Welcome to my very first article! If you’re reading this, you're probably considering purchasing (or currently own) a Ford Motor Company vehicle with the transverse (sideways mounted) variant of the Duratec 35 or 37 V6 engine. If you want to learn more about its flawed water pump design, keep reading. What are the Duratec 35 and 37 engines? The Ford Duratec 35 and 37 (also known as Ford’s Cyclone engine) are two V6 engines commonly used in Ford, Lincoln, and Mazda vehicles. The 35 first debuted in the 2007 model year Ford Edge and Lincoln MKZ. The 37 debuted in the 2008 Mazda CX-9 and 2009 Lincoln MKS. The 35’s very close cousin is the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine (I will discuss that engine in the future). 2019 was the last model year Ford and Lincoln used the transverse layout of these engines. A longitudinal version of the 3.5L and 3.7L is used today for rear-wheel-drive vehicles, but that water pump is external. What is the issue? Overall, these engines are relatively reliable. You will find several instances of used 35s and 37s for sale with more than 100,000 miles or even 200,000 miles. At one point, I came across a Lincoln MKT with more than 300,000 miles. Though the engine at heart may be reliable, its fatal flaw is its ludicrous water pump design. With the transverse variant, the water pump is timing chain-driven and located inside the engine instead of being external and driven by the timing belt, like most engines. Like any water pump, the gasket will degrade over time. With this engine, the gasket is the only barrier separating the coolant from the engine oil. If coolant leaks into the engine, proper oil lubrication and viscosity are no longer achieved. The engine will either overheat and/or seize in a matter of minutes, depending on how progressive the leak is. In this scenario, not taking prompt action will damage the engine beyond repair and cost thousands of dollars to remedy. Interestingly, secondary suppliers such as Duralast and Valucraft, who also manufacture the pump, include a second gasket encompassing the first. This makes me wonder if this was done to prevent coolant from entering the engine by adding a second barrier separating coolant from the engine oil. Ford’s OEM part, though, appears to have only one gasket. Like any water pump, a weep hole is integrated and intended to direct coolant to the outside so it leaks onto the ground, thus alerting the owner the pump needs to be replaced. The issue with this pump's single gasket design is that the coolant must leak near the weep hole channel for the owner to know there is a problem. If the coolant leak develops in any other area, it will not be directed through the weep hole, and the owner will not know failure is imminent. The double gasket design adds another barrier that must be penetrated before any damage can occur. The coolant can penetrate any area of the first gasket but has another gasket it must break through before mixing with the oil. Additionally, upon penetrating the first gasket, the coolant will eventually circumference around the inside of the pump and drain into the weep hole. This additional gasket design does not entirely eliminate the risk of coolant mixing with the oil, but it extends the engine's longevity. What should I do if I own or want to buy a vehicle that has this engine? Nothing can be done to completely prevent this problem, as gaskets do not last forever. As with any water pump, whether internal or external, it is not a question of if a failure will occur, but when. If you own this engine, I strongly suggest you are observant of any leaks underneath the vehicle near the front right passenger side. Specifically, the leak will occur just below the alternator, which is where the weep hole drains. If your Duratec 35 or 37 has greater than 60,000 miles and assuming the current pump is the single gasket design, I encourage you to replace it with the dual gasket design like the secondary suppliers. Because the engine must be taken apart to access the pump, I recommend replacing the timing chains and VCT/cam phasers at the same time. The cost of this repair will be more than $1,000 because of the amount of labor required to access the pump. The specific cost of the repair will vary depending on who performs the repair, whether it be an independent repair shop or the dealership. The actual water pump costs between $80 and $130, but the labor will fall between $1,500 and $3,000. If the engine seizes and another one is needed, expect to come out of pocket between $4,000 and $8,000. Replacing the pump is much cheaper than replacing the engine, so I recommend owners do not put off this required repair for too long. There is essentially a bomb inside these engines waiting to detonate. Should I buy a vehicle with this engine? In the end, I do not recommend this engine due to its dumb water pump design, as I feel the risk of it destroying the engine is too great. If your heart is still set on a Ford, Lincoln, or Mazda vehicle with this engine, I recommend leasing the car and trading it in once the lease is up or buying an extended warranty that will cover this repair if either choice is available. In other words, get your use out of the car, trade it in, and let it be someone else's future headache. If you decide to buy used, I’d be very cautious, especially if the mileage is high and you know for sure the pump has not been replaced. I want to mention that just because the gasket(s) wear out, that does not guarantee the engine will be destroyed. As long as the coolant is leaking only from the weep hole and no other area, the engine is not harmed (though if you lose enough coolant, the engine will overheat and cause other problems such as blown head gaskets). Opinion According to class-action lawsuits (which were eventually dismissed), Ford claims the pump is designed to last 150,000 miles, but owners have experienced failures as little as 50,000 miles, some of which resulted in complete engine failure. There is not always ample warning until the pump fails. It may happen while you’re idling in the drive-thru at a fast-food restaurant, or you could be speeding down the I-15 pushing 90 mph. Whatever the case, this water pump is, in my eyes, an idiotic, ill-advised design that can put drivers (and others) in a dangerous situation, and Ford should have known better. Ford engineers claim the pump is placed internally because the engine would not fit in the vehicles it's powering. Given the fact that Toyota's 3.5L 2GR-FE, Chrysler's 3.6L Pentastar, and GM's High Feature engine (most commonly the 3.6L) are similarly sized V6's and all have external water pumps, Ford's claim is not valid. Ford could have designed this engine to have an external pump, but they just chose not to. Given Ford's long subpar track record in reliability, government investigations, lawsuits, and recalls that are commonplace, it's plausible the engineers designed this pump carelessly on purpose - just so the company and its dealers can make more money in repairs. This is reckless and endangers the safety of everyone on our roadways. This engineering mindset has no place in our society. Safety is and should always be a company's number one priority. Additional resources Lawsuit BOBBY ROE and DONALD M. CHRISTENSON v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY Now you know the truth behind Ford’s 3.5L and 3.7L Duratec V6 engines. I hope you have found this information informative and helpful. Still have questions or comments about this issue? I'd love to help. Feel free to leave them in the comments section below. You can also listen to this article from my Anchor podcast profile.
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