chenripp

One day when I took off the belt and check all the pulleys,
I found the water pump pulley rotates fairly smoothly. However,
the power steering pump seems to have great resistance and
it stops immediately if I don't rotate it. I just worry if the
propeller of the water pump is still OK, since I once had a
95 contour /Duratec engine, which has a water pump with
just plastic propeller. The propeller of the pump usually
broke up around 60,000 miles and make the engine die.

I want to know that the pump propeller of my '04 Sable
is made of steel or plastic material so I can make a decision
if I need to change the whole pump or not. I think the pump
is the original Motorcraft one.

jwko

It's steel. Check the bearing by wiggling the shaft up and down. If there is any play at all I would go ahead and replace it. The power steering pump will have a greater resistance because it's a high pressure pump where the water pump just moves the liquid along.