CX-9 Water Pump Replacement

MonsterEmma

Member
:
CX-9 AWD Touring
Does anyone have any experience with a DIY replacement of the CX-9 water pump. My CX-9 had the water pump replaced at 14K and now it's leaking again, this time out of warranty at over 80k.

The first time the comment from the dealer was the engine had to be removed, the alldata information also says to remove the engine. I've looked at it and I'm really not seeing an issue with removing the front cover with the engine in the vehicle. It may be the motor will have to be lifted a little once the mount is removed but I'm really not seeing where the engine has to be pulled.

I was a tech at a Mazda dealer in the early 90's so I'm pretty confident I can pull off this repair, but I thought it probably made sense to ask the question first?

So the question is; has anyone replaced the water pump on a Cx9 3.7 V6 without pulling the engine?

If I end up doing the repair, I'll take some pictures.

Thanks
 
Did you ever get that water pump problem fixed? I had it replaced at almost 70k. I had an extended warranty so all i paid was 130 bucks. If you found a way that it can be done please let us know. The service manual states that the engine has to be removed.
 
mine is leaking now and was told 2300 from mazda to fix. they did not say they have to pull the engine, just drop the cross member and raise the motor out a little to make it a bit easier.
they say only one day to repair so i dont think the motor comes out.
 
I would also appreciate info on this repair. Just doesn't seem necessary to pull the engine to replace the water pump. there has got to be someone out there that has done it!, I wonder who's idea it was to put the water pump inside the engine? It teems to me that the risk and frequency of seal failure + the complexity of the repair are far greater than any advantages...???
 
It teems to me that the risk and frequency of seal failure + the complexity of the repair are far greater than any advantages...???

Not when you're a dealership service department making $2300 replacing a wear item....
 
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It appears that Ford/Mazda intended this water pump to be a lifetime part. Not a wear item. It is really jammed away inside the heart of the powertrain. Note that the transaxle must be separated from the engine. The pump sits in there. Yikes. BIG job. Note that the water pump is not at the "front" of the engine but in the middle of the powertrain.
 
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This sucks! I noticed a heavy antifreeze leak the other day coming from the center of my engine block, NOT from the radiator, hoses or expansion tank. It must be a bad water pump right? There is no other reason why it would be leaking from that location?? Im very disappointed in this. My CX-9 has 149,500 miles and has been meticulously maintained. Not excited about the repair bill on this one!
 
Yeas, I am concerned too. Mine has 137,000 miles. I just changed the coolant which was due at 120,000. Did you replace the coolant at 120,000 miles?
 
As some of you may know, the CX-9 is actually a Ford chassis and engine. The rest is Mazda. I did some searching on Ford Edge Water Pump replacement and found this:

http://www.fordforum.com/forum/ford-edge-73/ford-edge-3-5-litre-v6-water-pump-30978/

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/11720-coolant-leak/

http://www.flatratetech.com/community/index.php?showtopic=31163

http://www.consumer-action.org/index.php/alerts/articles/have_you_purchased_these_products

Looks like Mazda might cost share the repair with you. I'll keep digging.
 
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Yeas, I am concerned too. Mine has 137,000 miles. I just changed the coolant which was due at 120,000. Did you replace the coolant at 120,000 miles?

I never flushed the coolant during my ownership however according to Carfax the previous owner did it at the Mazda dealership at 100K, so it shouldn't have a problem. I just dropped it off at the dealership this morning. Their rebuttal is, "Well most other cars require a water pump replacement with the timing belt at 100K which is usually a $1500 service so its about the same as the other cars." I guess there is some validity to that, but I still don't like the idea of the entire engine & tranny being ripped and torn apart just for a water pump.. That makes me a little nervous..
 
If this happens to me, I will certainly ask to cost share.

If your coolant leaks into the oil and take the engine with it maybe you could ask for cost share cause that shouldn't happen.. but just a water pump replacement they would never do a cost share..
 
If your engine doesn't overheat then only the waterpump has to be replaced. The invoice from the mazda dealer had it at almost 1700 dollars. Check repair pal website for an estimate and it is probably lower.
 
I never flushed the coolant during my ownership however according to Carfax the previous owner did it at the Mazda dealership at 100K, so it shouldn't have a problem. I just dropped it off at the dealership this morning. Their rebuttal is, "Well most other cars require a water pump replacement with the timing belt at 100K which is usually a $1500 service so its about the same as the other cars." I guess there is some validity to that, but I still don't like the idea of the entire engine & tranny being ripped and torn apart just for a water pump.. That makes me a little nervous..

Oh crap. Get it out of that dealer. The car doesn't use belts, it has chains which are lifetime parts. So is the pump since it is buried BETWEEN the engine and the trans but it didn't turn out that way apparently for Ford and Mazda. Those guys have no idea what they are doing apparently.
 
Swede, You don't get it. Read the Ford Edge posts. Ford admitted there were housing and block casting flaws AND it was a bad design. They have cost shared 2/3- 1/3. Whatever though, its your money.
 
Pootie tang, I am just curious. If there are casting flaws in the engine block how would a water pump replacement fix this issue? I am guessing that this will happen again with the replacement water pump. Even if they cost shared which I am guessing they would only do a 1/3 share, that would still leave you with a bill of around 4-5 thousand since the engine would be replaced also. If I am missing something here please let me know. I do agree with you though that they should share the cost of either the water pump, engine or both.
 
I just realized something. Why can't mazda get engines from Toyota or Honda? they are 3.5 liter also and if this was to happen to those particular engines the repair cost is only 700 bucks which means that it probably can be done diy. Does ford still have an ownership stake in mazda which requires them to use the duratec to this day.
 
So my wife and daughter where driving from so cal to Las Vegas a cpl months back . At 70 mph on the 15 just south of Vegas car shuts off no warning. Have the vehicle towed to local Mech informed me it was water pump failure . 71000 miles . Quoted $2200. Having been in the car business my entire life this sounded insane to me. Had AAA
Tow back to my local Mech . Removed engine and sure enough water pump was toast. Found the part for 70 bucks and Mech reinstalled engine. Car at idle ran fine after driving a few miles car would stall when slowing down. Engine light indicated timing issue. Took vehicle to Mazda to make sure not a failed sensor. Diag complete returned to my mech we decieded that timing chain may have stretched or jumped a tooth . I was not convinced because vehicle would run perfect at idle. Purchased timing chain from ford as there was a cross over part number mechanic was getting ready to button the engine back up and decieded to check things out one more time. He called me the intake cam had split apart. I spoke to a few Mech including ford and Mazda techs . They had never seen this happen. Replaced cam ( had to get from Mazda no cross over part for some reason) car runs new . 2 months later . Happy I took it home still with all the grief saved thousands.
 
'...the intake cam had split apart. I spoke to a few Mech including ford and Mazda techs . They had never seen this happen. Replaced cam ( had to get from Mazda no cross over part for some reason) car runs new . 2 months later . Happy I took it home still with all the grief saved thousands.

I can't imagine the force required to destroy an intake cam. That had to have a manufacturing flaw. Even then, the forces required are crazy. I would be selling/trading that vehicle asap were it mine but to each his own.
 
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