Brought my Rig to Right Toyota Dealer today for an oil change. After the oil change was done service guy said my water pump was leaking. At first I thought he was pulling my chain as the WP and timing belt were replaced 57K ago. But then he said a sign of a leak is a pinkish substance around the pump. I don't even really know where the pump is but I recall on our 3500 mile road trip a month I did notice this and we got a sweet smell when heading down hill. So now I think it is failing.

Where is the pump in the engine bay? Any pictures of where I should look for a leak. If the did need to replace don't really want to go to dealer. I Would want to purchase the pump and belt and replace myself or have someone replace it for me. Need to source the parts though and not sure where the best place to buy is at.

Any help is welcomed. Was not expecting to deal with this for a couple of years so have not read up on it.

Thank,

Mason

The water pump is behind the timing belt which is behind the plastic cover on front of your engine.If the pump is leaking you should be able to see some pinkish color down behind the harmonic balancer and you will probably be adding coolant to the system as it leaks out. I would take it back to the person that replaced it the last time and see if they will warrant it since it should last a least 90k....

If it is bad and they wont warranty it you best just do the whole job over: WP/Belts/Pully's not worth having to open it all back up in 40,000 miles.

BTW, it is doable by you. You will need one special tool and it will keep it much cheaper.

They aren't going to warranty a water pump done 57k miles ago.

Fortunately for you, these DOHC v6's are awesome to do. Got enough room in front and since they only have one cam gear per head it makes it a lot easier to line up.

If you want quality parts, go with the gates or OEM parts. I bought all my stuff for my 3vze from rockauto and the timing component kit was a good $30 cheaper than I could get it through my shop account.

Oh yeah. Do the component kit. Not worth having to do the job twice. New water pumps have been cheaper than remanned lately too. Don't ask, I'm not sure why.

Aaron, just curious... what is the special tool?

The TB/Water pump was done when the previous owner owned the truck back in 2009. It was done by the Toyota Dealership (Tims) up in Prescott but I doubt they would warranty it. I thought warranty work on parts and labor was one year at most places? If they would warranty it that would be great but that would be far fetched.

I guess I'm trying to get two things out of this post...

-First want to make sure I have this 'leak' so I need to know where to check.

-Second is if I do need to replace just need a link to purchase and a good write-up.


A side thing. I had my reoccurring (every 3 months or so) CEL PO446 come on yesterday. Was still on when I dropped it off but upon pickup the code was off. Did they turn it off or something?

Mason

Also just want to say we (my GF and I) love our truck. Well OK, I like it a little bit more We bought it a little over a year ago at 168K. We have gone camping twice, Broken arrow off road trail, Back Road Crown King Trail and drove it 3500 miles from Phx, AZ to Washington State and then back down the coast. Got ~20-22 mpg on that trip. We have put on about 16K in the first year also daily driving it. Great truck! Guess it just needs a little TLC now.

OK, picture time. I guess this dry pink stuff is what the dealer saw?






An over view of the area...



I think I saw this pink stuff a month or so after I bought the Runner. It was dry. When we were on our 3500 road trip I noticed some more in the area I pictured. Not sure if it was there before or not. We were in San Fransisco and everything was damp. I cleaned some of the now moist pink stuff different area and it has not returned.

Not sure if this is left over stuff from when the timing belt was first replaced or if I have a slow leak or did have a slow leak. Is this something that needs to be taken care of asap? What happens if my water pump does fail when driving (given that I would pull over and tow if anything would happen)?


BTW, coolant hardly leaks. I topped it off before the 3500 road trip. In the last two months only has gone down 1/2 inch in the res.


Mason

It's really hard to tell if you're leaking coolant by looking at the reservoir unless it's leaking a lot. If the pump is bad you should probably see some puddles under it in the garage (I did when my 95 pump went bad). I'd take it to the car wash and hose out the engine bay and see if anything redevelops. When these pumps start to leak I don't think it's a catastrophic-leave-you-stranded-in-the-desert kind of thing.

Unless you are having to add fluid or can actually see some wet spots under the vehicle I would wait. I was told the same thing on my Toyota, but it was old stuff.

I just wanted to agree with WAITING.

Given the general visual condition of the engine bay I too would vote that it's just the old stuff. A serious leak possibly requiring a tow would likely be proceeded by more telltale evidence (puddles). Just my 2 cents.

Cool guys, Thanks for the response.

I'm going to spray down the engine with that gunk stuff and play the wait game.

In the mean time I have found a guy that if needed will do the TB/Water pump for ~$450 using OEM parts.

Mason

I just bought a 2015 limited a month ago. The used car lot warranty is literally just up. was just checking the fluids today and the reservoir was empty. there is pink fluid stained all around the water pump. Filled it up and took it for a 30 minute drive... didn't notice much fluid missing after tho. Slow leak maybe. Its my wifes truck, so I don't want to leave it and forget it. guess i'll have to take it to a mechanic. FML

A fast leak would empty the reservoir and the radiator pretty quick. If it's topped off and checked at least every week or 2, it shouldn't be a quick rush to get it fixed.