timing belt and water pump

[taylor's 2001 Tundra]

i have 92,000 on my 01 tundra, v8. i was cautious and had the timing belt replaced as most people thought. however, looking at the old one, it is still in great shape. i was surprised to see the old timing belt in great shape because i use my engine to its full potential most of the time. i think i could have easily gone another 50,000 miles before it needed to be replaced .

my problem......was the dreaded call at work from the service dept. luckily for me, they just caught my water pump leaking a little while they did my timing belt and asked me that this would be a good time to replace it. for an addt'l 300. bucks. i told them that i never see any puddles or even smell the faintest smell of coolant fluid when the engine is running, plus i have never had to add any fluid to the radiator, seems fine to me, i replied. well, he said that the little amount it did leak was evaporated before i could catch it, its best to replace it now. i told them i wanted to see the old one when i pick up the truck, i hate giving in like that. nieve caution wins again.

when looking at the old one, it looks like its in great shape, there is no play in the impellar/bearing and the outside of it looks mint too, i think i was lied to, and that bugs me, so now i got to ask, what is everyones elses experience w/ these water pumps, do they tend to fail near the 90,000 mile timing belt replacement? thanks for your opinions

[KLS]

I would have replaced the pump. The labor to get to the timing belt and to get to the pump are just about all the same work. $300 including the cost of the pump and the work to drain and refill the cooling system seems OK.


Ken

[Wstar425]

I'm planning to replace my timing belt next month and doing it myself. I'm not planning to replace the water pump unless I see something in there that makes me think otherwise. But, not replacing it just as a general maintenence item. My dealer says a lot of people are replacing the pump at the same time, they recommend it but Toyota does not in the service manual. I thought they were being pretty honest to even say that. I see it as sort of a crap shoot. If you don't replace it and it fails shortly thereafter you probably kick yourself. If you replace it, how do you really know how long it might have gone. I figure doing the work myself, if I have to go back in there in 10 or 15,000 miles I will just have that much more experience and should be able to do it quicker. $300.00 seems a little high to me but not so much out of line that I would probably make a big fuss about it. Guess I see it as sort of a peace of mind thing, if you think it will make you feel better, go ahead and change it. One other thing, I stay pretty close to home and don't use the truck for any long trips, have an extra vehicle to use so if it is down for an extra day or two it is not the end of the world for me. Also, sort of depends on how long you plan on keeping it.

You have the new pump installed, be happy with the peace of mind that should give you, I guess.

Happy Hauling,

Doug

[Yallrun]

You have the new pump installed, be happy with the peace of mind that should give you, I guess.

I agree, better to do it now then it fail on the road.

I understand how you felt though, they were replacing something that probably wasn't bad and charging you for it. But when doing the timing belt the pump is right there and has over 90k on it. Might as well unbolt it, pop a new one on and be done with it. Like Wstar425 said, it's peace of mind, you got a new pump, no worries!

John

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by Wstar425

I'm planning to replace my timing belt next month and doing it myself. I'm not planning to replace the water pump unless I see something in there that makes me think otherwise. But, not replacing it just as a general maintenence item. My dealer says a lot of people are replacing the pump at the same time, they recommend it but Toyota does not in the service manual. I thought they were being pretty honest to even say that. I see it as sort of a crap shoot. If you don't replace it and it fails shortly thereafter you probably kick yourself. If you replace it, how do you really know how long it might have gone. I figure doing the work myself, if I have to go back in there in 10 or 15,000 miles I will just have that much more experience and should be able to do it quicker. $300.00 seems a little high to me but not so much out of line that I would probably make a big fuss about it. Guess I see it as sort of a peace of mind thing, if you think it will make you feel better, go ahead and change it. One other thing, I stay pretty close to home and don't use the truck for any long trips, have an extra vehicle to use so if it is down for an extra day or two it is not the end of the world for me. Also, sort of depends on how long you plan on keeping it.

You have the new pump installed, be happy with the peace of mind that should give you, I guess.

Happy Hauling,

Doug

300 really isnt high at all try around $249 in part's plus more on time related labor (new water pump, cam and crank seal and an oem timing belt from toyota ) also get your part's at www.anythingtoyota.com ask for bill when you call and told him i refered you there prices cant be touched and there cheap on oem grade toyota part's...Wile your at it spend the money and get a new water pump and idelers too ill post pict's to show you the amount of wear on mine and looked like it was needing to go out at any point in time so it's peace of mind to get done now and done right or wait till it breaks and do it all over again which waste your time and money..have any questions ask me since ive done the wole 90 k deal and got it done right and got my part's from a good network vs paying the msrp markup game dealerships like to charge

[grillmasterp]

Originally Posted by taylor's 2001 Tundra

when looking at the old one, it looks like its in great shape, there is no play in the impellar/bearing and the outside of it looks mint too, i think i was lied to, and that bugs me, so now i got to ask, what is everyones elses experience w/ these water pumps, do they tend to fail near the 90,000 mile timing belt replacement? thanks for your opinions

