Secondary Air Pump / taking it apart / $1400 / If you own a Tacoma you should read this..

Inside diameter of the replacement filter? 1"?

 

Yes

 

Quick question. I have one of the filters coming from Amazon tomorrow. Is there any difficulty taking off the top of the pump held be the one center screw, or was the difficulty separating the case while accessing the impeller? From what I have read it sounds like the top comes right off after removing the one screw?

 

Correct, it separates. I went about it easy so I didn't disturb anything that might have been in the pump housing.

 

mine was a little stuck after removing the bolt but twisting it like a jar cracked the seal..

 

Looks like I may be calling the dealer on this issue. I pulled in to work yesterday and when I came to a stop, a couple of guys standing outside said the truck made a high whizzing, whistling sound. Later in the day I got out and lifted the hood and after starting the truck, I was able to pinpoint it this pump.

From what I understand it should only operate when cold. Yesterday it spun up after a ten minute drive to work, then after letting it sit and warm up it spun up several times while idling in the parking lot later in the day

 

Not really a filter, just a sound deadener so you don't hear the fan.

 

I just recently pulled out my 2ndary air pump and took it apart. I think the foam filter totally failed and got sucked into the fan and broke some impellor fins. I cleaned that all up and reinstalled it. I figured I better investigate the switching valve/solenoid and after taking that off and apart (what PITA that was on both fronts) I found some filter material caught in the rubber gasket on the solenoid/switching valve. I cleaned that all up and reinstalled (again, I broke a damn exhaust stud and jacked up the nuts, so had to repair all that noise - sigh), but all is good now. No more check engine light. I can hear my air pump kick on (although it sounds MUCH louder than I remember before it seized up due to the filter failure). Meh. I'll just deal with that slightly louder buzzing sound since it only happens when cold and for only about 15-30 seconds until the heat from the exhaust tells the valve to shut and the air injector pump to turn off). What a POS set up this emissions control BS is. It does NOTHING to reduce pollutants - it just dilutes the pollutants in more air so the concentration is reduced, thus passing an emissions test. Such BS. Especially when the parts are freaking EXPENSIVE. - Oh, I have seen aftermarket air pumps and switching valves online. Not as expensive as dealership prices, but still stupid-expensive for a part that does absolutely ZERO for pollution reduction or performance or ANYTHING. Rant over. Carry on.

2006 4x4 (non TRD) 4 cyl 182k miles

 

It's a shame that all the 2nd gen 4 cyl got this crap. At least the V6 models got a reprieve until 2012.

 

Agree. After reading thru this thread, I might take off the air pump cover again and make sure my filter/foam is all gone. I'll put a uni-filter breather on it just to make sure I don't get any big junk in the pump. I might also trim some fan fins on the opposite side of the fan from the damaged ones. Maybe this is where my extra noise is coming from... an off-balance motor. Stupid useless parts.

 

Thank you for finding this information I know I never saw such pump in my truck and glad that pump is not there, one less thing to replace. win win situation.

 

Since you have a 2015 the pump will run when the truck is shut off, that change was made in 2013 to attempt to combat the sticking valve issue. However, if the pump is kicking on randomly while the truck is running I don't believe that's normal. Let us know what comes of it...

 

Thanks I will. I'm going to try to give the dealer a call today. Luckily I'm still under warranty

 

I just got my new filter and took a minute to install it. The top popped right off and I found a dead stink bug inside. For a part that costs as much as it does it is a pretty poorly designed thing.

 

For less than $15 seems everyone should do this. On the 2.7 it takes just a minute to do.

 

Nice! Did you notice if the pump is louder? Thanks.

 

I will let you know later. I haven't started it up yet to check.

 

I just started it up and to be honest I didn't notice any difference at all.

 

did you remove the foam from inside the pump?

I received mine also, I haven't had a chance to get it on there.

Ill probably do a write up on it