Water Pump Replacement

Hey Toyota Van Guru's... Y'all ever have to replace a water pump on an 89 van? I think this is my next repair. I was on my way home from work but stopped to fill up with fuel first. When I parked and turned the A/C off, I heard a rumbling noise. Sounded kinda like a desiel engine running. First thing I thought about was the water pump. I looked at the temp gauge and the needle wasn't even halfway to hot. I filled up with fuel and took off hoping to make the 10 mile commute home without any problem. That wasn't the case. I barely got back on the highway when I heard a belt squeaking. Something had seized. I turned the motor off and coasted off the highway to the service road. Lifted up the seat to look and see what was going on. Nothing appeared to be wrong. So, I started it back up and the rumbling went on again for a couple seconds then the squeaking noise as if a belt was trying to move around something that wasn't moving. I turned off the engine and still couldn't see where the problem was. But then, when I got closer, I could see coolant dripping slowly at first then faster to streams of coolant leaking out from the front of the engine. To me this pretty much confirmed it was the water pump. And I'm afraid it was my fault. You see when I first got the van, the very first thing i did was tighten up the belts after I heard squeaking when I tested the A/C. I think I might have tightened them up too much and caused the water pump failure. Anyway, Ol' Casper is sitting in a parking lot waiting for me to come back. I'm fixin to order a pump and will get it in the morning. Things I need to consider and need advice on before I begin removal/replacement are;

• Is this a job that can be done in a couple hours on the side of the road?
• What other parts need to be removed first?
• What other parts need to be replaced?
• What else might I want to replace while in the process?
• Is it removed from underneath the vehicle or from above?
• Will the engine access panel need to be removed?
• Will I need any special tools, such as a pully puller?
• How much coolant will i need?
• And how much beer will I need?

What a bummer this is. Ol' Casper was running so nice too. And the A/C blowing out colder than a witches titty.
So please, all knowing gurus and those that have experienced this before. You think it's the water pump? Tell me what you would do or have done in a situation like this. Keep in mind that its gonna be sunny and 91f degrees tomorrow. I Hope my mother dont find out about this. I can hear her now saying "I told you Steven" ~sigh~

Hey sgtncharge,

This does sound like a water pump to me. Maybe there will be others that would chime in too on this. I'm pretty green on working on the vans, but I've just done a water pump replacement on mine too. OK let me try to be of help.

• Is this a job that can be done in a couple hours on the side of the road? - Not unless you have to. I've done it once now and could do it in a day and maybe less.
• What other parts need to be removed first? - I'd seriously think about replacing the fan clutch. They rate the life of the clutch at 60,000 mile or 5 years. Some clutches are less than that. So it was a no-brainer for me to replace mine.
• What other parts need to be replaced? - fan clutch, new coolant, T-stat, belts if needed, radiator cap if needed, hoses if needed
• What else might I want to replace while in the process? - see above
• Is it removed from underneath the vehicle or from above? - from above
• Will the engine access panel need to be removed? - I had mine removed for other stuff but I'm betting yes........pretty sure it's yes
• Will I need any special tools, such as a pully puller? - no
• How much coolant will i need? - 1 gallon, the coolant system has a 1.9 gallon capacity
• And how much beer will I need? - save the beer for after you finish. Mine was a can affair. Mileage may vary.

Take extra time to clean things up. I used the opportunity to take the van to the cleaners and get the engine compartment cleaned up a bit. The parts I ended up replacing was, the T-stat from the Toyota dealers, new pump from Japan, new fan clutch from USA. The last two parts have a lifetime warranty. Once the fan shroud is taken off you'll find you got lots of room to work on the job. Oh make sure you got a good water pump gasket. Not one all mangled up that you're a little leery about it leaking. Your hardest part will be finding the drains for getting the old coolant out. Apparently there's one under the radiator and one at the engine block, behind the alternator. I'm at that point now. You may find a little help if needed at a thread titled;

4X4 auto overheating, looking for input

Good luck and it's very doable.

Sure do appreciate yer assistance. I got the van towed home now so I'll be able to take my time. I have also ordered a new fan clutch and alternator belt to replace. I was reading somewhere that replacing the timing chain is also reccomended but the van was running so good, i dont wanna mess with that. I'm fixin to go out and get dirty now. Oh crap! I forgot the beer. I'll get dirty after I go to the beer store. Oh and the water pump I bought is new. Made by Duralast in Mexico. Has lifetime warranty.

I like to use a bit of aviation sealant in conjunction with the supplied gasket for water pumps. Just a light coating on both mating surfaces is all you need.

