. The production of the Grand Marquis came to a halt along with every other Mercury, in 2011. The 1997 Grand Marquis came fitted with an underwhelming 190-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8 engine. The 4.6-liter engine used an external water pump, and changing a failed pump requires removing the cooling fan and shroud. After you finish the job, you must bleed the cooling system, which follows a rather unorthodox process on this model.

Instructions

Water Pump Replacement

1

Look to the passengers side of the cooling fan shroud and find the auxiliary cooling fans wiring harness. Press and hold the unlocking button on the harness and unplug it from the Grand Marquiss harness.

2

Remove the screws securing the top half of the cooling fans shroud to the lower half of the shroud, using a ratchet and socket. Remove the screws securing the shroud to the upper radiator support and remove the upper half of the cooling fan shroud from the engine compartment.

3

Look on the cooling fan clutch and find where it bolts to the water pump pulley. Using a 36 mm fan clutch wrench on the flats where the fan bolts to the water pump pulley, unscrew the fan clutch from the water pump. Remove the cooling fan and the clutch from the engine compartment as one assembly.

4

Draw a diagram of how the serpentine belt routes over all the pulleys on the engine, using pen and paper. Find the serpentine belt tensioner pulley between the crankshaft pulley and the air-conditioning compressor. Connect a 1/2-inch drive ratchet to the square hole in the tensioner pulley assembly and rotate the tensioner clockwise to relieve tension from the serpentine belt. Remove the serpentine belt. Allow the tensioner to rotate counterclockwise slowly until it reaches its resting position.

5

Inspect the serpentine belt for any defects, including cracks, hazing, splits or frays. Replace the serpentine belt if defects exist.

6

Slide a drain under the vehicle, just under the water pump. Remove three of the four bolts securing the water pump to the engine, using a ratchet and socket. Hold the water pump toward the engine and remove the fourth water pump bolt. Pull the water pump away from the engine slowly to allow the coolant in the engine block to flow into the drain pan. Remove the water pump.

7

Position the water pump in a bench vise with rubber jaw protectors, so the pulley is between the jaws and facing with its retaining bolts up. Close the jaws around the pulley to secure it to remove the bolts. Remove the four pulley-retaining bolts with a ratchet and socket and pull the water pump from the pulley.

8

Set the new water pump under the pulley and align the bolt holes on its hub with those in the pulley. Hand-thread the pulley bolts, then tighten them to between 15 and 22 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket. Remove the water pump from the vice.

9

Coat the new water pump O-ring, which comes with the pump, with new Ford Premium Cooling System Fluid E2FZ-19549-AA, or equivalent coolant meeting Ford specification ESE-M97B44-A. Press the new water pump O-ring into its groove on the rear of the water pump.

10

Set the water pump on the engine, aligning its bolt holes with those on the engine block. Hand-thread the four water pump bolts, then torque them, in a crisscross pattern, to between 15 and 22 foot-pounds.

11

Guide the serpentine belt over all of the pulleys except the tensioner pulley, using the diagram you drew as your reference.

12

Rotate the tensioner clockwise with a 1/2-inch drive ratchet and align the serpentine belt with the tensioner pulley. Allow the tensioner pulley to rotate counterclockwise slowly until it holds tension on the serpentine belt. Remove the 1/2-inch drive ratchet.

13

Align the threads on the rear of the fan clutch with the hole in the center of the water pump pulley. Thread the clutch into the pulley by turning it clockwise. Attach a torque wrench to the square hole on the end of the fan clutch wrench and tighten the fan clutch to between 37 and 45 foot-pounds.

14

Set the upper fan shroud onto the lower fan shroud and hand-thread the retaining screws. Tighten the screws to 3 foot-pounds. Hand-thread the fan shroudto-upper radiator support, then torque them to 3 foot-pounds.

15

Reconnect the auxiliary cooling fans wiring harness.

Filling and Bleeding the Cooling System

16

Fill two clean and sealable 1-gallon containers roughly halfway with new Ford Premium Cooling System Fluid E2FZ-19549-AA, or equivalent coolant meeting Ford specification ESE-M97B44-A. Fill the four half-full 1-gallon containers the rest of the way with clean water. This makes four gallons of 50-50 mixed coolant.

17

Trace the upper radiator hose until you get to the thermostat housing. Remove the two bolts securing the thermostat housing and remove the bolts with a ratchet and socket. Pull the thermostat from the engine and set it aside. Do not remove the O-ring from the thermostat housing.

18

Find the heater hose plugged into the rear of the manifold. Loosen the hose clamp on the heater hose with a flat-head screwdriver and pull the hose from the intake manifold.

19

Pour the 50-50 mixed coolant into the hole where the thermostat goes into the engine until you see coolant start to drip from the outlet on the rear of the intake manifold, where the heater hose was connected. This may require the use of a clean plastic funnel to avoid spilling.

20

Press the heater hose back onto the outlet on the intake manifold and tighten the hose clamp with a flat-head screwdriver.

21

Reinsert the thermostat into the engine, spring side down, and set the housing on top of it. Hand-thread the thermostat housing bolts, then torque them to between 15 and 22 foot-pounds.

22

Unscrew the cap from the coolant recovery tank and slowly add the 50-50 mixed coolant until the level remains steady at the Cold Full level. Start the engine and allow it to idle until the upper radiator hose is hot, which indicates the thermostat is opened. Shut off the engine and let it sit until its cool to the touch. Top off the coolant recovery tank to the Cold Full level, as needed. Tighten the cap onto the coolant recovery tank.

23

Take any old coolant to a used automotive fluid recycler. Many parts stores take old coolant free of charge.