I have changed timing belts on several Toyotas-
All of the belts pulled around 90-100K still looked good-
However I am not willing to gamble on extending it-
Reason - Time, safety, convenience
(Had a friend that had a timing belt go during a road trip - left him stranded for quite a while)

When having a timing belt done- there should be no additional labor charges for the water pump- just the cost of parts & gasket or fipg - its fully exposed once you remove the timing belt

Often times there are very small leaks from the water pump gasket that - results in the slow build up / "crusting" of the red toyota coolant- Its often only noticeable when you open up the timing belt cover-
Build up of pink crap all over the place- Its quite common on the 3.4L
- No noticeable coolant leaks on the floor- since its slow process and small leak.

Appearance of the water pump is not always indicative of the leak since the leak is from the seal/ gasket-

The key here is saving yourself the future Loss of TIME by changing the pump at the same interval as the Timing belt.
Water pump & gasket for my Tacoma are only ~$88 bucks total from the dealer - Not really worth it to me to wait for it to fail and redo the entire timing belt labor again myself

[pagemaster]

What is everyone so worried about the water pump. I had a 96 GMC truck that went 200k without no worries about the water pump.

[mako]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

What is everyone so worried about the water pump. I had a 96 GMC truck that went 200k without no worries about the water pump.

My thoughts exactly. I had an 86 4-Runner that I literaly beat to death for over 200K miles and it never needed a water pump. Didn't replace the timing chain on that until 150K.

My Tundra is approaching 100K and I have given this timing belt change a lot of thought as this motor is quite different being an interference design. My thought is that if Toyota is recommending 80K then it will probably go 120K easy. They will always err on the side of caution in this recommendation. My whole point in this being, these trucks are quality builds. They don't use the cheap chit in manufacturing these babies. My past 2 Toyota trucks needed very little maintenence over their tortured life spans and I honestly expect this one to be no different.

I feel comfortable waiting to replace my belt and I won't replace the water pump at that time unless it shows me reason to.

YMMV

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

What is everyone so worried about the water pump. I had a 96 GMC truck that went 200k without no worries about the water pump.

I've seen a gmc sierra water pump last till 70k on miles because my dad had one and that truck was a peice of junk on repairs why he got raid of it and got a new 99 Toyota Avalon to replace it.The Tundra on the other hand is a well made product however I wouldn't trust a water pump to last more than 130k on miles and wouldn't risk the same amount of work either..If you dont do the water pump your really asking for problem's down the road because if it goes out they will have to do the same type repairs over again.I also did more on my timing belt project liked replaced all idlers and cam and crank seal's gives me peice of mind the engine will last another 90 k..

hear's a picture of my tundra and it's water pump at 104 k on miles you be the judge would you reuse this part on your truck?

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo...php?photo=1927

[mikeinaustin]

Hee are the items i will have done at 90K:

timing belt, water pump, belt tensioner,idler pulleys, both cam seals, and the crank seal. check valve clearances.

so yes, i would do the water pump.

[taylor's 2001 Tundra]

thanks for the encouragement that i didn't get bent over too bad by the toyota dealer. i noticed that they used a black rtv on the sealing surfaces on the thermostat and on the belts larger cover, does this stuff give a better seal to prevent leaks? plus now my truck smells like radiator coolant.

[Dude Boy]

Originally Posted by KLS

I would have replaced the pump. The labor to get to the timing belt and to get to the pump are just about all the same work. $300 including the cost of the pump and the work to drain and refill the cooling system seems OK.


Ken

I think my water pump cost $112. The additional charge shouldn't be much more than the cost of the pump. They're going to be draining the cooling system anyway. Mine lasted about 30K miles. Water pumps last until they go out!

[Propak]

High mileage Tundra here. I replaced my original timing belt at 194,000 miles. I have a 2002...yes, 2002 Tundra Limited with 270,000 miles on it. The belt looked fine to me but I did not have a new one to compare it to. I am still using the original water pump as well. Other than having front suspension problems (see other posts) I haven't had a lick of problems with the truck. I change the oil between 7500-10000 miles and flush the Tranny and coolant yearly. That's about it. I use K&N and iridium plugs. All my work is done by Toyota and I don't burn a drop of oil (or leak any). The Toyota powertrain is bulletproof...balljoints on the otherhand.....

Drive safe.

[Yallrun]

Dam propak is the man as far as driving the hell out of a tundra! Wow!

John

[dabagman]

I took my 2003 V6 Tundra in for the 25000 mile oil change and inspection. They mentioned a "water pump leak" indicated by dried red/rust coolant on the timing belt. They said that this corrodes it and recommended that I replace it and I use their coupon to also replace the timing belt for about $800. Needless to say I was skeptical and decided to wait until I get paid again. After talking to a buddy that used to work for Toyota I'm even more convinced it was bunk. Sad too b/c I was taking it back to the place where I bought it.