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How Would You Know That Ur Water Pump Is Bad?


sheab

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It's not uncommon for the water pump in these Lexus's to go bad around 100-150,000 miles...Infact alot of people just change them out when they change the timing belts....Easy access when changing the timing belts... I have changed both out a few times, it's not a big deal once you remove all the plastic crap that surrounds the motor...

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It's not uncommon for the water pump in these Lexus's to go bad around 100-150,000 miles...Infact alot of people just change them out when they change the timing belts....Easy access when changing the timing belts... I have changed both out a few times, it's not a big deal once you remove all the plastic crap that surrounds the motor...

why should you change water pump .. with the change of timeing belt .. while the water pump is not gone bad ? seem like u guys got alot of money .. lol .. if it was me then i would wait until its gone bad !!

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why should you change water pump .. with the change of timeing belt .. while the water pump is not gone bad ? seem like u guys got alot of money .. lol .. if it was me then i would wait until its gone bad !!

Those of us that actually went out and bought a Lexus, realize and understand what to spend on preventative maintenance, and can afford to buy such parts as a water pump. High school kids without jobs who got the car as a hand-me-down from mommy and daddy are more inclined to lean towards the principles of "breakdown maintenance".

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Oh you can push it and not change out the water pump when you do your timing belt, but I will promise you it will go out before your next belt change...In the end it will cost you more money to change out the pump...It's not only preventive maintenance but smart cost effective maintenance too.... It's really a pain to get to those little water pumps...

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  • 1 year later...

This is interesting. I just bought an LS430 2002 model with 150,000 on the clock. It loses a little coolant when the pressure is greatest, ie. if the tank is full or revs are high (I keep both low now and don't seem to lose any).

There is also a noise from the area of the water pump so I'm inclined to go with the "replace the water pump when you do the timing-belt" theory.

Only thing is that the belt was done at 125,000 miles so I'll be keeping a weather eye on the pump/coolant for the next 100k.

Still that's only 18 months for me so I'm definitely going for the "pump with the belt" scenario and it'll soon come around.

btw at a previous owner's Lexus service the "noise from water pump area" was reported and the consequent action was to replace the v-belt. Low coolant was also mentioned twice on service reports but the action was simply to replace the coolant. All this has really encouraged me to do most work myself. (not the belt though - or the suspension bushing, which I plan to get done around 250k)

Thanks for all the info. - great site!

Regards,

Mike

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This is interesting. I just bought an LS430 2002 model with 150,000 on the clock. It loses a little coolant when the pressure is greatest, ie. if the tank is full or revs are high (I keep both low now and don't seem to lose any).

There is also a noise from the area of the water pump so I'm inclined to go with the "replace the water pump when you do the timing-belt" theory.

Only thing is that the belt was done at 125,000 miles so I'll be keeping a weather eye on the pump/coolant for the next 100k.

Still that's only 18 months for me so I'm definitely going for the "pump with the belt" scenario and it'll soon come around.

btw at a previous owner's Lexus service the "noise from water pump area" was reported and the consequent action was to replace the v-belt. Low coolant was also mentioned twice on service reports but the action was simply to replace the coolant. All this has really encouraged me to do most work myself. (not the belt though - or the suspension bushing, which I plan to get done around 250k)

Thanks for all the info. - great site!

Regards,

Mike

Mike it looks like your belt was changed without doing the water pump. It makes me suspicious of the rest of the repair. I have done both myself and cannot imagine any logical person or responsible shop that would do the timing belt without the water pump along with it. I'm sorry for your predicament!

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It's not uncommon for the water pump in these Lexus's to go bad around 100-150,000 miles...Infact alot of people just change them out when they change the timing belts....Easy access when changing the timing belts... I have changed both out a few times, it's not a big deal once you remove all the plastic crap that surrounds the motor...

why should you change water pump .. with the change of timeing belt .. while the water pump is not gone bad ? seem like u guys got alot of money .. lol .. if it was me then i would wait until its gone bad !!

LS pumps are designed to last app 120k. So do the math. If the TB is scheduled for 90k, that means the next change out is at 180k. The math says your pump will fail before the next scheduled TB service. This is why as both IS400 and JIBBY mention, the pump should be replaced along with the pulleys and tensioner at every TB service. Read up on what's involved with the service to see why you don't want to go in there more often than you need to:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

and an excellent write up by IS400 herself:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=49817

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How is it that your whole water pump is bad when there is a leak? Wouldnt the seal just be getting old and leaking?

Water pumps are designed with a "weep hole" that act as an indicator when your water pump is wearing out and is in need of replacement. As mentioned, you will get a few drops where you park your vehicle.

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It's not uncommon for the water pump in these Lexus's to go bad around 100-150,000 miles...Infact alot of people just change them out when they change the timing belts....Easy access when changing the timing belts... I have changed both out a few times, it's not a big deal once you remove all the plastic crap that surrounds the motor...

why should you change water pump .. with the change of timeing belt .. while the water pump is not gone bad ? seem like u guys got alot of money .. lol .. if it was me then i would wait until its gone bad !!

LS pumps are designed to last app 120k. So do the math. If the TB is scheduled for 90k, that means the next change out is at 180k. The math says your pump will fail before the next scheduled TB service. This is why as both IS400 and JIBBY mention, the pump should be replaced along with the pulleys and tensioner at every TB service. Read up on what's involved with the service to see why you don't want to go in there more than you need to:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

and an excellent write up by IS400 herself:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=49817

Thanks for the shout out! I am going to write one on my cold start valve replacement too as soon as I get all the info and garage time lined up.

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How is it that your whole water pump is bad when there is a leak? Wouldnt the seal just be getting old and leaking?

Water pumps are designed with a "weep hole" that act as an indicator when your water pump is wearing out and is in need of replacement. As mentioned, you will get a few drops where you park your vehicle.

That's interesting, I didn't know that.

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  • 14 years later...

On 3/16/2007 at 6:12 AM, sheab said:

why should you change water pump .. with the change of timeing belt .. while the water pump is not gone bad ? seem like u guys got alot of money .. lol .. if it was me then i would wait until its gone bad !!

Well. In this case dont fix it if it is not broken is a bad idea in my opinion. 

The design is such that when the 1995 to 2000 LS400 waterpump goes bad the engine is at risk to be destroyed since it is driven by the cambelt and a timing error from a seized pump may destroy the engine.  
Very sad and very expensive.  
AND also the added work to change the pump when changing the cambelt is not much and what you need to do to just change the water pump later is A LOT.
Many kits sold like the AISIN kit also include the water pump and they charge a guesstimated 60$ extra or so for that part.
I Have done two DIY cambelt changes and it would not be a fun projekt to do most of the job over again to change the waterpump later. I would absolutely do all the recommended parts when doing the cambelt.
The typical contents of the kits is a good indication of what to change. 
 

   

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