water pump question
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6,292 Posts
It all depends, they usually last long and inspected when you replace your T-belt.
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648 Posts
When I had the 90k service done, I had my water pump replaced as it was leaking (just bought the car with 102k and it hadn't been done). I'd save yourself the time and/or money and do it now.
My two other Toyotas that were over 100k miles (both about 120k) had leaky water pumps too.
My two other Toyotas that were over 100k miles (both about 120k) had leaky water pumps too.
nice good to know
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27,116 Posts
TeCKis300... it's as simple as this. When it starts to go... you change it. Why replace a perfectly functioning part? The timing belt is different... it is critical... and if it goes... it catastrophic. If the water pump starts to leak or make a noise... well then you just change it.
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The only reason people recommend to change the waterpump at the same time as the timing belt is because you need to remove the same parts to access those items. It's not because the waterpump is going to "expire" at the same mileage as when you change the timing belt.
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Actually...it is!
"When it starts to go"...is going to be that one time when you are not paying attention to the temp gauge until it's too late. Whether you are running hard or cruising in the desert and daydreaming....and don't notice your temp gauge until steam is coming out of your hood. One overheating event is enough to warp the head and blow a headgasket.
It's all about preventative maintenance, especially on a relatively cheap waterpump.
And the reason they recommend changing it is to save money. If you take your car to a shop you're gonna be charged several hundred bucks in labor to do a timing belt. If you don't replace the water pump then you'll have to spend another several hundred to replace that before the maintenance interval of anything you just replaced is up.
So you do the work yourself huh? Well then how much is your time worth? I'd hope that the three or more additional hours of your life required to change a water pump are worth more than the pump itself.
I like messing about with cars as much as the next guy... but at a certain point I'd rather be driving the damn thing than staring at the undercarriage.
Playing Devil's advocate here:
Why change a perfectly good working part with a new, potentially defective, part? Who's to say the new part won't "start to go" a week after you put it in?
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34 Posts
That is why you stick with Toyota/Lexus OEM components.... ESPECIALLY if you are doing it yourself.... I'm only at 62k... so this is a bit off for me...., but I'd recommend to service in the following order... coolant flush, timing belt and waterpump service. Flushing BEFORE the new pump removes all the scale and crud from inside before you put a nice new pump on. Nice new Toyota coolant, along with a nice new pump and a nice freshly cleaned cooling system will lead to another 90k of no worries.........
and whether you think of it as being crucial or not.... isn't doing the service and KNOWING it is done and relaible as it was when it was new the most important thing.........
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15,585 Posts
The water pump costs ~$200. Get it replaced at the same time as the timing belt.
The piece of mind you will have after spending that extra money will be well worth the investment.
The piece of mind you will have after spending that extra money will be well worth the investment.
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That goes against regular maintence.... you want to prevent things from breaking, because generally when one item fails, other items get affected, costing you a lot more.
For example:
If you let your brake pads wear too far, you will need to purchase new rotors. If you replace them before they gouge your rotor, you may not even need to have them resurfaced.
This holds true for almost anything with cars. One failure leads to more failures.
What if you just had to drive across country tomorrow. Do you want a car you can depend on or do you want a car that you will have to cross your fingers that it wont need a water pump replacement?
Good point.
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