when to replace water pump - if ever

[Darchrow]

hey guys,

when is a water pump replacement indicated? dealer recommended it, but i wanted your opinions on why i might want to pay dearly for a water pump. perhaps, i can even do it myself if necessary.

[the_professional]

You should replace your water pump. Its a vital component to the car, and once it seizes your stuck.

A water pump is often always replaced at the same time your timing belt is.

I'm not sure on the Toyota Maintenance schedule is for water pumps exactly, but with belts they are generally changed every 90,000 miles

It is an intensive project, that requires some special tools, I would recommend let a professional handle it, as a lot can go wrong, and timing is pretty much what controls everything. Unless, you have handled relatively complex car maintenance before.

[Darchrow]

i got my car at 65k and ended up having the timing belt changed on Toyota's recommendation then...(didn't care or know squat about cars). anyway, it's 100,300 miles now. about how much would it cost to have the pump replaced if i had a professional do it... or what kind of "special" tools would be used?

i saw a DIY timing belt+water pump thread, but i didn't see it actually mentioning the water pump... i think there were 2 parts talking about the timing belt. (i could be wrong).

[projektvertx]

As far as I know the water pump requires that you remove the timing belt and drain the engine's coolant in order to change it. If your car is a 4 cyl. 5SFE, there is a DIY in the stickies on how to change the timing belt, but bear in mind this is not easy task. Like the_professional said, you'll need an impressive tool set to do this. If you would like to do it and have the tools, time and patience, please do so, it would be a great learning experience for you!

I have a 1MZ-FE (V6) and my buddy who lives in Hamilton did it for me on his off time (toyota tech, works at the dealership). It took him 4-5 hours if I remember correctly.

It would be recommended that you change the water pump with your timing belt since it requires the removal of the latter. My friend the technician told me about one guy who refused to change his water pump with his timing belt, 30,000 miles later, the same guy came back with an effed up pump and had to pay for the timing belt all over again. It was a headache, the guy had to get the car towed, bla bla bla... I hope I answered your question!

[projektvertx]

Originally Posted by P A U L

i got my car at 65k and ended up having the timing belt changed on Toyota's recommendation then...(didn't care or know squat about cars). anyway, it's 100,300 miles now. about how much would it cost to have the pump replaced if i had a professional do it... or what kind of "special" tools would be used?

i saw a DIY timing belt+water pump thread, but i didn't see it actually mentioning the water pump... i think there were 2 parts talking about the timing belt. (i could be wrong).

Sorry you posted this while I was writting You are correct, the DIY is 2 parts. Before moving forward, is your car 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders?

[carsrus]

If you have a 4 cyl the timing belt job really isnt that bad. The only "special" tools you would need would be a 19mm impact socket and a impact gun along with a harmonic balancer puller which is easily rentable from auto zone or any other parts place.

The diy on this site is awesome for the 4 cyl. Only sort of hard part are the oil seals and if your not 100% comfortable replacing them and there not leaking might as well leave them for the next belt change.

But its completely doable if you have some mechanical knowledge and a buddy, in under a day. DIY on here helps a TON also.

[Darchrow]

6 cyclinders



i hate the dealership... i totally could have gotten 2-3 more years out of the original timing belt...saved myself the couple hundred bucks too. that dealership left some bolts loose under my hood and said my radiator hose was worn and needed to be replaced.

[projektvertx]

Originally Posted by P A U L

6 cyclinders



i hate the dealership... i totally could have gotten 2-3 more years out of the original timing belt...saved myself the couple hundred bucks too. that dealership left some bolts loose under my hood and said my radiator hose was worn and needed to be replaced.

Ok, I'll assume that the dealer in your area is a tad bit shady. Now all that is left is tackling it yourself or finding a trusted mechanic to do it. If you decide to tackle it yourself, here is a website that has some very useful service manuals for the gen 3, I know yours is a gen 4, but it's essentially the same engine, the 1MZ-FE:

http://www.camrystuff.com/index.php?page=Gen3_Manuals

This is for the Gen 4, look under "Engine Mechanical"

http://www.camrystuff.com/index.php?page=Gen4_Manuals

If you search "timing belt" in the PDF, you should have a wealth of instructions.

Here is a member who recently decided to tackle it on a 2000 V6:

2000 Camry LE 6cyl 1MZ-FE Timing Belt Change

Hope this helps!

[JohnGD]

Timing belt interval is a good guide. If you drive 12K miles a year, 5 years/60K miles. If you drive 15K miles a year, 5 years/75K miles. Toyota uses 15K miles per year for the 6-year/90K mile interval in the twilight years of these engines. If you don't drive that, it's not applicable. If you can do your own work, 5 years/60K miles would be better.

Otherwise, every time you change the timing belt, do the water pump. And vice versa. It's the labor and time taking things apart.

Say you have an I4, do:
(earlier www.rockauto.com prices for 3/5SFE)
GATES TCK199 (kit of timing belt with two pulleys and instruction)
$84.79
GATES Part # K030295 PS belt $4.32
GATES Part # K050435 Alt/AC $12.12
FEL-PRO TCS45641 Cam seal $4.11
FEL-PRO TCS45920 Crank seal $6.04
BCA Part # 221820 Oil pump seal $2.71
AISIN (Toyota #16110-79185) water pump $58.79
FEL-PRO VS50304R valve cover gasket set $13.94

Originally Posted by P A U L

hey guys,

when is a water pump replacement indicated? dealer recommended it, but i wanted your opinions on why i might want to pay dearly for a water pump. perhaps, i can even do it myself if necessary.

[Dick Tuck]

Toyota sevice writers (and just about anybody else) get paid on commission. They will always sell you as much as they can. I do the pump every other belt change on both my I4s. Dire results predicted. None happened. Keep an eye on the coolant botle. If you are not adding any the pump seals are OK.
If you do have to add a bit regularly, better start paying close attention to the entire system.

[Darchrow]

thanks for the information guys, very helpful.

i'm hoping my water pump will survive for another 30-40k miles so i can swap out the timing belt then, and water pump at that time.

i haven't had to fill my car with coolant lately... well, not after i realized toyota left loose bolts, i simply screwed them tight and i haven't had coolant issues since... that was almost 2 years ago.

[Dave's]

I would agree. With any luck your water pump will last until the next belt change. They only recommend replacing it with the belt because there is so much work which overlaps it makes sense to do both at once.

[deezeejoey]

Had mine replaced (timing belt and water pump) at 109,000. only cost me $172
just go to a good place.

[fenixus]

well ... you can get away with your current pump if it works fine (no noise, no leaks).

I had to replace my original WP at 55k because it became damn noisy (real reason might have been a bit more complicated). I let local shop use their parts (WP, t-belt, crank shaft seal, cam shaft seal and tensioner). I paid $600 for parts and labor.
it came up (i was a complete noob back then) they used some shitty aftermartket parts, i believe it was Duralast pump, belt was Gates if i remember correctly, seals and tensioner i don't know.

2 years later WP started becoming noisy again (and leaking a bit from worn gasket), had to do it again. this time bought all OEM parts online including oil pump seals and some more o-rings and a thermostat.
went to same shop gave them parts and paid for labor only ($480).

I saw managers labor calculations. he wrote per book work time for each major component and fo my 5s-fe it was like Water Pump 3.5hrs, Oil Pump 5.9 hours, so since i was replacing oil pump seals too this time, they charged me for oil pump job labor.

[Darchrow]

what kind of noise would a bad water pump make??