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So have a 2008 RX350 with 150k on original waterpump. Radiator has been replaced. car has
1. Mediocre heat after a long drive, usually around the 10-15 minute mark, heat is not as good.
2. Will hold coolant for a few days of short drives, but after a long 30+ mile drive, coolant dips a little bit.
3. Pressure tested the system for over an hour according to the shop, and the car held.
Could a failing waterpump pass the pressure test if it is very early on in its failure? I replaced the radiator cap thinking that was it, and thought I solved it as after a few days, the level was fine. It did not dip again until a week had passed.
Attached is a video taken near the pulleys, and I am not sure if you can hear it, but there is a rhythmic noise that leads me to believe it’s the waterpump. It isn’t there when I first start up cold, but after a minute or so it begins.
I also usd the bleeder screw on the top of the engine to make sure there was no air in the system, and it seemed fine.
Any help is appreciated. Mileage and originality of the WP lead me to believe that is the cause, but some have said it could also be a head gasket. I have checked the oil and attempted to smell the exhaust, so I don’t believe it is burning coolant.
further to Mesquite77's comment, and with a non-Toyota vehicle, I've personally dealt with a coolant leak mystery that turned out to be a leak around the shaft of the waterpump
in early stages, the leak was intermittent and not detectable with engine off -- it was an irritating puzzle and led to the use of Alumaseal, which worked for about 18 months, until there was an undeniable small puddle under the waterpump one morning
Toyota is pretty adamant about replacing the water pump somewhere around 60-100k miles in like all of it's vehicles. My rx330 manual has something about every 90k miles water pump replace or else risk death and dismemberment by the Japanese Samurai. I've seen Camry's engines blow up at 130 -150k miles with original water pump and American diesel pick up's go 300k on original water pump, don't necessarily understand the water pump.
It appears that while the RX350 has a timing chain and so does not have a timing belt change requirement, water pump replacement can be as costly ($) as a timing belt (plus WP, etc) in my RX330.
And (a very, very) rough rule of thumb for many is to not change the WP, with short distance driving routines, until a leak is confirmed (especially if one has AAA or something similar) -- the relatively large amount of work for the RX350 WP makes this even more attractive.
Brought it to two shops, both said everything was fine, and that the cap was the issue, and air in the system was the case for the dip a few days after.
My inspection says the water pump is failing but wanted to see what everyone else thinks. It's for my 2007 Lexus RX350 (2GR-FE) with 64K miles. The coolant level started getting low since past few months and that concerned me. After taking off the beauty cover found this.
Yah, all that crusty white "snow" is dried coolant. I think you may as well bite the bullet and replace all the O-rings that connect to the water pump, center hose and the thermostat. problem is with age age O-rings dry out, regardless of mileage
OTOH, coolant is pretty cheap, just keep it topped off.
Or, if it is too much trouble, those are low miles, I will pick it and remove it from your driveway for free...
Seriously, your problems here are O-rings and labor charges.
Yah, all that crusty white "snow" is dried coolant. I think you may as well bite the bullet and replace all the O-rings that connect to the water pump, center hose and the thermostat. problem is with age age O-rings dry out, regardless of mileage
OTOH, coolant is pretty cheap, just keep it topped off.
Or, if it is too much trouble, those are low miles, I will pick it and remove it from your driveway for free...
Seriously, your problems here are O-rings and labor charges.
Bingo^^^^^^Give the man a ''like''......I'd also change out the coolant as well....
Thanks, just wanted to confirm before I start tearing it apart. I got OEM water pump, thermostat, O rings, Serpentine belt, and 2-gallons coolant. I was planning to change the pulleys too since I have to remove that anyways but those were done 5 years ago so going to skip that for now.
Thanks, just wanted to confirm before I start tearing it apart. I got OEM water pump, thermostat, O rings, Serpentine belt, and 2-gallons coolant. I was planning to change the pulleys too since I have to remove that anyways but those were done 5 years ago so going to skip that for now.
Thank you for the quick reply.
I did this job earlier this week.
Make sure your new thermostat came with a gasket.
I was at 250K miles on original belt, pulleys, thermostat, and water pump. Belt and 2 idler pulleys were in perfect shape. Only tensioner pulley was a little crunchy. I replaced everything anyways. I mean, it's all got a quarter of a million miles on it.
If you didn't already know, there is a great DIY here.
I followed it pretty close. The one thing to be careful with is when you start jacking up the passenger side of the motor, the one motor mount tends to stick. The motor will raise less than inch, then you'll start picking the car up off the jack stands. As soon as it stops going up, whack that motor mount with a hammer or pry on it with a pry bar.
I then jacked it up until the intake was almost touching the windshield wiper cowl. I was able to do everything from the top with the motor in the raised position.
It's not the worst job I've ever done to a car, but it's no picnic either. I took me three hours to get the old WP off. About 6 hours put everything back together and bleed the air out. I must have checked the torque on all 16 WP bolts 3 times. The worst part is honestly the two spring style hose clamps. Just not enough room to get any kind of useful tool on them.
Some handy things to have, a 1/4" drive thumbwheel ratchet is great for removing WP bolt after you break them loose. Having 2 torque wrenches is nice for tightening the two different sized WP bolts.
Can I plz add, I saw a video of a guy doing a water pump on RX350 2GRFE engine and he recommends using nothing but 1/4" ratchet and not a 3/8" ratchet for risk of stripping the aluminum block's threads on the small bolts.
Not sure if his warning is fear mongering but I believe him after watching the job done so just wanted to add what I saw.
Can I plz add, I saw a video of a guy doing a water pump on RX350 2GRFE engine and he recommends using nothing but 1/4" ratchet and not a 3/8" ratchet for risk of stripping the aluminum block's threads on the small bolts.
Not sure if his warning is fear mongering but I believe him after watching the job done so just wanted to add what I saw.
I used a 3/8" for the larger stuff on the topside motor mount.
But my stubby little SK 1/4" ratchet was enough to break loose all the WP bolts. And it just fits better in the limited space.
I used two 3/8" torque wrenches to torque the WP bolts. One set to 15ft/lbs for the larger bolts, the other to 81in/lbs for the little ones. I also had to alternate between shallow and deep sockets depending on clearance.
03-03-19, 11:16 AM
Bad Waterpump?
