Reassembled engine now the water pump is not circulating.

As you well know by now I have contributed to Tacoma World and especially to 1st Gen Tacomas. I have a little problem that I would like to export to th brain trusts here on TW. I am no 3RZ FE Tacoma expert but basic maintenance is basic maintenance.
I rebuilt a 2.7 3RZ FE Toyota with 234,000 miles on the clock. Everything seemed to go together just fine with the exception of one problem. I cannot seem to prime the water pump. I pour water into the upper hose, the radiator and in a few minutes I get boiling water and no circulation. So what am I doing wrong?

 

Stuck thermostat?

 

No there is a shunt valve that allows air bubbles to escape but Air is in the engine.

 

Not familiar with how the cooling system is plumbed on the 1st gen 4 cyl's but if the heater hoses (or any other coolant hose for that matter) are connected to a high point on the engine you could pull one off and let the air escape. You could remove the coolant temp sensor also if it's accessible and let the air out there.

 

I had a similar problem on my 07. Couldn’t get all the air out of the system to save my ass. Tried every trick in the book. Picked up one of these and it worked great. Might do the trick for you.

 

It does take a constant 90psi to pull the vacuum in the system so you need an air compressor at least 20 gal. I don’t think anything smaller will work.

 

Yea those work good for cooling systems prone to airlocks, I use the AirLift branded one at the shop. The downside for a DIYer is the price and the need of a decent size air compressor.

 

When I filled mine after changing the head gasket all I did was park the truck on a slight incline with the radiator end up. Filled it up through the radiator, let it idle for a bit to open the tstat and it burped no problem.


Can you see anything circulating through the radiator ?

 

"Can you see anything circulating through the radiator ?"

That is a negative, nothing is circulating through the radiator. I ordered one of those cooling system refill and air evacuation kits. When it does come in I will have a go at it.

 

I got it covered.

 

Was this a New water Pump?

Maybe it is bad out of the box. I got one the pulley spun the impeller did not

The 22R engines were bad for air pockets I just put a tee in the heater hose and filled coolant till it came out.

Good luck!

 

Different engine, but on a 5VZ FE I’m aware of at least one brass looking block drain on the passenger side that I’ve cracked loose before to do a full coolant flush. Accessed via passenger side wheel well with a few extensions on a socket. Perhaps the 3RZ has something similar?

 

If you pull the belt and turn the pump by hand, does it feel like there is resistance?

 

A

$22 EPAuto Spill Proof Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel Kit

proper coolant funnel and placing the car in a slight nose-up attitude (front wheels on jack-stands) has never failed me.

Edit: Assuming of course that the water pump is not defective and everything is plumbed correctly.

 

I tried raising the front end up to no avail. The radiator hose on the passenger side of receives boiling water from the engine. The water is still not circulating. I am wondering if a Gen 2 water pump has vanes that go in the other direction. I might have replaced the original water pump with a gen 2 pump.

 

Whenever I would deal with engines that would get lots of air trapped in them (most of these trash GM vehicles) I would remove the heater hose inlet and outlet and pour through one end until it came out of the other then reattach both. I would run it as needed and then top it off. It also helps to get the engine up to operational temp then once you do, run the heater on full hot inside.

If you are still not moving coolant through then check and make sure your water pump actually spins as previously mentioned. If you are still having issues then you have a severe blockage in the radiator which will require replacement more than likely. The best way to test it is to disconnect the upper and lower hose from the block and then pour some water through the top. It should pour freely from the bottom. If it does not, you have your culprit.

 

That could be a possibility if they made 2 different rotation water pumps.

 

@Empty_Lord any difference between a 1st and 2nd gen 2.7l water pump?

 

First of all open the cabin heater on full hot. Run the blower. See if you get hot air before the water in the radiator hose gets hot, or not. If not, than for sure there is no circulation meaning probably water pump is bad.

I drained and flushed my coolant few times and every time burping was not a problem. When you pour the coolant through a radiator cap the water will flow easy filling the engine and the radiator. The only air that can be trapped is in the cabin heater, but as soon as the engine turns the water will flush it out in just few seconds. That is in 3RZ in 1995 truck.

 

I cracked the hose to the water valve on the bulk head. there was air in the line so I topped it off there and reconnect the hose. I am going to disassemble and replace the water pump again.