water pump leak (not the recalled one, but the engine one)

What did your local independent mechanics quote you for the job?

Keep shopping. $650 for a water pump seems kinda high.

 

Wow some dealer service. I paid roughly half that about a year ago at a Toyota dealer.
Good luck!

Dan.

 

Step 1: Find out if it's actually leaking.

These water pumps tend to weep a bit over the long run, leaving a bit of coolant residue that could be interpreted as a leak (or an excuse to sell a new pump, depending on experience level and ethics). We are talking about a very small amount of coolant loss (drops, not ounces, over a few thousand miles) but it does seem to be pretty typical. Both of ours do it, and neither one loses a perceptible amount of coolant.

My recommendation would be to note the coolant level (or top-up with Toyota SLLC if it's low) and watch it. Check frequently at first in case you have a real problem, less frequently thereafter if it doesn't seem to be moving. You shouldn't see the coolant level drop at all over the course of a few thousand miles if the pump is good.

 

There is no such thing as "normal leakage".

The weep hole is there to provide coolant an exit route when it goes past the seals in the pump: that is, when the seals are starting to fail.

If you see weepage, it's time to change the pump before it fails catastrophically.

 

MSRP for the pump is about $93, and the flat rate labor to change it is 1.8 hours. The only belt on the engine is about $20, and you might as well change it since it involves no additional labor. These prices are for genuine Toyota parts, but aftermarket products are available for less money. Any mechanic should be able to change the pump, but they do need to know how to bleed the system after everything is put back together.

If the dealer is telling you "some of the belts" either they don't know what they are talking about or they are trying to scam you. I'd call another dealer and/or an independent shop to see what they would charge.

 

I have two cars that have exhibited this since I first bothered to check, which was around the second oil change. One has 90k, the other has 130k. I haven't had to open the coolant reservoir on either. I'll happily replace a pump when it needs it, but an imperceptibly small loss that doesn't get worse over tens of thousands of miles doesn't send me to the parts counter.

One way or another the OP needs to verify that it is actually leaking, since he doesn't seem to trust the original diagnosis. If that simply means taking it to a different, better-trusted mechanic and asking an opinion, that works.

 

Another option which may or may not be more costly: rebuilding the water pump. Probably doesn't make sense in this case, but just something to keep in mind.

 

In the cases where a mouse can piss harder than your water pump, sure, you won't see immediate, catastrophic seal failure. But the fact that your pump is leaking shouldn't be taken as a sign that the pump is healthy.

 

Call your local news stations, tell them about your story. Maybe one of them will take a hidden camera to the dealership and do a nice story on them...

Otherwise, I'd just leave a nasty review on Yelp and be done with it. There are enough scumbags in the world, it could be a full-time job trying to pick through them.

 

Do you care to tell us the dealer name?

 

Were both cars bought new? If so then the weeping started around 10K miles, right? Thanks!

 

I recently took my 2006 in for recall work (steering). The dealer, from whom I purchased the car new, told me my water pump was leaking, and that it would cost $591.00 to replace. He also said the cabin air and engine air filters were extremely dirty, and needed to be replaced @ $30.00 each. Well....I had just replaced both filters less than two weeks ago, so I know he was lying on those. I've never seen a drop of coolant leaking from my car, and have never had to add any. The level is right up at the full mark. I've since driven over 700 miles, with absolutely no loss of coolant. Here is just another example of an unethical automobile service department. I live in the
San Diego area, and will gladly "out" this crooked dealer if you PM me.

 

This link will help you determine if it is actually leaking. I was recently at a presentation given by the State of California Bureau of Automotive Repair on how they have noticed a lot of this going around and what they are going to do about it. They are making a pamphlet to spread the word. It looks like they will be going after places that get complaints against them as well. I'm sure they would love to hear about this as well as any other members similar experiences (in California). Once you figure out if your water pump is leaking or not, you may want to drop them a line.


Avi

 

A KUDO to Avi's Advanced Automotive. I really appreciate this post. I've checked carefully, and can verify that my water punp is not leaking.

 

Avi, Can we fly you in to Minnesota? Here's my (2007) water pump at 72,000 miles, I was told its leaking (you can see red spot) but just to keep watching it, what do you think? They didn't try to sell me a new pump right away ($405 installed). Fluid level is good. I saw photos at your link, bad pump looked worse than this.