Mine is an '06, but I just replaced the pump and coolant. I didn't flush, just drain and refill. I did no such "reprogramming". The throttle body has exactly ZERO to do with this and, in my opinion, should not need to be done for the life of the vehicle assuming the air intake is functioning properly with filter always in place. I bought the new MECS pump for about $170 from an online supplier IIRC and did all of the work myself. The swap really is pretty easy but a bit messy.

I did the repair without a service manual. My pump came with a short section of accordian style hose cover which I added where instructed but I really don't think it made any difference. There are 2 bolts that hold the pump to the body. The 2 hoses (in and out) to the pump are held in place with simple hose clamps which I resused. I changed all of the engine coolant while I was at it so that added slightly to the complexity. Now, all of this said here are some notes on my experience.

Unless you really work at it, you'll not change out 100% of the coolant. Of course, a flush would do that, but I just did a drain/refill. There is a bolt near the coolant pipe on the driver's side behind the engine/transmision that should be loosened and you let the air out. It was my observation that you do this with plenty of coolant in the bottle and with the motor running. It takes a while to get all of the air out as I did it. I didn't want to have to try to put that bolt back in with coolant pooring out so I just loosened it enough to allow air out but still have a few threads engaged. It worked out ok. I didn't worry too much about being 100% sure I had 100% of the air out.

I think I'm beginning to ramble. Any more questions, just ask.

 

Couple of questions:

Would it be easier to not drain or bleed the system, but just top off the coolant tank after replacing the pump? (I'm trying to avoid dealing with disposing of the old coolant)

What kind of coolant needs to be used here, and where is it available?

Thanks.

 

Thank you for all that. Since I posted, the the dealer did a price breakdown on their proposal, and he stated that the throttle body clean-out and the module re-programming were both service bulletins that Ford wanted done as part of the pump replacement. I gather they won't stand behind the work if these aren't done, although he didn't say that outright.

And there's a thought: what do you do with the old coolant? The owner's manual ought to list the type of coolant, right? In my case, you couldn't "top off the coolant" because it's already full. I'm presuming they want the coolant changed in case it got too hot and had lost its effectiveness?

 

You will dump enough coolant that you'll definitely have to replace some. I can't recall exactly, but I'd guess about 1-2 liters of the stuff will drain when you remove the pump. It's a messy job to be sure. I just used pre-mixed stuff from Prestone when I did mine. It should be fine. Do NOT use Dex-cool, the orange stuff. The reason to change coolant, it is my understanding, has to do with the anti-corrosive additives. Apparently these break down or are sort of used up over time, I guess sort of like anti-oxidants are in the human body.

What to do with the old stuff is a good question. I live in a fairly rural area so I have less nanny looking over my back. That said, I don't want to be totally irresponsible. The stuff will kill grass and animals and, being sweet, that's not unlikely. What a person may have done was to poor it into the gravel on a nearby road. Figure it'll run down into the soil quickly enough that critters can't lick it up and there is no vegetation there to kill. Realize this is not the most environmentally conscious thing to do. I have called around here locally and haven't found anywhere that would take it. Wait, that's not entirely true. I've never used the service, but I seem to recall the the local landfill would accept the stuff I think with a fee.

As to the service bulletins, I think someone with more expertise may have to answer that. I personally suspect it is unnecessary. I still say the throttle body cleaning is in no way relevant as the two systems are not related. I changed mine about a month ago and have had no problems and no recurrence of the "stop safely now" message.

 

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Mix one gallon anti-freeze with enough gallons of water and it approaches harmlessness.

Which begs the question: Down the toilet?

 

The throttle body cleaning and reprogramming are simply not required...

Tell them that you no longer trust them to work on your FEH and will be taking your business elsewhere.

 

That is exactly what the local recycling center told me when I asked!

 

Taking my business elsewhere is exactly what I'm doing. I found out the mechanic we use for older cars has been to hybrid school, and he's going to do the whole thing for $500.00, will have the part in tomorrow. He agreed that the throttle body was just ridiculous, should actually never need to be done. He will do the reprogramming, however.

Funny, when I called the dealer and left the message that I'd be picking the car up tomorrow morning to take it somewhere else, all of a sudden they wanted to negotiate price! They couldn't get it below $617, but how interesting that before I threatened to take the car away, they wouldn't budge on their price at all!

Thanks for all the good advice here.

 

"I gather they won't stand behind the work if these aren't done, although he didn't say that outright."

When I purchased my MECS replacement pump the summer of 09 from an online Ford dealer, the instruction sheet that came with it did not mention these other items. Since that dealer asked for my VIN and checked it for compatibility, I infer that had such items been required or needed he would have said so or the instructions would have said so. Neither did. Ergo this dealer is padding the bill.

My wife usually has the purchase ford dealer do the routine maintenance on it. Had Ford put out a "do this when able" on these FEHs it would have come up during one of these servicings. It didn't or hasn't.

Draw you own conclusion.

BTW when I replaced the MECS pump it was proactive. I was around the mileage where people were reporting failure and didn't want to be stuck on the road in the middle of Utah on I-80 in the middle of summer.

Take a look at I-80 between Wendover & Salt Lake City and it'll come to you! Smile!

 

Okay, the repair is done, but the problem does not seem altogether solved. The mechanic who did the work got the same trouble codes as the dealer had, which indicated the MECS pump was the problem. It was replaced and the control modules were re-programmed. Both coolants were flushed and refilled.

I don't know whether or not I'll see the engine temp light come on again or not, but the other symptom I had noticed was poor fuel economy and the car refusing to go electric after the first two miles of driving. It still refuses to go electric after the first two miles of driving, and the fuel economy shows better, but dropping all the time.

Any ideas?

Tomorrow I'm going to drive it under the same conditions that brought on the high temp light before, which was about 15 minutes of highway speed driving. We'll see what happens. But no matter what, the car is not functioning properly.