Recommendation for Water Pump...

[MysticGold04]

For a 2004 Toyota Highlander with the 2AZFE engine. Its almost at 105,000 miles and the shop that stuck the new serp belt on for me said that it looks like the existing water pump is leaking or has leaked on the crank pulley. So i guess its time to start pricing a water pump/coolant replacement job. I already have a $180 labor quote from him if I bring him the replacement pump.

Any suggestions as far as OEM, Bosch, Beck-Arnley?

 

[The Critic]

Water pumps failures are common on the 2AZ-FE, from what I've been told.

I recently installed a Bosch pump on my Saturn, but I don't plan to keep the car much longer. If you plan to keep the car, you may just want to purchase a new Toyota pump, even if it doesn't come with a lifetime warranty.

 

[firefighter]

Agreed with the critic the OE pump lasted 105k why not use that?

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Water pumps failures are common on the 2AZ-FE, from what I've been told.

I recently installed a Bosch pump on my Saturn, but I don't plan to keep the car much longer. If you plan to keep the car, you may just want to purchase a new Toyota pump, even if it doesn't come with a lifetime warranty.


Why would you want to replace a bad pump with another thats known to be failure prone?

 

[mopar_monkey]

gmb are good

 

[PandaBear]

AC Delco? Gate? Beck Arnley? I've used all 3 on corolla and Integra and both seems to be high quality.

 

[5sfe91]

Get a second opinion if the water pump is leaking I'd go with a Toyota water pump $105.42 +shipping

 

[Chris Meutsch]

There's a Gates unit on rockauto.com with a lifetime warranty......

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Gene K
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Water pumps failures are common on the 2AZ-FE, from what I've been told.

I recently installed a Bosch pump on my Saturn, but I don't plan to keep the car much longer. If you plan to keep the car, you may just want to purchase a new Toyota pump, even if it doesn't come with a lifetime warranty.


Why would you want to replace a bad pump with another thats known to be failure prone?


100k isn't too bad for a water pump. At least a new OE pump will last about the same mileage. A number of the aftermarket pumps are Made in China and cannot be trusted to last 100k, despite the lifetime warranty.

 

[PandaBear]

My Gate waterpump for Corolla lasted 120k no problem, replaced for peace of mind.

 

[MysticGold04]

Only reason I'm slightly worried, is that the coolant in the overflow has slightly gone down. Does the coolant evaporate at all?

 

[mechtech2]

If you get an auto parts store type, get new instead of rebuilt.

Antifreeze does evaporate, although in modern systems the reservoir is kinda sealed, and this is normally a very slow event.

 

[MysticGold04]

Well it has been about 2 years since we bought it. Anyhow, how come the Gates waterpump is about half of the others? Is it because it does not come with the pulley? Just curious..

Anyone ever change a waterpump on a 2AZ? Is it a nightmare or relatively easy?

 

[MysticGold04]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
If you get an auto parts store type, get new instead of rebuilt.

Antifreeze does evaporate, although in modern systems the reservoir is kinda sealed, and this is normally a very slow event.



actually, I just checked my truck too and it has gone down also... about 2 years since last service.

 

[MysticGold04]

Bump.. anyone ever change one of these pumps?

 

[doitmyself]

I would confirm that the pump is going bad. On the Chrysler 2.7 engines, Jasper engine rebuilders put out a tech bulletin warning that slight "weeping" is sometimes normal and not indicative of pump failure:

http://www.jasperengines.com/pdf/2.7L_Water_TB.pdf

"According to Chrysler engine warranty administrators many water pumps for these engines have been replaced needlessly.
These replaced pumps were replaced as the result of visual observation of traces of a thin black stain running down the pump weep passage as shown in Figure 1. According to Chrysler a slight amount of stain below the water pump weep hole/passage is considered normal operation. Replace the pump only if a heavy deposit or a steady flow of engine coolant is evident from the weep passage. Of course, also replace the pump if it shows bearing damage or cracking."

But, if The Critic is correct, you might be due for a preemptive strike. Good Luck.