Water pump failing!

Bought this 2003 Tacoma and thanks to you all it’s running good without check engine lights! However as I’m learning Tacoma’s are a little finicky about their parts! That’s fine with me as long as it runs good afterwards. My question is what water pump should I buy for it? Is there any better than original aftermarket ones? Is there anything else other than belts and hoses I should change while I’m in there replacing it?

 

Thank you very much William! I’ll get one ordered!

 

How long did it take you to do it out of curiosity? Did you change out anything else while down in there?

 

When I did mine, it was a solid weekend. I also have a couple kids and other duties so I wasn't working on it 100% of the time.

This was my first TB on the Tacoma, though I've done my share of wrenching before, suspension work, etc... Did my head gasket on my 86 turbo 4Runner, etc...

I was a little paranoid because it was my daily driver and NEEDED it for work on Monday. Started general disassembly on Friday night. I was nearly done on Saturday, but ran out of light and energy. It was running by late morning on Sunday.

There are several members who've posted threads on how to do it. Just take your time and do a bunch or reading beforehand, and it'll be done in no time.

 

These two videos by @Timmah! will make the job much easier.

 

Thank you Sirs! I’ve got same problem... EL Work-O truck gotta have it!!!! I will plan well, study hard and getter done!

 

Still haven’t changed water pump.... fixing to get started here soon. Watched video above and thought it was very informative. I’ve made homemade tools before but wouldn’t mind purchasing the crank holding tool, (correct) crank pulley puller, camshaft seal installation tool and belt tension tool. Where would be best place to get those?

 

Above question is main one but while I’m on here... would heating up timing belt say in hot water make belt loose enough to install without using that bicycle tool? Seems to me that stretching something just in one spot would be a bad idea.

Oh and I know this from work that we back off Torque Wrenches when done. So would it be wise to purchase a new Torque Wrench for this job. Didn’t know that not backing them off stretched spring and made them inaccurate till I got a job there. They send them out to be recalibrated regularly. Not sure how far off they are but I have a garage sale find foot pound one and a crapsman inch pound.

 

Here's the write-up I did on the job, and links to all the tools I bought (and where I bought them). Was a great investment from my POV since I've used them a few times, and it's nice to have them around when buddies need them. I've included links below as well for your convenience.

full write up: Step by Step Toyota Tacoma Timing Belt Replacement for 3.4L V6 5VZFE

1. OTC 6673 Universal Belt Tension Gauge
2. Lisle 58430 Shaft Type Seal Puller
3. Schley Products SP 64400 Harmonic Damper Pulley Holding Tool
4. OTC 4518 Stinger 5-ton Bar-Type Puller/Bearing Separator Set
   1. (2) M8 Metric Bolts with a 1.25 Pitch, 100mm long with 4 washers - these are the bolts we used in conjunction with the OTC 4518 puller or other puller you have to remove the crankshaft pulley.
5. PRIVATE BRAND TOOLS PBT70960 Crankshaft and Camshaft Seal Tool Kit
6. Lisle 24680 Spill-Free Funnel
7. Performance Tool W89208 Cam Pulley Holder
8. TEKTON 24320 1/4-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (20-200 in.-lb./2.26-22.6 Nm)

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Of course, these tools were in addition to a standard set of tools that you'd need for this job - short and deep sockets, extensions, larger torque wrenches, oil, grease, etc. Here was a list of the additional tools we used:

1. 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, and 19mm sockets - both short and deep. This is a great set, but not cheap.
2. 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm wrenches. This is a good set.
3. 3-, 6-, ad 9-inch socket extensions
4. 10-inch socket wobble extension
5. A set of socket adapters (from 1/4"-to-3/8", and from 1/2"-to-3/8")
6. 90º needle nose pliers (for hose clamps)
7. Two, 2-foot breaker bars
8. A set of picks
9. Shop towels
10. Torque wrench capable of 250 ft-lbs
11. A box of ziplock bags to hold bolts that have been removed.
12. A pad of post-it notes to label said bags.
13. 5 gallon container to catch coolant (bucket with trash bag liner)
14. 5 qt container to catch transmission fluid

 

Sorry been sick... Not the bad stuff China has got going on but bad enough to get you down. Thanks for the information gonna get the tools on order. Shouldn’t be a problem but hate cold weather and my garage is a deep freeze compared to outside temps. Should’ve spent a few extra bucks to insulate it better.

 

Well just got started today! Great news is that the weather is favorable here in Kansas. Good to get out into garage to do some work. Kansas isn’t exceptionally cold but I hate working in cold when I’m not being paid to do so. Seems a whole lot easier to deal with when you are. I’m not gonna be in a hurry to get this done either... even if my little woman doesn’t agree with that plan. Because I’m contemplating doing an even bigger tear down. Need to fix those valve cover seals leaking oil. When I removed upper radiator hose, cast aluminum part was corroded. Makes me think that antifreeze with its corrosion protective qualities wasn’t used correctly. Anyway I’m wondering if I should go as far as to remove heads and replace head gaskets. I’m thinking that is the usual reason for head gasket failure... corrosion. Anyway what do you think? Should I replace them or do you think the gaskets are still fine at 266,000 miles?

 

However that may take too long...☹️

Oh and I cut the timing belt a little prematurely and wasn’t thinking about getting cam to timing marks first... 5vz-fe is non-interference engine so that mistake is okay I guess... I’ll just rotate them till they are lined up individually??? Question I have is from video it said don’t turn counterclockwise... what is the reasoning behind that?

Thanks, Turbodb for your tool list!

