Puddle under truck this morning need quick advice Please!

I need some help from the community. For the last 5 days my truck has been squealing like a stuck pig. I know nothing about working on cars but was planning on replacing some belts with the help of my uncle this weekend. It looks like I have a bigger job on my hands now unfortunately. This morning I found a big puddle under the front of the truck. The fluid is mostly clear with a tint of red/brown. As far as I can tell it's coming from the area around the base of the dip stick and oil filter area. I did a tiny bit of research and think it may be the water pump. Was hoping someone could chime in. The most important question I have is: Can I drive it to my uncle's place 50 miles away on Saturday where he has tools and knowledge to help me fix it? Can I hit the freeway at 75 or should I limp it on surface streets at 45? Or should I get it towed? Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

Sounds to me like coolant... I'm pretty sure the Toyota Long life coolant is red. Like you said it could be the water pump, but the water pump is under the timing cover so that will be a more extensive repair. Hopefully it's just a radiator hose leaking, tho that doesn't explain any sort of squealing noise. Pop the hood and see if you can tell where it's coming from, and post pics if u can.

 

Sounds like the water pump.

Replace it and the timing belt asap.

Replace both serpentine belts as well.

Do not drive it till thats all replaced.

 

Timing belt and water pump should be changed every 120-140k miles.

 

And to answer your question about driving it, I would if its a slow leak, just make sure you top off the coolant before you take off. If it's a bad leak you could end up overheating the engine. And that opens up a whole new can of worms you don't want to deal with.

 

Wow thanks for the quick replies guys. Didn't expect that. I will try to get some pics. As far as I could tell it coming from that area at the bottom of the dip stick. Not sure how else to put it cause i'm not really a car guy. My baby has 258,000 miles, no telling when the timing belt and water pump were last done. I've had it 3 years now and have had to replace the rack with my uncle... that's it. It's been a gem other than that. I YouTube'd how to do the timing belt, etc. Looks like a nightmare in my eyes but I can get help luckily. I'm just worried about making the 50+ mile trip there. I will check coolant and all fluids before leaving and will keep an eye on the temp gauge. Maybe I'll avoid freeways if that would help. If i'm gonna break down, I guess better not to be doing 75 at the time. thx again!

 

its a pretty easy job actually.

Replace the coolant with toyota red from the dealer.

Toyota even sells a rebuild kit for the timing belt and water pump job.

Look around online as it usually comes in a full kit to do at once

if you drive it and the belt breaks or pump stops.. you're pretty screwed. just have it towed.

Squealing belts is ALWAYS a bad sign, either they are worn as hell or the tensioner is bad or the bearings are bad.

All bad things with the belts being worn the best case scenario

 

Thanks again! I just took a video and am uploading to YouTube now... i will post the link in a minute.

 

https://youtu.be/597Y6QbAzmE

Ok here's a quick video but I'm not sure how much it will help. *Sorry bout the stuff on the camera lens.

 

Styx and Elmo - nice rigs by the way! great pics

 

This is the kit I bought on eBay when I did mine...The seller has a good reputation on here and the parts are all OEM Toyota parts. This is everything you need.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-3-4L...Kit-/190521450224?hash=item2c5bf69ef0&vxp=mtr

It is a pretty extensive job and will take some time and lots of patience. Especially if it's your first time and you're not particularly mechanically inclined. There is some good info on the forums here too and a couple write ups for the job.

 

Thanks!
I watched the video and it definitely looks like the water pump... You got some work to do!

 

Cool thanks Styx, I'll use that for my parts list. I have a nice hookup on OEM parts so I'll be able to pick them up day of (Saturday).

I'm not gonna lie. I'm scared. I can tell this is gonna cost me some blood, sweat, and Beers. I am not mechanically inclined but I will have good supervision. I can turn a wrench if he shows me which bolt. So we'll see. I'll report back here when the job is done! I'll try to get some pics too. I'll search the forum for previous posts so I have a good starting point. Will be good to be prepared with tools we'll need, etc. That breaker bar on the crank? looks like a challenge. Torquing it down again too. And that A/C bracket and pump deal looks like a challenge. We'll see! Thanks again guys

 

Also not sure if I really need to remove radiator? Some vids on Youtube showed it both ways. I did find the FSM online so that's a plus.

 

Here's a thread I started with some suggestions and stuff after I did it on my truck... Answers some of your Q's

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...belt-lessons-learned-helpful-suggestions.html

 

You. Are. Awesome.

 

Definitely water pump. No doubt about it.

 

Yep water pump. Same issue on mine. I couldn't figure out what it was. Never heard a water pump go bad before. Mine starting grinding and squealing bad and I let it go too long. It locked up on me and puked out all the fluid. Also tore my timing belt to shreds. The job is a bit overwhelming at first if you've never done it. But pretty easy actually. Just time consuming. Hardest part for me was the damned crank bolt. Impact couldn't even get it popped loose. About popped a hernia myself with a ton of elbow grease but finally got it. Ac compressor was hard to juggle around and out of the way too after unbolting it. I could definitely do it in half the time it took me the first time now. But yeah, replace that asap man.

 

Another thing I'll note if you replace the thermostat, which you should, is that the source I looked at, said the jiggle valve on thermostat was to be installed pointing down. When in fact it is supposed to be pointed up. If you install it down, truck will run hotter than normal. I turned her round and all is good.