I go to Clear Choice lexus specialists here in houston, a very reputable company and they showed me that no where in the lexus book that it states that the waterpump should be replaced at 90k and they have never worked on a car that had a waterpump go bad anywhere near 90k miles. (Usually you would think theyd try to sell you on the extra part to make money but they didnt)

So my question to anyone out there that has actually had a waterpump go bad.... WHEN did it go bad if it did?

Reason being is that my 1994 ls400's original waterpump went bad at 197,500 miles.. and it has the original spark plugs from 1994 in them lol.

So i think some people are underestimating the longevity of parts but if anyone can chime in lmk.

 

I'm interested in this as well as it's coming up soon for my timing belt to be replaced again on my GS. I'd rather not have to pay all that money for something that's not really ready to be replaced...

 

My buddy's went out on him around 180K. Had mine replaced at 120K with everything else for safe measure.

 

yea exactly. Shelling out hundreds more for something thats not known to go out until almost the second 90k service (180k ish miles) doesnt make much sense.

go read your manuals.. low and behold the water pump is not on the list. Even my mothers lx470 and my 1994 ls400 do not say that.

Im thinking the dealership just wants to throw it in to make more money while they are under your hood. The owner of the shop I go to worked for toyota/lexus for 20+ years and all their master techs are lexus certified. He says they really dont understand why the hell the dealership puts the timing belt on their list of 90k maintence.

My mother opted for the full 90k + water pump and it costed $1350
I also opted for full 90k + water pump for my LS400 and it costed $1305

Both quotes from the dealer were over $2450 for the exact same service. With a Free rental car

my quote for 90k on the GS400 at my shop was $895 (no waterpump) or $1300 ish (with waterpump)
Quote from dealer is get ready DUN DUN DUN $2,400+ tax


Id love to hear from anyone that actually has a solid story about a waterpump malfunction after 90k miles that was due to wear and not some faulty waterpump breaking down at 30k miles or something. Im thinking were all just being brainwashed from the dealers

 

Considering it would cost more to open her back up then to have them replaced at the same time (belt and water pump) I would do them at the same time.

Now if you have a VVT-i motor, I wouldnt even think about venturing, because if your pump seizes like it did on my SC400, the belt will break, and your motor would be history.

 

It all depends on a lot of factors. How hard do you drive the car. How often. How many miles. How old is the pump. Usually if you keep the cooling system maintained then you won't have any issues for a long time under normal driving conditions. There's a service interval on the coolant and that's to keep the coolant in check by keeping abrasives and corrosives out of the coolant.

Also, another thing great about the 2JZ engine is that the pump is easily replaced. It's not on the timing belt, but rather on the accessory belt. It takes literally 20 minutes to change the water pump and you can buy one for $50 on ebay lol.

 

Mine went out at about 110k. I noticed it was failing before it was catastrophic though - I could hear a funny noise and the techs at the place I used to take it too couldn't hear it until I took it back again a week later and they finally heard it too. Unfortunately, this was way before I started going to Clear Choice (I'm not even sure if Steve had started up yet) - they would have figured it out the first time I took it in,... I don't think I would use my car as a benchmark though, I've had other things go wrong with it that are not typical. I bought it used so I have no idea how it was driven before I got it.

 

Jeff do it for me!

 

I look at it this way, if you can afford it and are doing maintaince in that area, might as well replace all the existing parts. This way you know the belt and everything it touches is new and replaced. When I replace a belt I look at other things that it relates to and replace them with it, if possible.

 

Mine went at around 120K
I found it leaking when my cam seal blew out
i am glad i caught it along with my leaking radiator

 

This pisses me off!! I just changed mine with the timing belt and tensioner pully at 100k, because I kept hearing "might as well while they are in there" from all over this site.

Oh well, its shiny eyecandy under the hood for now....

 

I have a 99 2GS and I check the timing belt and related accessores every now and then. I have 83+K on the GS and plan on doin the whole 90K service anywhere between 90k - 100k, but definitely before 100k.

Everything looks fine. I'm just worried about the age since my car and OE parts are almost a decade old.

 

I'd replace the waterpump anyways, especially on the V8s. It's cheaper now, but it's gonna cost you more in the end when you have to replace it eventually. Preventative maintenance is a good thing.

 

 

Just replace mine along with the original T belt at 143K, the pump still looks good