 

You mention valve cover gaskets and head gaskets in this post, and they're 2 different things. If you have oil leaking from the valve covers, then yes it's a good time to replace the valve cover gaskets. You mention head gasket but I'm thinking you meant valve cover gaskets. I wouldn't recommend replacing the head gaskets without need.

 

That's also a good point. Definitely can be worth trying to stop a slight leak by snugging those valve cover bolts before replacing the gaskets

 

Sorry a bad habit I have jumping around in my posts I meant both. Only because I’m concerned about potential corrosion is why head gaskets issue crossed my mind. Long bolts around thermostat don’t look good either.
I tried tightening valve cover bolts ever so slightly and nothing changed. I guess I can just let it go for now on head gaskets. I just figured that if I was to that point why not go a step farther. My friend at work said if I do go that far I will need to change out head bolts too. Have you found that to be true or is that overkill? Didn’t change them on Camaro or on old Metro I had.

 

Well shoot, you're a bit more able than I was originally thinking. If you're not rebuilding the heads though, but you're thinking just as they age with regard to the HGs. Nah, without symptoms or something I wanna look at specifically, I'm not pulling the heads.
But the head bolts are TTY, one time use I believe.

 

Haven’t been working on truck lots of other issues lately. Wrote this in another area here but nobody answered.
I’m currently working on water pump, timing belt and associated parts remove/replace. I ordered those parts off eBay and they are Toyota parts. Now I’m going to change out the valve cover gaskets. Looked at kit on Amazon for around $70 bucks that has everything and stuff I won’t need. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tacoma+3.4L+V6+5VZ-FE+valve+cover+gasket+set&rh=n:15728871&ref=is_s
I Was really hoping to find a from Toyota kit... like one off eBay I bought to do water pump and timing belt. So far tonight the best I’ve found is the Amazon kit. What kit did you buy to do valve cover gaskets and cam caps? Preferably from Toyota.

The $70 kit also has head gaskets and I’m still considering changing them out also..

 

I wouldn't touch the head gaskets unless there was an issue with them, overheating or misfire.
If you want to do something preventative that causes the headgaskets to blow, make sure all your valve tolerances are good on the exhaust side.
They stretch/loosen up over time especially on the rear cylinders exhaust side and usually cause the head to burn a valve/misfire and blow the gasket.

So don't pull the head off to change a gasket that is not blown, instead fix what blows the gaskets in the first place...
cause if you have a valve about to go on a high mileage motor, it wont matter if you change out the gasket, it will still blow when the valve fully burns up.

So to do it right you would have to pull heads, have them rebuilt (valves checked, reground and shims adjusted), resurface the head, new heagasket, and condition the block mating surface, and reinstall it all and hope it all works (these engine have spring loaded cams etc... you have to follow the procedure exactly).

It is not the hardest job, but it is not needed when you can still go in there and with a feeler check all the exhaust clearances.
Even for an experienced mechanic, I would not waste the time and inspect it before you tear into it.
most of those coolant ports will have some buildup after almost 20 years, more or less normal if its really bad just flush the system and use toyota red and distilled water on the refill.

Also don't use the generic MLS gaskets, get a good quality one. The better ones have a better covering on both sides, the generic ones usually skimp and could be the reason it leaks after you assemble it.
And you always repalce the headbolts on toyotas, they are strecth to yield meaning they stretch when installed and it can only stretch so much...
so if you reuse it a few times and overtighten a little.. you will have a broken bolt in the block that you have to remove then... not to mention blowing the headgasket when it lets go.

I once did a headgasket job 3 times when I was learning this stuff, and everytime you mess up it's not just the cost of that one part you skimped on its that plus all new gaskets etc... cause if you just reuse you might have to go back in again... so just get the right stuff the first time and do it once.

I wouldn't even get anything important off ebay or Amazon, there is no assurance you are getting a quality part. valve cover gaskets maybe, but not timing belt components or tensioner. Aisin is generally fine, but how do you know its a real Aisin part if you are buying it from a third party on ebay or amazon?

 

Thanks everybody for any and all help! I’m new to Toyota’s in the sense of working on them. We had a 2005 Camry and it was bullet proof. Never had to work on it... However girl wearing flip flops stuck under brake pedal and texting destroyed it. Like working on vehicles and love the look of these Tacoma’s just wish frame wasn’t a disaster. Hope to change that out next year if all goes well. Want to fix it up and keep it running for years to come. Thanks again and take care of yourselves during this pandemic scare. Weird seeing the grocery stores so bare. Reminds me of the video feed on nightly news of the CCCP back in the 70’s. Big long lines waiting on a single loaf of bread. At least nobody is fighting yet at stores but there are A Holes in every crowd and if you get enough of them at the same time it could get ugly. Be safe and try to remember how others feel during all this. Thanks, more questions later!

 

☹️ Sadly not terribly familiar with my truck and flying blind without a manual... where is the best place to get 2003 Tacoma service Manual at decent price??

Looking for the cam caps/plugs??? (Think that’s right terminology) I was going to do the valve cover gasket change out this weekend. Found some that went up to a 2002 but not 2003 tacoma extra cab 3.4L AT 4x4. I was looking here for them but must be doing something wrong. https://parts.toyota.com/productSea...03&ukey_driveLine=70209&ukey_trimLevel=144696

Also was looking there for the thermostat Studs... believe I found them but wasn’t sure because it didn’t mention length.

Coronavirus has got everything closed down around here... could anybody help me to find the correct parts for my truck so I can order them.

Also water neck upper radiator hose attaches too. It’s corroded pretty bad.