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Been away for 10 days and inspected the fluids of the GX when I got back. Found the coolant level down slightly (about 0.5cm from level line I marked on reservoir) and didn’t see any telltale leaks at rear of engine indicative of valley plate leak, instead I found a leak at the front, towards passenger side of engine, see pic below. Should I assume this is a leaky water pump? Any other possible sources for this leak? TIA
Ugh, I think you are right. been searching the forums and came across this thread and am trying to build the courage to tackle this job myself. Apart from pump itself, what else should I replace while in there? Thermostat, accessory belt? Anything else?
Just hit 1 year of ownership with this truck, 21K miles over past year, now at 84K. Replaced a leaky rear axle seal a month ago and now have this leak. Seems like these items are failing prematurely or is this normal?
Seems premature. Although depending on model year and how it was used and maintained before you've put 21K miles on it. I wouldn't be shocked to see a water pump start leaking on a 2012 or even 2014 since even a 2014 could be going on 8 years old now.....
crossed any tire high water prior to axle seal failing? Doing that with a hot axle is lining up the stars for a failed seal in the future
It's a 2015, and didn't seem to have had a hard life before I purchased it last year. I haven't been through any water with it, just on the beach and some light trail use.
I know it's not a blown transmission, but was kind of looking forward to a few years of just basic manintenance, Looks like the honeymoon is over!
Ugh, I think you are right. been searching the forums and came across this thread and am trying to build the courage to tackle this job myself. Apart from pump itself, what else should I replace while in there? Thermostat, accessory belt? Anything else?
Just hit 1 year of ownership with this truck, 21K miles over past year, now at 84K. Replaced a leaky rear axle seal a month ago and now have this leak. Seems like these items are failing prematurely or is this normal?
just did a radiator, water pump, thermostat and upper/lower hoses and it was straight forward, although much easier without the radiator in the way…actually not sure if radiator must come out or if removing just the fan would give you room. I’ll tell you that my friend is a Ford mechanic and he couldn’t believe how many bolts and things attached to the water pump he had to remove.
I had to replace mine last December on my 2015 GX (Approx 102k). GX was purchased in first week of Feb, 2015. I know a Lexus Certified tech who did the repair on mine on his off day. He told me it's very common with this SUV to have a failed water pump.
I had to replace mine last December on my 2015 GX (Approx 102k). GX was purchased in first week of Feb, 2015. I know a Lexus Certified tech who did the repair on mine on his off day. He told me it's very common with this SUV to have a failed water pump.
Thanks for the data point. From this and other replies, looks like water pump failure is pretty common at my approx mileage. Just bad timing as it seems like all bills come due in December!
I just had my water pump replaced under warranty at the 60k service for my 2016.
Luckily, I inspected the water pump at home before taking it the dealer, and found a small fluffy ball of pink crystals below the water pump shaft seal.
Not sure if the dealer would have noticed the leak if I hadn't pointed it out. FYI, I was getting an occaisional whiff of coolant for the last few months.
Update: took it to my Indy for the repair. They replaced pump, thermostat and accessory belt and replaced coolant. Parts were $378, labor $600. I asked him to inspect back of engine while it was in the lift to check for any telltale valley leaks and he said it was all dry back there, with no evidence of leaks.
My 2015 GX460 with 70k miles is leaking also, we're about a year out of warranty so I'll DIY this. Thanks all for the part #s and tips.
As a data point, I was quoted $1870.79 for this job (not sure what else is included, quote just states: water pump replacement), price is before any shop/misc cost and sales tax.
Got the truck back from a friend's shop. It was leaking pretty good and pink bubble gum was everywhere LOL.
While everything was out, along with the water pump and thermostat I also replaced the serpentine belt, idler pulley and the cooling fan bracket.
The belt is still in very good condition but there are some micro cracks. The idler pulley has tiny play in it and the cooling fan bracket feels a little loose when you shake it a bit.
I could still reuse them but for piece of mind, but with 46k miles, I decided to get new parts. The truck is idling very quiet now. Total of coolant use, about 1gallon.
For those that interested, here are the part number. I got the waterpump and thermostat online and other at Toyota dealer. You can get some cheaper online but I used my friend's dealer discount.
Water pump - 16100-09525
Thermostat - 16031-38010
Cooling fan bracket - 16380-0S020
Belt - 90916-A2023
Idler Pulley - 16603-38011
For those that had this replaced at dealer, did they change any other parts or just the pump?
Thanks for the parts list! Can you describe a bit ore how you determined the cooling fan bracket needed to be replaced? @Acrad , is this a part that fails or needs replacement often on these vehicles? I don't mid replacing it, but its a $200 part so i'd hate to replace it if it doesn't need to.
For other folks here, did the dealership replace any other parts as part of the water pump service/cost or were most of the parts listed above extra?
I replaced my cooling fan bracket just for peace of mind. I had one went squeaking on my last car and it took a long time to figure out haha. If your is low mileage, I don't think you need to replace it but if it's around 100k or so, it's a good maintenance item when you have everything out.
I'll have to dig up my old Lexus work order to see what they replaced. I may have posted it on site but can't remember. More than likely Lexus only replaced what was needed at time and that was likely just the water pump and associated gasket.
11-29-21, 06:31 PM
Leaking water pump?
