Failure mode - Ford 7.3L Godzilla Gasoline (Super Duty 2020+, E-Series cutaway 2021+)

Cooling service (water pump / thermostat / degas)

Reliability tier: aggregated - verify before ordering, see /disclosure/

Symptoms

weep-hole seepage / bearing noise on the water pump at higher mileage
temperature swings under tow; degas bottle level drift

Compare with the other causes of the same sign on this engine: losing coolant · overheating or temperature creeping up · ticking, knocking, rattle or whine (4 causes)

Root cause

Conventional belt-driven water pump + thermostat cooling on a tow-biased truck: wear items, no documented systemic defect in the open record.

Diagnosis

pressure-test the system; inspect the weep hole and bearing play
check thermostat opening under load before replacing the radiator

Fixes

service: water pump / thermostat / degas hardware as wear ()

cooling - more than one option: 7.3L/6.8L Godzilla Thermostat (OEM), 7.3L Godzilla Water Pump 2020-2022 (LC3Z-8501-A), 7.3L/6.8L Godzilla Water Pump, 2023+ (OEM)

Prevalence

common

Parts for this repair run about $25-$210: see them next to the other repairs on this engine in repair costs.

Affected configurations (67)