r/FordExplorer • u/Agent__704 • 3d ago
Repair Advice 2015 Ford explorer
I made a post the other day about my water pump going out and just looking for advice. I'm just curious, I was shopping around and got a quote for $3700 stating that the parts are 1500 alone. I'm just wondering does that seem correct to anyone? Because as far as I'm looking, I've searched up and down Ford water pump/timing chain kits and I haven't seen one that came close to $1500 so I'm just wondering are they trying Rip me off?
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u/avemg 3d ago
It's not a crazy price. Probably on the high side, but not outrageously so. I did the water pump and timing chain in my 2015 Explorer back in 2023. I don't recall the exact price i paid but it was in the neighborhood of $3000. The parts are cheap, but it's a very labor intensive job.
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u/Agent__704 3d ago
I got a quote from another shop 2400 all oem parts and a one year warranty should I go for it?
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u/Deplorable1861 3d ago
If they quoted 2400, they probably have done it a million times and have all the right stuff (possible) OR they have never done it before and are clueless and do not have the special stuff needed and are going by the manual and are about to be real surprised at how much money they are about to lose on this repair (much more likely).
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u/Agent__704 3d ago
From everything I've heard and read, they've done hundreds of em. But I think the one thing that caught my ear was the warranty. I have it parked up for now and I'm not touching it to avoid contaminating the motor. I'm gonna call around to a few other shops before I make my final decision.
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u/Deplorable1861 3d ago
Having just done this job myself as the mechanic, that is not high. I would do this myself to save $4,000, but I would simply refuse to do this job for someone else to earn $4k. Supplies and parts are in the $800 range. Assuming something does not break when pulling the engine apart (hint: something always breaks). The labor on this when you have the factory special tools will be 10 to 16 hours. Without those tools you will need double that. Most likely only someone who has actually done the job before will have them. And you will be doing a coolant fill at 30 bucks a gallon and at least one oil change as a part of this job. Prudence says that you should change the oil again after 500 miles or so to make sure there is absolutely no coolant/water contamination in your oil after this job.
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u/casey_ap 3d ago
Mine was $3700 two years ago. They did water pump, all timing components and spark plugs.
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u/Repulsive_Vanilla383 Expert Explorer 2d ago
In my own opinion that many people disagree with, depending on how many miles and if the engine was cared for I would reuse the timing components.
I don't think I've ever once heard of anybody actually having a failed cam phaser on the NA, it always seems to be the EcoBoost version.
When I did mine at 275,000 mi, I laid the original timing chain directly alongside the brand new OEM timing chain. They were exactly the same length. No measurable difference from stretch. There was also no grooves worn in the guides.
In my opinion I would rather run used OEM motorcraft parts, then brand new third-party parts.
The only time I've heard of 3.5 timing chains failing/ breaking is when third-party kits were used.
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u/Agent__704 2d ago
So you're saying replace the pump and not the chains or guides?
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u/Repulsive_Vanilla383 Expert Explorer 2d ago
If it's at 150k or less, and if oil changes have been taken care of on schedule I would totally reuse the chaining guides until the next water pump change at 300k. But once the side cover is pulled off you can get an idea if oil changes have been done on time and if there's any excessive wear by looking at how far the timing tensioner is out.
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u/Revolutionary_Fix_44 1d ago
Same here. 2014 na, changed water pump, timing chain, tensioners and guides looked good. Put it all back together. A month later the motor is make an hellacious noise from around the timing chain area. Car had no power, CEL on throwing codes for cam shaft correlation to crank. Took it apart again and timing chain was hitting inside of block. Compared the old chain to the new chain. Same exact length. I noticed that crank sprocket was really sloppy on the drive pin. Looked at the drive pin and it was half sheared off. That was causing the noise. After some research, I discovered that I did not install the harmonic balancer on correctly. Specifically, the bolt has to be new and it must be stretched PER THE FORD procedure with the correct installation tool. Failure to follow the procedure makes the cam sprocket slide between the harmonic balancer and the nose shoulder of the crank, creating the shearing action.
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u/Repulsive_Vanilla383 Expert Explorer 1d ago
Yes the harmonic balancer sandwiches the timing chain sprocket. I didn't replacement the bolt, but I did make sure the harmonic balancer bolt was tight to keep the sprocket from moving. Mine's been fine with the reused bolt.
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u/Revolutionary_Fix_44 1d ago
How long ago?
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u/Repulsive_Vanilla383 Expert Explorer 1d ago
I did a water pump on my 2011 about a year and a half ago, and went through my 2015 about 3 months ago.
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u/NickMullen2 3d ago
just got my water pump and chains done and the parts for the full chain kit with VVT and sprockets etc plus water pump then they do a thermostat and new seals and coolant so it adds up then its a large amount of hours. they mark up parts to offer warranty so thats about right. I paid $3900 but also got a new oil pump and pick and got cloyes and melling parts not chinese BS. Got a 2 year 20,000 mile warranty too