You can get by without it, but I like to use aviation sealant on any machined pieces that come into contact with coolant. Plus it helps tack the gasket to the engine block when you're fitting the pump. (Don't forget your torque wrench.)

Ok Y'all, I got the new water pump installed and now for the belts. I put all new belts on it. I'm thinking I should change some hoses too. But since I feel like I screwed up on the belt tension once already, I will ask for some advice on how much tension on the belts is too much? This Guide I'm looking at on Autozone.com shows to tighten the adjusting screw for the water pump belt to 29 ft. lbs (39Nm) but it doesn't mention the other two belts.

They actually make a belt tension gauge so you know when it's the correct tightness. I've never actually used one, so I don't know where to get, but if you're really worried you can google it or check eBay. When it comes to the WP belt, that's actually tightened by a wing nut. I just make sure the threads are nice and free, then tighten it until it gets slightly uncomfortable for my fingers to make it much tighter. The other 2 tensioners use a hex bolt & it would be easy to get carried away. If in doubt, leave on the loose side. If it squeals, then it's too loose (tighten it up a little more). Don't let it squeal for too long though as that will glaze the belt and pulley. Tim

Should I hold off and get a Toyota Gasket or just use the Gasket that came with the AISIN Water Pump?

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Originally Posted by highwind

Should I hold off and get a Toyota Gasket or just use the Gasket that came with the AISIN Water Pump?

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I used the supplied gasket a few years ago and it hasn't leaked. But I cleaned the area very well.

John

As far as I'm aware the Aisin brand was OEM for many parts on the Van-Fuel pump, radiator fan clutch, probably the water pump too. It should do just fine. I used a thin layer of Toyota FIPG(Toyota brand RTV) on both surfaces and mine hasn't leaked yet. ~1 year later.

Does anyone have a step-by-step on how to replace the water pump? I have a 1989 RWD cargo. Thanks very much.

Pretty simple operation, starts on page 4 of the cooling section in the FSM:

http://toyotavans.org/community/tips...ING_SYSTEM.PDF

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Originally Posted by terrence

Pretty simple operation, starts on page 4 of the cooling section in the FSM:

http://toyotavans.org/community/tips...ING_SYSTEM.PDF

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Phenomenal!! Thanks very much Terrence. Looks pretty straight forward, although getting to anything in this engine is tough:)

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Originally Posted by terrence

Pretty simple operation, starts on page 4 of the cooling section in the FSM:

http://toyotavans.org/community/tips...ING_SYSTEM.PDF

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Terrence, quick follow up. I assume that you have to remove the passenger's side access panel and the fan shroud to do this job, right?

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Originally Posted by Mfry

Terrence, quick follow up. I assume that you have to remove the passenger's side access panel and the fan shroud to do this job, right?

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I honestly don't know. The previous owner of my van neglected to put it back on when they did god knows what to my van so I didn't have one to remove.

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Originally Posted by Mfry

Terrence, quick follow up. I assume that you have to remove the passenger's side access panel and the fan shroud to do this job, right?

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It makes it much easier if you do.

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Originally Posted by originalkwyjibo

It makes it much easier if you do.

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Gotcha. One more question. Is removing the water pump drive belt an easy matter? Loosen a wingnut????

The first couple steps in this thread will help you with that: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?90-Change-your-alternator-ILLUSTRATED!

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Originally Posted by originalkwyjibo

The first couple steps in this thread will help you with that: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?90-Change-your-alternator-ILLUSTRATED!

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Gotcha, so three bolts with the bottom bolt being a bit tricky, and then the belt slips off. Wow. Feels like I'm going to be putting in some time on this project. Thanks again. I'm now properly armed for the job!

Hello everyone. I am in the process of removing the water pump and I'm having a really tough time getting the leverage to remove the four nuts that hold the fluid coupling to the pulley seat. The problem is that when you apply force the pulley of course moves! I'm going to either put another 10mm closed end wrench on one of the other nuts or put a long torque wrench on the alternator center bolt to try and create some resistance. I've sprayed some PB Blaster on these things and I'm using an extra long wrench, but they're not going anywhere! Anyone have a recommendation?

A flat tip screw driver or small pry bar between one of the other nuts and the fan clutch shaft works well or you can try applying pressure to the belt midway between two pulleys to keep it from slipping. Also, and I'm sure this seems like a "Well duh!", be sure your turning the right direction. I have several years of experience and some times when looking at a bolt or nut from the wrong side and it's giving me trouble loosening I stop and ask myself if that's the right direction. It never hurts to double check yourself.