94 Camry Water Pump

[ngsiufung]

Mine is 94 Camry, I4, 139,000km. I had my car a routine maintenance check with the dealership. The water pump was reported leaking. They asked for CAD$420 to fix it. I haven't had it fixed it before having more advices. The pump was replaced at 100,500km in 2002 together with the timing bely and other major parts. How come a water pump broke down with just 39,000km only and it seems to be very strange. I don't have time to jack it up and check it myself. Do you guys knows how to check the pump before taking everything apart? Does TOYOTA warranty their original parts? What is the common problem of the water pumps? Thanks

[RIP]

Common water pump problems: they leak, the bearings wear out and make noise, and the impellor breaks free of the shaft. The only checks on this water pump are to make sure the temp gauge stays in the normal range, there's no leaks, and no noise.

Most water pumps have what's called a weep hole. It's there to allow coolant to leak out giving you an indication the inner shaft seal is leaking, making a pump change mandatory. There is another seal around the outer flange of the pump that could leak. In that case you could choose to replace the seal and not the pump. I wouldn't advise that though because the the labor to do either is the same and it's costly so you might as well have the pump changed regardless of the point of the leak.

30,000 miles is a little light on mileage but, not unheard of. On the other side, my 2 Camrys with 160K and 270K miles both have their original pumps. I'm sure Toyota pumps have a warranty. Check with the dealer for details. I'm guessing 420 CAD is about $300 US. Thats about right because they have to remove the timing belt to change the pump. That's a good bit of work. You can always call a few shops and get a cost estimate to change the pump. Personnaly, I stay as far away from dealers as I can. Cheers!

[ngsiufung]

Originally Posted by RIP

Common water pump problems: they leak, the bearings wear out and make noise, and the impellor breaks free of the shaft. The only checks on this water pump are to make sure the temp gauge stays in the normal range, there's no leaks, and no noise.

Most water pumps have what's called a weep hole. It's there to allow coolant to leak out giving you an indication the inner shaft seal is leaking, making a pump change mandatory. There is another seal around the outer flange of the pump that could leak. In that case you could choose to replace the seal and not the pump. I wouldn't advise that though because the the labor to do either is the same and it's costly so you might as well have the pump changed regardless of the point of the leak.

30,000 miles is a little light on mileage but, not unheard of. On the other side, my 2 Camrys with 160K and 270K miles both have their original pumps. I'm sure Toyota pumps have a warranty. Check with the dealer for details. I'm guessing 420 CAD is about $300 US. Thats about right because they have to remove the timing belt to change the pump. That's a good bit of work. You can always call a few shops and get a cost estimate to change the pump. Personnaly, I stay as far away from dealers as I can. Cheers!

Thanks, RIP. My temp gauge is staying in the middle and doesn't seem having any problem and I don't see any dripping of the coolant and residue. I felt there is a pressure when I press the upper coolant hose. What so you think?

[RIP]

Your dealer may have been trying to suck some bucks out of you. He may have honestly seen evidense of a leak. Try this: put a nice clean piece of cardboard a couple feet square in your back seat. For the next few days, when you park at work or at home, slide the cardboard under the area of the water pump. Give it an hour or so and check it for any evidence of coolant dripping on it. If you see it try to trace where it came from. If you don't, just check your coolant level weekly for a while and every now and then glance under the car for puddles.

It's been a habit of mine for years to check all my fluid levels sometime every weekend. Some might think thats too often but, if you try doing it every other week or once a month, when the time comes around you could be thinking," was that two weeks ago or one - was that this month or last?