Superfast1

Had a timing belt job done almost 3 years ago with a complete ASIN kit (water pump, tensioner & timing belt). Now after 30K miles, it's started leaking a few days ago (found a small puddle of water on the ground). I jacked the car up today & looked underneath the pump, it's wet so is this an indication that the pump is going bad or could it be the O-ring from the water by-pass pipe or water inlet? Does anyone know how hard is it to remove/replace the pump? I saw a timing belt/water pump tutorial for the 1st generation & it requires the removal of about half of the parts in the engine compartment including the radiator. Is it really necessary to remove all that in order to get to the pump? Please advice. Thank you.

aptoslexus

There's no shortcut to removing the water pump. You have to pull off everything that's on top of it, which is a lot. I'd be checking every water hose first though. And the seal at the water inlet.

dicer

Lots of things can leak on top then flow down to look like it is the pump. You can get a dye kit at an auto parts store to put in the coolant comes with the black light and glasses, do it at night and then look for where it originates.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

yes i would also start with looking for immediate leaks at the hoses first before pointing to the water pump. how did you even get to the bottom of the pump, bc it's internal behind the fan and accessory belt? is the leak centered on the engine bay? as dicer stated, an external leak and can be mistaken by its flow down.

Superfast1

The areas at the upper & lower radiator hoses on both ends are completely dried & the leak is right below the pump when I jacked the car up for a quick look so I guess you could say it's at the center of the engine bay as it's not at the radiator. Pump is working & very quite so I'm not 100% convince it's the pump yet that why I was asking if it could be the O-Rings at the water by-pass pipe or at the inlet. Ordered a Toyota Genuine Water Pump w/ ASIN sealant & 2 O-Rings this time. I'll do some tear down tomorrow for a closer look. Thanks.

dicer

I'm going to laugh if its the thermostat housing or a hose near it and is leaking down so you think its the pump.

This is why everyone here has such trouble and ends up spending so much time, money etc for a simple fix.
THEY JUST PLAIN DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT OTHERS HERE WITH EXPERIENCE SAY.
In the end when you don't do something right and bend valves and what ever else, it would have been cheaper to take it to the Lexus dealer.
If someone needs a tutorial to do something major like a T belt they really shouldn't be doing it. I can understand a tutorial to remove a door panel or someother proprietary trim item. But with basic mechanics, even stuff like brakes, the knowledge and skill level doesn't exist to deal with it. Sorry.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Why don't you just post a pic?

aptoslexus

I get a condensation puddle on the ground every time I run my air conditioner. Something to check and eliminate before undertaking a water pump job.

dicer

Hmmm good catch. He didn't say puddle of anti freeze did he?

dashan

I got a similar leak, and it was traced to the thermostat housing (gasket). Search for my posts.

fixmiester

I assume he knows the difference between coolant and AC condensation, not to mention that only coolant drips from the front of the engine. Therefore, I suspect it's either a leaking WP, or a leaking gasket at the thermostat housing. I had the same symptoms after I did a TB/WP replacement 2 years ago. Had to look VERY CLOSELY at the top front of the engine, and found a leak in the FIPG where the thermostat housing and WP assembly joins together, because they were slightly misaligned when put together; my bad. In that instead, the leak didn't begin until I had driven the car for a few days.
If this happens to be the cause of his leak, it is much easier to fix than replacing the WP!

Superfast1

Dicer et al- I didn't have time to look at the last few posts where I had posted last. I don't understand why you're making an assumption that the person posting a question doesn't know or doesn't have any other basic knowledge when you don't even know who that person is. Many folks would considered a timing belt a major job for an average Joe or for a weekend mechanic so having the "How To" tutorial would definitely help a lot. On the other hand, removing a door panel and/or a trim is fairly a simple job so one could get by with or without the tutorial. Anyway, I had mentioned in my last post that I'm not convince it's the water pump but I went ahead & ordered a new one just in case I would need one then I wouldn't have to wait. Additionally, the car is so old so I wouldn't mind having some good spare parts laying around & ready to go if needed. By ordering a new pump, it doesn't mean that I would blindly remove & replace it without further checking to see if it's really the pump. Working on cars is one of my many hobbies over the past 40 years & I have fixed & removed/replaced many other components which were a lot more complicated but it also doesn't mean that I would know every car inside & out. For most cars, remove/replace a water pump is relatively a simple job because it's right out in the open, however it's not the case for some of the Toyota/Lexus models as the pump is designed & located behind a bunch of parts & the timing belt so I was just asking for confirmation if it's really necessary to remove all that. Anyway, I did another visual inspection after removing a few parts i.e. the engine cover & the air duct, etc... over the weekend. It turned out the leak was caused by a bad thermostat's gasket inside the water inlet. The leak was so small, it only leaked a drop or two at a time so the anti-freeze went straight down to the water pump & the area underneath the water inlet was completely dried looking from the top down. I had to use a small dental mirror & a flash light to see the dripping. At the end, I was thrilled to see it's not the water pump. Everything has been fixed & back to normal. Thanks everyone for your inputs. Have a great day.

python

iTrader: (4)

the most common mistake made by people that replace water pumps is they refill the coolant system with coolant and tap water instead of distilled water or 50-50 coolant. tap water is not good for the system and will wreak havoc on the pump as well as create issues in the radiator and heater core(corrosion)...not only the mineral buildup but it acts like sand on the water pump. change ur coolant every couple of years,u cant completely avoid corrosion but u can limit it to an extent.

dicer

Some states the H2o is better than others. But agree with distilled, sometimes it just isn't possible though. I remember as a younger person having to use swamp water, it was better than no water.