4.0 leaking coolant waterpump

Yes. Wp shaft seal is shot. Replace the wp asap.

 

A question to OP and others who've had a waterpump go bad: had you replaced antifreeze at sometime previously? and what type of antifreeze did you use?

skytower: you said toyota pumps usually fail at the seal, did you mean shaft seal?

Thanks!

 

Yes, shaft seal leaks at weep hole. Like post before you, coolant down front of engine. When you pull the fan and pulley, it is easier to see.

 

Thanks: the reason I ask is Japanese autos are spec'd for antifreezes that are 'silicate free'. Use of silicate antifreeze, like Prestone 'green', can cause the the shaft seals to leak if it's not designed for it. I believe it's a special 'wiper' gland on the seal to keep the silicate deposits from the main glands.

I know my Honda's and Trooper popped leaks when I changed antifreeze with a silicate anti-corrosive.

Now that I know why it happens, I'm very careful to avoid silicate antifreeze.

 

Silicates are only part of the problem.Propolyene glycol mixes are the only ones that can be used in Toyotas. Etheylene glycol mixed into an engine previously run on PG (even if you flush it) will cause problems. The metals in the engine and radiator will not be properly protected, and the residual PG will react with the EG and will turn to a sludge/goo which will clog cooling passages.

 

Hey Dave can you just change out the seal or do you half to change the whole pump out?

 

Replace the whole thing. Either the seal fails, or it wears a groove in the shaft and then fails. Either way, a new WP will fix it.
If you were really serious about rebuilding it, replace the bearings, impeller, and seals (if you can even find the parts). I've never attempted to rebuild a car/truck WP. Replacements were always cheaper and less hassle.

 

Sounds good Thanx for the Help. Just bought a new OEM one. Will get it this afternoon. Have you had to replace yours yet and how complicated was it?

 

Mine was under warranty. I have replaced a few of them. Ours are easy compared to the camry and corolla.
Pull serp belt, fan and pulley, then wp. Plenty of room. Just make sure you get all of the old gasket/sealant off(use a gasket scraper, not a knife). Put on the same type of seal that came off ie. paper gasket and sealant- use the same. Sealant only- use the same. Reassemble, refill and purge all air. Crank it up and make sure it stays full and moves coolant.

 

Got the water pump done in 3 hrs. Wasnt bad at all. So hopefully it will last a little longer than the last one. Which still was 74,000 miles. But a lot better and cheaper than having the dealership do it. ANd I even have spare parts left over. HAHA

 

There's no such thing as spare parts. Only, "where the f are these for's"

 

still got it? I didn't see where anyone asked about it.


wish I seen this a few weeks ago. 60,500 miles and just seen the crusty residue of a leak. bummer. Need to sweet talk my buds at the dealership to do it under warranty.......prolly won't do any good though......

 

Where do I look for this leak? Is it on the hose going in? On the ground?
I have to add coolant and have for awhile

 

Had mine replaced under warranty a few months ago @ only 18,000 miles.

My 2.7L was leaking just enough to create a tiny trail of white/pink crust running from the water pump to the lower part of the engine block. No dripping or anything. Remove your skidplates, get under the truck with a flashlight and shine it on the cooling fan. Look behind and below the pulley that drives the fan for any white or pinkish crust. If there's even a little, the WP shaft seal or the bearings are going bad (most likely shaft seal).

I would never have seen it if I didn't have my skidplates off for something else.

 

Look at the bottom of the water pump. Should be a line of crusty coolant. There's a weep hole next to the shaft.

 

Judy, you can sit/lay on the ground in front of your truck and take a good flashlight and look in under the right side(facing truck) of the bumper under the water pump/bottom pulley. On mine there is a pink crusty substance trail straight down the block where the fluid has dried before it hit the ground. With the leak lock type stuff they put in from the factory, it won't be seen on the ground until it's a bad leak.

 

Thanks Guys!

 

well it did do good, and it did pay back a little to get all my first service jobs done at the dealer. They are giving a good will water pump replacement for me today.

 

bumping this old thread

it's very interesting to read about others having water pumps spring a leak at such a low mileage (or what I would consider low mileage since my last Toyota had 270k miles on the original water pump before I replaced it; that's a 22re for ya, lol)

I had the oil changed in my 06 last weekend (I was out of town and it needed to be done and I didn't feel like screwing with it...) and they told me I was leaking coolant and it appeared to be coming from the water pump. I glanced under the hood and could see that the coolant was a little low. Didn't see any obvious signs right away showing a leak, but I didn't look very hard. Going to pull out my mirror-on-a-stick tomorrow and take a better look.

What I MIGHT do while I'm replacing the pump is convert it over to an electric fan clutch fans are just too noisy and are a huge power hog... I can't believe manufacturers still use them... I get that they're maybe a little more reliable because if/when they fail, they usually fail locked/engaged so there's no overheating problems, but I got a temp gauge and I can hear when a fan is or isn't running

did the same thing on that same other Toyota; HUGE power difference, but that was on a 22re which isn't known for it's power to begin with...

 

SO i'll chime in since i've replaced my water pump eons ago. I replaced around 80k. Yes the water pump has a problem at the seals, and you'll need to change it. some are luckly some are not. Is it hard to change? Hell no.

I have an e-fan so i had to remove the fan shroud, and fan regardless. But you'll need to reinstall the clutch fan, and shroud. If your going to replace the water pump you should replace your hoses, and serpentine belt.

Go to rockauto and buy the waterpump from Aisan with the gasket. It is literally Toyota OEM, with just the toyota logo ground off. I know this because i did a side by side comparason and it was literally the same part, just no toyota logo, but i believe the Aisian one was on both.

Remove clutch fan, shroud, serpentine belt, fan pulley. This is also a great time to install some NST light pulleys. Remove air filter is you have OEM and unbolt from the top of the block the rest of the assembly.

Drain radiator, and the engine block. there are two drain ports on the engine, one on each side. Remove hoses.

Here is the tricky part. Get a camera, it'll help you see where the screws are since they are hard to find. Take pictures of the water pump. and also the top hose connection area. There are hard to see areas where there are long bolts. Remove bolts one by one, and alight them on the new waterpump so to not mix them up. Some bolt have lock tight, some to not. Some are long, some are short. Placing them on to the new waterpump untill you remover the old on will keep your bolts organized for quick reference. Remover old water pump, now swap the bolts over to the old pump to keep them in order. This is also a good time to install a new thermostat. Do not by the stand alone thermostat, it is incorrect. You'll need to get the one with the black neck. Do buy new O-rings. Now just install new O-rings and reverse your procedure on removal of the bold. I hand threaded them on before using the wrench. This ensures you don't cross thread the bolts. When using a wrench be careful to get the correct torque. You can snap a bolt since they are very soft, and feel as if it just won't tighten to the block.

Reinstall hoses, air filter. etc. etc. and use OEM toyota Pink antifreeze. You can also flush your engine if you want, but just make sure you do it correctly.