Change water pump preemptively?

A number of years ago I had a timing belt replaced at 60,000 miles at a ford dealership, they did not mention you should replace water pump at the same time.Well 4000 miles later water pump was leaking ,took that repair to a different shop and the mechanic said a new belt puts more tension on older water pumps so bearings can fail!
 
Deontologist said:
But with so many miles, it's one of those "might as well" things, right? Looking for your opinion. Thanks.
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TomYoung said:
Absolutely change it. There is nothing to discuss here.
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Yea, and while your at it, change the starter, the alternator, the master cylinder..... with so many miles, it's one of those "might as well" things, right?
 
atikovi said:
Yea, and while your at it, change the starter, the alternator, the master cylinder..... with so many miles, it's one of those "might as well" things, right?
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If you are taking a shot at dailying a 200k car, you should be replacing all those things and more.
 
Deontologist said:
2018 rav4, 175k miles

No issues other than a serpentine belt squeal. Just a chirp on acceleration. About 6 months ago, the mechanic told me he thinks it's the tensioner, just told me to hang on and wait until it gets worse. The chirp has gotten worse and I will get it formally diagnosed and repaired in the shop soon.

Wondering if I should ask the mechanic to go ahead and replace the water pump as well while he's overhauling the belt system. Seems like a good idea. Not that the car is overheating, or even losing coolant. But with so many miles, it's one of those "might as well" things, right? Looking for your opinion. Thanks.
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Got a "preemptive" WP and been waiting for at least 10 years and 80K miles for the OE Toyota WP to crap out LOL
 
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willbur said:
Got a "preemptive" WP and been waiting for at least 10 years and 80K miles waiting for the OE Toyota WP to crap out LOL
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I went about 300K in my ECHO before preemptively replacing the water pump, it looked fine when removed. But my BMW went through pumps on a regular basis.
 
atikovi said:
Yea, and while your at it, change the starter, the alternator, the master cylinder..... with so many miles, it's one of those "might as well" things, right?
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Funny thing is me and my parents all own Toyota cars and the starters have all gone bad right before 200k miles. The alternators all have also went out right before 200k miles.

I think the alternator on this one is on its way out, and it's dying a slow and graceful death. I get the occasional "low battery" warning from a radar detector I have plugged in the car. The alternator also seems to be happy sitting at about 12.7-12.9 volts with the car running normally. I think that is slightly low, but not low enough to really cause issues.
 
Check a vehicle-specific forum for YOUR particular car and see if it's a part that tends to fail often or not.

I just replaced the electric water pump on my Prius because they do fail fairly often and it's a theory (that I agree with) that worn water pumps contribute to the high rate of head gasket failures in these cars.
 
When the water pump starts to go it does not leave you stranded. Worst case (I have done it) is you keep dumping in water in the radiator to get you home. Then replace the water pump and add some concentrated coolant.

On a boat getting stranded is not fun so more prev maintenance is done. Like replacing the raw water impeller yearly.
 
Donald said:
When the water pump starts to go it does not leave you stranded. Worst case (I have done it) is you keep dumping in water in the radiator to get you home. Then replace the water pump and add some concentrated coolant.

On a boat getting stranded is not fun so more prev maintenance is done. Like replacing the raw water impeller yearly.
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You are assuming that drivers are attentive to their water pump weep holes, which includes 99.9995% of the non BITOG population.
Replace it proactively, and never experience the failure is the best case.
 
My Accent you need to remove the timing belt to get to the water pump. So the common advice is to change the water pump too. But instead of wasting time with water pumps I just change timing belts and if I need to change the pump, I change another belt. The Gen Coupe is easy. Take the belt off, remove pully, then 4 bolts takes the impeller out.

Coming up on a 225k mile timing belt change. Still OE water pump. :unsure:
 
cptbarkey said:
You are assuming that drivers are attentive to their water pump weep holes, which includes 99.9995% of the non BITOG population.
Replace it proactively, and never experience the failure is the best case.
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Well it's often water on the driveway which many would notice.

What maintenance interval does one choose? 50K or 100K or ?? The vehicle manufacturer does not provide any suggestions I would assume.
 
Donald said:
Well it's often water on the driveway which many would notice.

What maintenance interval does one choose? 50K or 100K or ?? The vehicle manufacturer does not provide any suggestions I would assume.
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Or the coolant drips on the plastic undertray, and you never see it.

OP isn’t asking for an interval, just convenient timing of the job since tensioner will be replaced.
 
Donald said:
Well it's often water on the driveway which many would notice.

What maintenance interval does one choose? 50K or 100K or ?? The vehicle manufacturer does not provide any suggestions I would assume.
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Not everyone pay as much attention as we do. There's also a case for dealing with an issue on my time...
In my experience 175K is a good run for a water pump. Most are pretty tired or shot by then.
 
On the matter of convenience, ie, I prefer to schedule downtime on my terms, and lump things together when possible, I would probably change it, but only with dealer parts.

That said, Volvo timing belts are a 100k mile affair. The pumps are known to go 200k plus. If they look good at 100k they leave them in there. They get replaced regardless at 200k. Iirc, the Toyota dealer suggested the same for my 2006 tundra at 106k, and when I sold it with 155k it was leak free. They might be right!
 
The short answer is no.

You have the very last year before they changed to an electric water pump. The ones in the 2.5 Liter hold up very well.

What should you do instead?

Check your coolant level every time you pump your gas. Or on your driveway during the weekend. I always checked on the oil, coolant and transmission fluid on my daily driver. Took only about two minutes to do.

Not only did I save a ton of money by taking care of the little problems I saw before they ever became big, but that car stood the test of time.

It's no longer mine. But it's still on the road. 30 years old and over 400,000 miles. Your RAV4 will likely reach that mileage if you do the same thing.

Just monitor your car's fluids that's it. No need to spend money on what doesn't need to be fixed.
 
brages said:
I just replaced the electric water pump on my Prius because they do fail fairly often and it's a theory (that I agree with) that worn water pumps contribute to the high rate of head gasket failures in these cars.
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Me too at 100.000 miles /
The old water pump still looked & felt ok (same thing with the thermostat), but now I have peace of mind.... /
 
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