My engine is over heating Ford company say water pump. what do you cha

Hi Don,

Welp, there are a lot of reasons for overheating, so it may take some investigation to figure out what the actual cause is. Off the top of my head, we have the following.

• Low coolant
  Check the coolant level in the radiator or the overflow tank to make sure it's at the proper level.
• Stuck thermostat
  With the engine cold, start the vehicle and feel the temperature of the upper radiator hose. Monitor the temperature for a few minutes until the engine has had time to warm up. At some point you should feel a distinct change in temperature as the thermostat opens and allows hot coolant to flow to the radiator. If it stays cool, the thermostat may be stuck in a closed position, not allowing the radiator to cool the fluid and resulting in overheating.
• Broken fan belt
  Verify that the fan/serpentine belt is intact and moving. You may or may not be able to see the actual water pump being driven, but if the belt is working on the other accessories it's driving, it should be working on the water pump too.
• Kinked/blocked radiator hose
  You know how you used to bend the garden hose to shut off the flow of water? Check both the upper and lower radiator hoses to make sure there aren't any kinks in them that are shutting down the flow of coolant through them.
• Bad radiator
  Radiators can become clogged over the years and get to the point where they aren't doing their job any longer. Assuming you can do so without endangering your extremities, try to feel along the front surface of the radiator when it's hot. It should have a uniform temperature all over; if you find significant areas that are colder than others it may be a sign you've got some blockage and need to replace the radiator.
• Worn out water pump
  Generally manufacturers add what's called a "weep hole" that allows antifreeze to drip out the bottom of the water pump when the seals inside the pump fail. That's a definite indication that the water pump needs to be replaced. On older model cars you used to be able to actually see the water pump sticking out from the front of the engine so it was easy to tell if the weep hole was leaking or not; on yours it's kind of buried down in there so it might be hard to see, but you should be able to tell if you're getting antifreeze dripping underneath from the end of the engine near the battery and air filter.

If I've gone through this list and not found anything definitive, I usually start by replacing the thermostat. It's one of the easier fixes, it's a common problem, and it's usually not expensive, so if that one thing fixes the problem, great; if not, I'm only out a few dollars and some time.

That will give you a few things to check; take a look and let us know what you find.