Beware! Ebay Aisin Water Pump Fails After 5 months!
12-10-13, 12:22 PM
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Beware! Ebay Aisin Water Pump Fails After 5 months!
So I got one of those Aisin Timing belt kits off of ebay back in June. Had the Aisin pump, Mitsuboshi belt, Koyo bearings etc. $230 on ebay and my guy charged me $350 to install. Good deal?
Over the last few weeks I started smelling burning fluid of some sort. Wasn't sure what it was and I just had the tranny drained and filled so I thought it may have been residual. I checked the oil and tranny fluid levels and they were fine. Same with power steering and brake fluid. Plus, I hadn't seen any fluid leakage.
Friday I see a small pool of red fluid in the driveway. At first I thought it was my son's 2000 Honda. Later that afternoon I drive a short distance to the grocery store, come back, park for awhile, come back and move the car and there is another small pool. Opened the hood and took the radiator cover off and looked down to discover leakage below the drive belt. WTF! Let it cool off, took the cap off and started it. Sure enough red coolant running out of the under engine cover.
Called my guy and he told me to bring it in Saturday and he would take a look at it. He suspected a hose leak since we had just replaced the timing belt and pump in late June.
Saturday morning I'm in no mood to take chances and I have AAA so I have it towed to his place. After he gets it apart he confirms my worst fear, it's the pump. Local Toyota dealer charges me $180 for the pump and I went ahead and got the belt as well for $80. I can't take chances with this car!!!
Sunday I pick it up, good as new and my guy tells me he's been talking with a couple of other people who have heard of this happening. Supposes that it is possible that these pump's seals are being rejected by Toyota and released to the secondary market. Just a supposition, no concrete evidence.
But consider this an expensive lesson learned, that could have been much more expensive! I had just driven 100 miles back and forth to Palm Beach County a few nights before.
Over the last few weeks I started smelling burning fluid of some sort. Wasn't sure what it was and I just had the tranny drained and filled so I thought it may have been residual. I checked the oil and tranny fluid levels and they were fine. Same with power steering and brake fluid. Plus, I hadn't seen any fluid leakage.
Friday I see a small pool of red fluid in the driveway. At first I thought it was my son's 2000 Honda. Later that afternoon I drive a short distance to the grocery store, come back, park for awhile, come back and move the car and there is another small pool. Opened the hood and took the radiator cover off and looked down to discover leakage below the drive belt. WTF! Let it cool off, took the cap off and started it. Sure enough red coolant running out of the under engine cover.
Called my guy and he told me to bring it in Saturday and he would take a look at it. He suspected a hose leak since we had just replaced the timing belt and pump in late June.
Saturday morning I'm in no mood to take chances and I have AAA so I have it towed to his place. After he gets it apart he confirms my worst fear, it's the pump. Local Toyota dealer charges me $180 for the pump and I went ahead and got the belt as well for $80. I can't take chances with this car!!!
Sunday I pick it up, good as new and my guy tells me he's been talking with a couple of other people who have heard of this happening. Supposes that it is possible that these pump's seals are being rejected by Toyota and released to the secondary market. Just a supposition, no concrete evidence.
But consider this an expensive lesson learned, that could have been much more expensive! I had just driven 100 miles back and forth to Palm Beach County a few nights before.
12-10-13, 01:03 PM
#6
I have also seen counterfeit parts available through Chinese sourcing manufactured under brand names. I think alot of the parts on ebay that are not from dealers could be these. You can get them from websites like alibaba.com
12-10-13, 03:07 PM
#7
I'd be really wary about buying new car parts off of Ebay, I know I one time had someone do a bait and switch with a box that had a different product inside. I learned my lesson from there. I buy from reputable places like RockAuto or Amazon.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
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12-10-13, 05:55 PM
#9
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
I would tend to agree with your last paragraph, if that is what caused this. I know Aisin has an impeccable reputation with the OEM's.
I'd be really wary about buying new car parts off of Ebay, I know I one time had someone do a bait and switch with a box that had a different product inside. I learned my lesson from there. I buy from reputable places like RockAuto or Amazon.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
12-10-13, 06:27 PM
#11
I'd be really wary about buying new car parts off of Ebay, I know I one time had someone do a bait and switch with a box that had a different product inside. I learned my lesson from there. I buy from reputable places like RockAuto or Amazon.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
We don't know what happened here, but it's incredibly easy to clean up a used part off and throw it in a new box or sell counterfeit parts on Ebay. And if they get caught doing it? They simply sign up for a new Ebay account.
I don't buy for a minute though that Aisin is throwing their Toyota "rejects" into the open market under their house name. Way too much liability there and they have their own reputation to look out for.
Could some less than savory factory worker be taking the rejects out of the factory and selling them to a reseller on Ebay? Definitely possible, I've heard of things like that happening before.
I rarely buy new anything off ebay. BTW, Amazon is not immune from shady sellers as well - be careful of the ones from China. May be OK, but may not.
12-10-13, 06:36 PM
#12
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I've found that it's best to deal with as close to original when it comes to important cooling / engine parts. The initial money that was saved almost turned into a major engine failure which could have probably ruined the car. Good thing you noticed the leak. When you invest in a luxury car such as this remember this is one of the most reliable luxury sedans ever mass produced so don't skimp on using quality replacement parts.
Case in point, in my 1987 Mercedes 420 SEL I'm closing in on 288,000 miles. I've changed the timing chain twice and made sure that I've used parts from either Mercedes or parts.com and have never had a problem. Even my personal mechanic has commented to me that he doesn't have to worry about me purchasing questionable parts. He also told me once that one of his customers with a BMW 750 needed a water pump. Instead of the customer buying from BMW or a first rate parts house, the customer bought the water pump from Autozone and less than a year later my mechanic was changing the same part all over again. Of course, the customer wanted a installation discount and of course the mechanic told him "no" and also explained to him the importance of buying quality parts.
Case in point, in my 1987 Mercedes 420 SEL I'm closing in on 288,000 miles. I've changed the timing chain twice and made sure that I've used parts from either Mercedes or parts.com and have never had a problem. Even my personal mechanic has commented to me that he doesn't have to worry about me purchasing questionable parts. He also told me once that one of his customers with a BMW 750 needed a water pump. Instead of the customer buying from BMW or a first rate parts house, the customer bought the water pump from Autozone and less than a year later my mechanic was changing the same part all over again. Of course, the customer wanted a installation discount and of course the mechanic told him "no" and also explained to him the importance of buying quality parts.
Last edited by Prochamber; 12-10-13 at 06:51 PM. Reason: Update
12-10-13, 07:00 PM
#14
IMHO there are parts that need to replaced with dealer only parts. TB/WP kit is one of those vital parts that need to be bought from the dealer only. More money now - no headache later, less money now (questionable parts) - good chance of more money and more headache later.
Stuff like hood/trunk gas struts can be bought off eBay with confidence but important stuff should be bought at the dealers.
Stuff like hood/trunk gas struts can be bought off eBay with confidence but important stuff should be bought at the dealers.
12-10-13, 07:47 PM
#15
That's pretty scary. I was always tempted to buy one of those kits off eBay but I got mine off Amazon and the one for my SC from Rock Auto.
If any of you do decide to order a kit or any OEM parts off Amazon make sure it's shipped AND sold by Amazon directly. I got my timing belt kit for $129 over the summer but the price jumps around a lot.
If any of you do decide to order a kit or any OEM parts off Amazon make sure it's shipped AND sold by Amazon directly. I got my timing belt kit for $129 over the summer but the price jumps around a lot.