Oh CL...LONG day ahead...93 LS400 Water Pump
08-01-13, 08:00 AM
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
Oh CL...LONG day ahead...93 LS400 Water Pump
The dreaded day has come...
2 days ago my 1993 LS400 overheated and I knew instantly it was the water pump (gut feeling).
I tried several other things, mostly just stalling, before beginning the water pump. Did the coolant temperature sensor, and temp gauge sender, and the thermostat and checked everything else I thought would have caused the overheating. Checked all the fuses thinking maybe my fans werent turning on.
But here we go. It's 10:30 a.m. and already about 78 degrees here in Orlando, Florida. Humidity will mostly like be a lovely 100% as always. -_-
I will take all the pictures I can and let you guys know how it goes. I havent bought the parts yet, gonna go to autozone in a couple hours and grab what I need.
If there is anything else you think I should grab while I am in here, let me know. I am going to buy the timing belt while I am there as well.
Pics of Prep: Since I did the other miscellaneous stuff yesterday, I had already taken most of the top engine panels off, air filter, spark plug covers etc.
At least my crazy little girl will keep me entertained during the process... :P
2 days ago my 1993 LS400 overheated and I knew instantly it was the water pump (gut feeling).
I tried several other things, mostly just stalling, before beginning the water pump. Did the coolant temperature sensor, and temp gauge sender, and the thermostat and checked everything else I thought would have caused the overheating. Checked all the fuses thinking maybe my fans werent turning on.
But here we go. It's 10:30 a.m. and already about 78 degrees here in Orlando, Florida. Humidity will mostly like be a lovely 100% as always. -_-
I will take all the pictures I can and let you guys know how it goes. I havent bought the parts yet, gonna go to autozone in a couple hours and grab what I need.
If there is anything else you think I should grab while I am in here, let me know. I am going to buy the timing belt while I am there as well.
Pics of Prep: Since I did the other miscellaneous stuff yesterday, I had already taken most of the top engine panels off, air filter, spark plug covers etc.
At least my crazy little girl will keep me entertained during the process... :P
08-01-13, 08:52 AM
#4
If I was doing all that work...I'd get my parts from the dealer... never been happy with autozone remans... belt is probably ok... but the water pump...not so sure. Good for you for tackling this... we'll be with you all the way... well, at least until we log off.
08-01-13, 09:06 AM
#5
Rookie
Thread Starter
Thanks Legender, i'll take that into consideration. The main factor is going to be the price of autozone compared to Lexus of Orlando. And thanks for being here! Assurances like that are whats going to keep me going today! lol!
08-01-13, 09:51 AM
#6
Rookie
Thread Starter
12:50 P.M. UPDATE:
So, radiator drained. I just take the hose off and let it loose into an oil pan.
Spark plug wires taken off. Makee SURE you label these if you ever do this!
And just for reference, these are the two coolant sensors I did yesterday. The large one is the coolant temperature sensor, the smaller one is the gauge sender (sends the temp to your instrument panel.)
Got the fan cover and the radiator out. Next is the actual fan...
Parts are adding up quick! lol!
So, radiator drained. I just take the hose off and let it loose into an oil pan.
Spark plug wires taken off. Makee SURE you label these if you ever do this!
And just for reference, these are the two coolant sensors I did yesterday. The large one is the coolant temperature sensor, the smaller one is the gauge sender (sends the temp to your instrument panel.)
Got the fan cover and the radiator out. Next is the actual fan...
Parts are adding up quick! lol!
08-01-13, 11:52 AM
#7
just follow the lexls.com tutorial for the job. it explains the majority of the job. i hope you already have the water pump. i too would try to get OEM but not from the dealership. an OEM aisin brand water pump can be had on ebay for a much better price, and it comes with the appropriate preformed gasket. no messy silicone RTV gaskets to deal with as shown in lexls.com.
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08-01-13, 12:16 PM
#8
See if they will match Lexus of South Atlanta or come close. Or just have it shipped to you if you can wait a day or two.
http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...005002383.html
$107 for OEM is great.
http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...005002383.html
$107 for OEM is great.
08-01-13, 01:34 PM
#10
Rookie
Thread Starter
4:30 P.M. UPDATE:
This is what I am dealing with right now:
I can't get these stupid ****** bolts off the fan rotor for the life of me!
I went and got a metric line wrench too and got one off, but none of the other 3 are coming out, and they are starting to get stripped. I am just about out of ideas.
As far as the new water pump goes, I just ended up going to Autozone because Lexus of Orlando is too far away, and I am not willing to order it, Ebay or an out of state dealership. This job is getting done either today or first thing in the a.m. because I have no other vehicle. This one IS new, not remanufactured, so thats a plus at least.
Current state of the LS:
I am getting there slowly but surely, if I can just get this fan rotor off, I should be able to get the rest done.
This is what I am dealing with right now:
I can't get these stupid ****** bolts off the fan rotor for the life of me!
I went and got a metric line wrench too and got one off, but none of the other 3 are coming out, and they are starting to get stripped. I am just about out of ideas.
As far as the new water pump goes, I just ended up going to Autozone because Lexus of Orlando is too far away, and I am not willing to order it, Ebay or an out of state dealership. This job is getting done either today or first thing in the a.m. because I have no other vehicle. This one IS new, not remanufactured, so thats a plus at least.
