Questions and Answers

Ford Aerostar Water Pump Bad? Q. Hi Vince, I have a 1995 Ford Aerostar with a 3.0 liter engine, automatic transmission, A/C, P/S, ABS brakes, fuel injection and cruise control. My problem is that I get very little heat. I took it to the service station where they have replaced the following: heater core, thermostat, and radiator. They also bypassed the heater control valve to no avail.

On my own I removed the power to the compressor and put the selector in max-air but get luke warm air at best. I also removed the heater return hose to remove any air bubbles in the heater core. At idle, no water/coolant came through the heater although when I had my wife rev the engine water did come through in a substantial manner. Could the water pump be defective?

Thanks,
Ray

A. It would appear on the face of it the water pump is the culprit. The fins in the impeller do erode away reducing coolant flow. Even at idle you should have a good, strong flow.