Should I buy a high mileage car that had a water pump changed?

I have been looking at Lexus GX 470, and a few of them had 140-200K miles, but the carfax history listed a waterpump and or radiator change. This is evident either by the Carfax report or by the seller's own admission.

I am worried that this is evidence that the engine may have overheated at some point in time, and there could have been warping. but is this necessarily the conclusion i should reach?

 

Water pump and radiator have replacement interval like any part and it’s between 90k-120k.
If you see this done you should be glad.

 

I probably wouldn’t be worried about it.
It not too uncommon to replace both.
I guess it depends on who did it?
Some shops may recommend both be done at the same time.
And some people don’t know any different.

My mother wouldn’t know, she’d probably pay them to do both, if she didn’t have me or my brother to call and ask.

 

The GX470 should have the timing belt replaced around every 90k miles. Since most of the front of the engine has to be pulled, most have the water pump replaced along with the timing belt. I had it done twice on mine, when I purchased it at 112k and then again around 200k.

Think of this as regular maintenance, I be worried if it wasn’t replaced.

 

does gx have timing belt or chain? usually when belt is change may as well do the water pump since taking apart that area. I had rx did my water pump/timing belt at about 100k miles. around 140k the radiator busted had it replaced smoke came out let the car rest a bit poured in some coolant and made it to shop. made a bunch of stops along the way tho since guage was moving up to hot side.

 

Water pump replacement is normal maintenance for most any higher mileage vehicle especially if it's got a timing belt, radiator replacement also not uncommon. If you noticed a head gasket replacement that would be cause for concern.

 

TB/WP replacement is part of PM for the 4.7L. I own GX470 and LX470. Did both timing belt/water pumps myself. Aisin kit on Amazon is $164 right now. Japanese parts.

 

Thanks for the replies. I didn't think about that. I've actually never owned a vehicle with a timing belt. only timing chains.

Thank you. As a owner of GX 470, do you have any recommendations as to what I should look out for?

Things that I am aware of:
-Rear Air bag failure (best to replace with springs anyways)
-Center lock actuator failure
-cracked Dash

That V8 has such a rock solid reputation, but I don't want to get overconfident.

Should I just spend more and get a GX 460?

 

Service history is key. You can use the Lexus owners website. Type in the VIN will show you all dealer service history, free.

Out of preventative maintenance I replaced front and rear suspension. Air suspension delete, metal tech 4x4 conversion, OME rear springs, Tacoma TRD front coilovers bolted right in .

I love the GX. I looked at 5+ examples before buying. Mine has high miles, but was the cleanest I could find.

 

With being so worried about things you’ve read, how the hell did you ever buy a 3rd gen?


That Lexus IS gonna have a lot better build and part quality than your Tacoma.

 

How difficult is that procedure, and are there any "special tools" required? Time required to complete it?

(I do most of my own maintenance, so that definitely sounds like a task I would tackle.)

 

-FSM (repair manual)
-Torque wrench
-Crankshaft pulley holder, to remove crank bolt.

I spend about 8 hours. Take my time and clean everything meticulously.

 

Fair point, but I bought my Tacoma with zero miles.

my 2.7 Second gen went to 200K with no issues, so I felt a little confident in buying a 3rd gen. It hasn't let me down after 60K miles.

 

It's not bad but you need to be able to get the crank pulley bolt out and know how to line up timing marks at the cam and crank.

Leaving the hydraulic tensioner off while setting up the timing belt will give you the most slack, it can be hard to get the rubber belt over the pulleys.

Also, those V8s have a bunch of different length bolts at the front of the engine that go through the water pump and various brackets for the fan and accessories. Keep those long bolts organized and make sure they go back in the same hole they came out of

 

To be clear, did the GX you looked at actually have a timing belt change? That's the bigger-ticket item to look for.