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Yes, I am planning to replace the pump myself when all the parts arrive (no stranger to working on cars). I ordered via Amazon (includes taxes):
Bando USA 7PK1550 Serpentine Belt $12.03
AISIN WPT-137 New OEM Water Pump Kit $116.89
Permatex 22071 Water Pump and Thermostat RTV Silicone Gasket, 0.5 oz., 0.5 Ounce
Loctite Heavy Duty Threadlocker, 0.2 oz, Blue 242, Single $12.26 (for both)
AISIN THT-004 Thermostat with Housing $28.08
(already have jugs of Toyota coolant)
Not bothering with the idler or tensioner pulleys at this time; they seem fine and are super easy if I need to get back to them.
They were asking a premium for the car given the car and market conditions. Asked 16K. Offered and paid 14K, but know that I needed a ride as I was in a rental car (out of my pocket) for 5 weeks awaiting a replacement car purchase after a wreck. I was rear-ended by a police chased drunk driver at high speed, which totalled my 2007 FJ Cruiser that only had 80K miles on it (best vehicle I have ever owned, btw ... it even had the original battery, brakes, etc, = sad). Due to the market conditions at the time in Atlanta, there was no time to screw around finding a good car in the used car market, and I didn't want to deal with a new car purchase from a stealership at this time.
Replace the pump quickly, plenty of posts saying by the time the warning light comes on it is already to late and the engine is toast. Something about how the warning light on this is of a poor design and only alerts you after the damage is done.
It's a great car, I bought an 08 in 2010. I don't drive that much so it now has 100k on it. The only other things I would recommend is a tranny service. I know its a sealed trans but if you want it to last you should do one. They can suck the fluid out and refill. Not a complete change but still good.
Given the market that is a fair deal on a great car. I bought a Volvo C70 hardtop convertible with 50k on it for weekend use a year ago when everyone was freaked out about covid. I found it in New Mexico. The owner was leaving the country so I made a low offer and she took it. I have had the car a year and is now worth $5k more than I paid for it.
I don't have a warning light on, but I know it needs to be replaced. Car is not being driven until the new one is in place. And over the past 3 weeks I probably haven't put 100 miles on it. The miles came from the drive from Charlotte and a 900-mile round trip to VA for a funeral.
When I bought the car, there was just a subtle rattle sound.. no other signs. With time and a bit of mileage, I now see some leaking, not enough that it makes it to the ground, though. Just a little slightly pink juice atop the oil filter housing in a small "cup" in the casting beneath the crank pulley. There was also pink coolant in the reservoir--low but visible, but it has dropped a bit. So, she's parked until fixed. I'm sure she will be fine. Runs like a top, otherwise (smooth RPM curve, powerful, no hiccups). The previous owner even went ahead and had the 60K service done (I have all documentation), so plugs are new, brake fluid was changed, etc). I also changed the oil and filters (oil/intake/cabin) when I got it home from Charlotte, just to be sure.
On my list is to get the transmission fluid taken care of, though. Thanks!
Replace the pump quickly, plenty of posts saying by the time the warning light comes on it is already to late and the engine is toast. Something about how the warning light on this is of a poor design and only alerts you after the damage is done.
I was wondering if you (or someone) could elaborate on this. Are engines failing due to overheating unbeknownst to owners because "warning lights" or temperature sensors/gages are not reading./displaying accurately or at all?
My engine coolant temperature gauge has sat pretty much dead center between hot/cold every time I have checked. Are you saying that this is known to be unreliable and I or others can be being misled?
If not the engine coolant temperature gauge, which warning light is the issue? I am only finding two that seem to be applicable: the check engine light or the master warning light /!\. All other lights seem to be for other systems.
I was wondering if you (or someone) could elaborate on this. Are engines failing due to overheating unbeknownst to owners because "warning lights" or temperature sensors/gages are not reading./displaying accurately or at all?
My engine coolant temperature gauge has sat pretty much dead center between hot/cold every time I have checked. Are you saying that this is known to be unreliable and I or others can be being misled?
If not the engine coolant temperature gauge, which warning light is the issue? I am only finding two that seem to be applicable: the check engine light or the master warning light /!\. All other lights seem to be for other systems.
Thanks
The temp gauges should work fine, unless the coolant level reaches below the coolant sensor. Once the level reaches below the coolant sensor, then the sensor no longer registers accurately. The cooling system in the Lexus is reliable, but for some reason the original water pumps generally lasted only 80-110k miles.
I have about 90k miles on my aisan brand water pump that I replaced roughly 7 years ago. Thankfully aisin (an oem aftermarket part) is very cheap under $90 and about 2 hours to install. So if you have the original water pump, its best to just replace it, for peace of mind.
After reading around a bit.. I think it may be due to the bearings not being greased well at the manufacturing level. People pop the seals on such bearings and find them lacking adequate grease, sometimes quite dry. In fact, I was reading where some people even grease and reseal idler/tensioner bearings as a squeak fix; those people report them running for years after that.
mine is a 2010 with 190,000 miles on it with no failures ,maybe in 2010 everything got updated, i did change my brake pads thats it
That's great to hear. Skimming all the posts in this thread scared me until I noticed that pretty much every single one was a 2006, 2007 or 2008, at least as far as 3rd gens went. Others here had issues with their 2nd gen but that's obviously a separate story.
Can anyone else with 2010-2011 models give some further experiences with the water pumps?
Like verly said, perhaps they fixed the problem by 2010 (or 2009?).
That's great to hear. Skimming all the posts in this thread scared me until I noticed that pretty much every single one was a 2006, 2007 or 2008, at least as far as 3rd gens went. Others here had issues with their 2nd gen but that's obviously a separate story.
Can anyone else with 2010-2011 models give some further experiences with the water pumps?
Like verly said, perhaps they fixed the problem by 2010 (or 2009?).
For peace of mind, I would replace the water pump as a precaution. Its cheap and easy to do!
For peace of mind, I would replace the water pump as a precaution. Its cheap and easy to do!
You're right, I would definitely do that. Seeing as how there are VERY few of these 3rd gen models with fewer than 60k miles for sale, it makes a person nervous. That's why I would like to know if the 2010 and 11 model years didn't have the water pump issue that earlier years did. Peace of mind when buying so I wouldn't have to worry about engine damage that occurred in those first 60k miles before replacing the pump.
One of my Craigslist ad alerts just came through for this 07 GS350. Note the mileage and the need to replace the water pump. The failures could be largely the result of age vs. mileage/use.
07-22-21, 09:49 AM