Current state of the LS:
I am getting there slowly but surely, if I can just get this fan rotor off, I should be able to get the rest done.
08-01-13, 01:53 PM
#11
Lexus Champion
alternatively, Sewell Lexus dealership has the real Toyota/Aisin water pump for $88 or less
Crybicki - the reason you are having trouble with that fan clutch is that some Beavis has stripped the nuts by using the wrong tool, a 10mm box end wrench is the correct tool - it is going to be harder at this point
- I would use narrow vice grips
Last edited by LScowboyLS; 08-01-13 at 02:03 PM.
08-01-13, 02:01 PM
#12
Rookie
Thread Starter
Yeah Cowboy...I am getting super frustrated. I am going to try and work around that part now because I REALLY don't want to strip them out anymore than they already are. Maybe some higher power will grant me mercy and I won't have to take that off? High hopes... LOL
08-01-13, 02:12 PM
#13
Lexus Champion
and I have another question, why are you so certain that the water pump is the culprit? - I know you checked some things, but there are a few other things to check
on LS400's that I have seen overheat, water pump failure is far down the list of most common causes
for example:
● something as simple as a defective radiator cap, and radiators themselves will typically become clogged and cause a Lexus to overheat far more often than a water pump, especially if the Toyota red coolant was not used throughout the cars life.
● what was the result of that cooling fan check you did, looking at fuses is not enough, you have to verify that the fan is coming on and going off when it is supposed to
● I would inspect the exterior of the A/C condenser for evidence of being clogged with bugs and other debris
● an overcharged A/C system or that fan clutch you are having trouble with are reasons a car would overheat that are just as common or more-so than the water pump!
PS - that dog is very cool
on LS400's that I have seen overheat, water pump failure is far down the list of most common causes
for example:
● something as simple as a defective radiator cap, and radiators themselves will typically become clogged and cause a Lexus to overheat far more often than a water pump, especially if the Toyota red coolant was not used throughout the cars life.
● what was the result of that cooling fan check you did, looking at fuses is not enough, you have to verify that the fan is coming on and going off when it is supposed to
● I would inspect the exterior of the A/C condenser for evidence of being clogged with bugs and other debris
● an overcharged A/C system or that fan clutch you are having trouble with are reasons a car would overheat that are just as common or more-so than the water pump!
PS - that dog is very cool
Last edited by LScowboyLS; 08-01-13 at 02:22 PM.
08-01-13, 02:23 PM
#14
Rookie
Thread Starter
and I have another question, why are you so certain that the water pump is the culprit? - I know you checked some things, but there are a few other things to check
on LS400's that I have seen overheat, water pump failure is far down the list of most common causes
for example:
● something as simple as a defective radiator cap, and radiators themselves will typically become clogged and cause a Lexus to overheat more often than a water pump, especially if the Toyota red coolant was not used throughout the cars life.
● what was the result of that cooling fan check you did, looking at fuses is not enough, you have to verify that the fan is coming on and going off when it is supposed to
● I would inspect the exterior of the A/C condenser for evidence of being clogged with bugs and other debris
● an overcharged A/C system or that fan clutch you are having trouble with are reasons a car would overheat that are just as common or more-so than the water pump!
PS - that dog is very cool
on LS400's that I have seen overheat, water pump failure is far down the list of most common causes
for example:
● something as simple as a defective radiator cap, and radiators themselves will typically become clogged and cause a Lexus to overheat more often than a water pump, especially if the Toyota red coolant was not used throughout the cars life.
● what was the result of that cooling fan check you did, looking at fuses is not enough, you have to verify that the fan is coming on and going off when it is supposed to
● I would inspect the exterior of the A/C condenser for evidence of being clogged with bugs and other debris
● an overcharged A/C system or that fan clutch you are having trouble with are reasons a car would overheat that are just as common or more-so than the water pump!
PS - that dog is very cool
I have no idea how long it has been since the toyota red coolant was used because when I bought the car, it was green. Since I emptied the radiator today, i'll be putting the red coolant back in.
The two cooling fans do work, but when the car was overheating, they werent turning on. But when I shut the car off and just turned the power on, didn't start it, the fans came on. So I know those do work.
The thing with the overheating is that, it's not just overheating when I drive it. When I start it and just let it sit, never taking it out of park, i can watch the gauge go up 4-5 lines within 5 minutes.
The AC condensor and radiator are both clear of debris, as I can see both right now with the state that the car is in.
And the A/C hasn't worked for over a year so, nothing has been done to the A/C system at all.
And to answer your original question: I am not even positive. It was just a gut feeling. And since I checked forums and websites for an entire day before doing any work to it, that's the conclusion I came to. And my other thought was that it hasn't been done since I bought the car, and I haven't a clue if the previous owner before me did it so I figure, what the hell, i'll do the water pump, and if that doesn't fix it then I'll move on to the next thing.
I guess I'm just optimistic.. lol!
08-01-13, 02:29 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
ummm, after reading that, we need to talk! - call me
Last edited by LScowboyLS; 08-01-13 at 02:37 PM.