Water Pump Replacement?

Hello fellow Previa owners, I can't thank all of you enough for all the posting and sharing of info to help keep my car going. I've used this TVT before to figure out problems and buying parts like the SAD shaft from Timsrv (thank you again, It worked great !)a year ago. I'm now poised to buy and install a leaking water pump for my 91 Previa with 275,000 miles on it. It is an amazing car. I was going to look for a Beck Arnley pump as suggested by Timsrv. Am I splitting the pump in half or replacing the whole thing ? Should I replace the thermostat while there ? Anything else I should be looking for ? Also, how/where do I find glass headlights ? Lights are dim even after the polishing scam I tried. I guess I should finish the pump before I start another project or search this great forum more. Thanks again.

Wagon Wheel, thanks for searching and posting your question in an existing thread (seriously, I appreciate it). However, you happened to post it in the Van Technical section in a thread referencing the "old school" vans. Anyhow, since the Previa set-up is completely different I moved it to the Previa section. Also, since I'm not aware of an existing thread that focuses on Previa water pumps, I made a new one. The good news is we need a water pump thread for Previa owners, the bad news is I have zero experience with this job. All I could do is recommend referencing the factory service manual. Perhaps somebody else who has done this will chime in.......PDgizwiz perhaps? Good luck. Tim

Of all things, the toyota previa's water pump is the one part that's easier to replace than on most other cars. Most cars require messing with the timing belt to remove the water pump, but not the Previa. It's a simple remove hoses, remove oil filter bracket, and unbolt the pump! Piece of cake!
Every other car I've changed the water pump on has been a royal pain compared to the Previa!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mrUD2z_qM6U

Absolutely easiest ever! You'll need to split open. The Job takes a short while but its kinda messy since You'll need to remove oil filter bracket. Its in the way. Means oil leaking...Remove water hose from water pump. I usually remove thermostat housing and hang up hose to keep from spilling coolant out. if not, Means coolant spill... More mess. Plus thermostat housing bolts are awkward to get off water pump once removed. Then, there are 6 bolts holding water pump on, but there are short ones (A) and long ones (B) with different locations. Make a note of which go where. There is a rythm. FSM stats you'll need water pump o ring and gasket and two o ring gaskets for timing chain case. But I reused o rings but was very careful NOT to remove them NOR damage them. I've pulled used pumps out of pick your parts in as little as 15 minutes and as long as they pass inspection, no signs of weaping nor noisy bearings, I save and reuse as them when needed. Always good to have a spare in a pinch in case pump starts to weep. Gaskets are cheap and sometimes reusable. I even have cut my own. And be very careful not to over tighten/strip any of those small bolts.

Thanks for posting guys! That design is very similar to the Corolla water pump. I did that on my son's car a few years ago. Tim

I can add a few things:
The double O-ring under the oil filter mount is p/n 15692-76010. Get a new one!
I have yet to see a Previa water pump that has failed, but I've seen the o-ring seals junctions fail and leak due to corrosion. Clean all of the powdery white corrosion from the round grooves in the timing cover with steel wool, and seal the new O-rings with your favorite gasket sealant. If you use an RTV, be very certain that it is a non-corrosive type. Typical bathroom silicone uses an acetic acid cure mechanism - it will eat aluminum and your seal WILL fail. I personally favor Permatex 3H form-a-gasket ("I put that s$%t on everything").
Lastly, since you've drained your anti-freeze, replace it with the correct red antifreeze and distilled water, to lessen the chances that corrosion will eat your engine from within.

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Originally Posted by pdgizwiz

I can add a few things:
The double O-ring under the oil filter mount is p/n 15692-76010. Get a new one!
I have yet to see a Previa water pump that has failed, but I've seen the o-ring seals junctions fail and leak due to corrosion. Clean all of the powdery white corrosion from the round grooves in the timing cover with steel wool, and seal the new O-rings with your favorite gasket sealant. If you use an RTV, be very certain that it is a non-corrosive type. Typical bathroom silicone uses an acetic acid cure mechanism - it will eat aluminum and your seal WILL fail. I personally favor Permatex 3H form-a-gasket ("I put that s$%t on everything").
Lastly, since you've drained your anti-freeze, replace it with the correct red antifreeze and distilled water, to lessen the chances that corrosion will eat your engine from within.

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Wow, thank you all for your response. All very good info. Glad to hear it is the easiest water pump to put in . The factory manuel looks like a gem. Nice pictures ! I'm still trying to figure out where to buy the water pump. To many choices and now I'm thinking maybe just the o rings or gasket are worn out. I guess i should rip the thing out first and look at it. Thanks again everybody !!

If it's leaking out the weep hole in housing, it's pretty much shot. Original pumps last 150k. OEM is way to go...Toyota pumps are great.
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Well, I can't thank everyone enough for all the response about my water pump replacement I recently did on the 1991 Previa. I had to laugh because it was somewhat of a mess every time I unbolted something. I thought all the coolant was gone until I took the thermostat cover off and BOOM more coolant almost got me ! I didn't dare unscrew the drain plug in the engine because one of the short bolts on the water pump broke off while removing it! I just couldn't bear the idea of another bolt breaking. Then when I removed the "bracket" for the oil filter I had some oil going all over everything. Of course I had already drained all the oil, or so I thought. Well, I got the broken bolt out with torch and water and vise grips, cleaned up and had to wait 3 days for the little special rubber O ring that looks like "eye glasses" for that oil filter bracket that dried out. Of course the company I used from the internet for the special O ring didn't send me a thermostat as requested but instead some other gasket I didn't need. I finally just bought an expensive OEM thermostat from Nappa because the cheaper aftermarket thermostat looked bent. Well after getting the pump in and the oil filter reattached I filled her up with oil. I then tried flushing the cooling system with one bottle of some cleaning liquid plus water. After the second flush with just water and some other slightly strange events it all works , except now I have no heat coming out of the dash. Do you think my heater core in the dash had a stroke? Should I have drained the engine block with that drain plug? Sorry for the long story:violn: but I have to laugh, someone earlier said taking out a pump only took 15 minutes so I figured this would happen fast and "easy". :LOL2::no: Not even sure were to start checking. Any ideas ?

it takes quite a while idleing for air to purge out of the heater core even with heat on full. takes less time with water during flushing, than 50/50/ antifreeze during the final fill. more viscous i guess. eventually your heat should work when the air is purged. the engine coolant drain cock is 10mm and vertically oriented, right by the oil drain pan. mine was a little rusty but didnt break, i sprayed it first and waited 24 hours. just do not overtighten it

Thanks bernard 95,96, I will keep at it. It's always a learning curve and I should probably be playing with my kids instead of doing car repair. Any tricks to help purge the air faster ? I would of thought they would of put some kind of bleeder valve at the top of the system. Also, I noticed while under the car the boots on the rack and piñon (sp?) are leaking. Anyone have any experience replacing the seals for that? Someone in the parts industry suggested I replace the whole rack because the new seal kit doesn't seem to work to well on worn shafts . It was $400 for a factory rack and the guy wastn't sure of the $$ for a reman rack. I have noticed the steering getting more difficult so I top off the fluid to the max line. I now will go outside in the wind again and run my car and see if it's working since I filled it last night with oil and antifreeze. Red or yellow Antifreeze , any difference ?