1FZ-FE Water Pump Troubleshooting (1 Viewer)

[Robin Masters]

Hello all,
I have a 1997 Land Cruiser with 187k miles that is leaking coolant from the water pump. The coolant is dripping from the bottom of the pump, but I haven't taken things apart to find the exact source of the leak yet, but it seems that it might be leaking from between the mating surfaces.

I can see that FIPG was used to mate the water pump to the block, so from what I understand, this tells me that the water pump has at least been removed and probably replaced in the past.

I'm a very novice mechanic, and I'd like to tackle this myself to get to know my cruiser a bit better, but I have a couple of questions that are probably really basic for most of you.

1. It looks like the radiator can remain in place during water pump removal. Is this true?

2. Do I need to remove the fan shroud, fan and fan clutch together at the same time?

3. While I'm doing this, my plan was to also replace the 3 belts, radiator hoses, and the thermostat. Is this a good plan? Should I replace anything else while I'm there?

4. Do I need any special tools for this? I have basic hand tools (no stubby stuff or crow's feet) and was planning on buying some flexible-head ratcheting wrenches before this job.

My apologies if this has been hashed out in the past. I might not be using the search feature correctly but I couldn't find much on this topic.

Thanks for any insight/advice on this. If I should leave this to a real mechanic, just say so. I change my own oil and other fluids but this will be one of the bigger jobs that I've tackled.

 

[baggar11]

1. Yes.
2. Remove the two bolts on the shroud, and the 4 nuts on the fan clutch. Squeeze the fan clutch in between the radiator and the shroud. With the belts loose, you can remove the water pump easily.
3. Yes. Maybe the coolant bypass pipe, nipple pipe, and 3 gaskets.
4. Probably just a 10mm and 12mm set of end wrenches and sockets.

Good luck! It's a pretty easy job.

 

[dioscw]

Hello, I have a 1FZ-F engine in my 70 series and is manual transmission but the engine is almost identical, the water pump, at least the one in mine truck doesn't use FIPG, instead you should use a gasket. I installed mine about 8 months ago only with the gasket and no problems.

I take the fan shroud, radiator and fan clutch out off the engine because I also replaced the oil pump seal, but I'm pretty sure that you must remove the fan shroud and the fan clutch assembly at the same time.

Replacing the hoses and thermostat is a good idea, I also did this when replaced the water pump, take into consideration that the thermostat housing is made of aluminum and could be badly corroded.

About the special tools I don't remember using nothing fancier than a standard sockets set and some pliers for removing the clamps off the hoses.

Be careful with the new water pump, you CANNOT turn the propeller by hand prior installation, and according to the instruction of the AISIN pump that I installed in my truck, you should put the propeller and the ceramic seal in water 5 minutes before installing it.

 

[elhombre]

Loosen the 4 nuts that hold the fan clutch on BEFORE taking the tension off the belts.

 

[Kernal]

Be careful with the new water pump, you CANNOT turn the propeller by hand prior installation, and according to the instruction of the AISIN pump that I installed in my truck, you should put the propeller and the ceramic seal in water 5 minutes before installing it.

Dioscw: could you scan and post up the installation instructions that came with your AISIN water pump?

 

[dioscw]

Dioscw: could you scan and post up the installation instructions that came with your AISIN water pump?

Hi, the installation instruction are in the AISIN page.

Here is the link to the "Precautions and Handling" of AISIN Water pumps.

http://aisinaftermarket.com/uploads/ih0gsn5d_1254516150_en.pdf

 

[Kernal]

The 1FZFE water pump appears to be a different design than what is shown in the link above.

 

[dioscw]

The 1FZFE water pump appears to be a different design than what is shown in the link above.

Those are the general indications for AISIN Water Pumps.

I don't see it that different, different dimension and pulley but the type and function is the same.

 

[OGBeno]

The 1FZFE water pump appears to be a different design than what is shown in the link above.

It's for a non-US 1FZ-FE. Probably with direct ignition as opposed to our setup with dizzy and wires.

 

[Robin Masters]

New Info

Thanks to all for the replies and insight. Elhombre, great tip on loosening those 4 nuts before loosening the belts! That is the kind of stuff that is not always obvious to a novice like myself.

I went through all the maintenance records last night and discovered that the water pump was replaced in March 2012 (about 20k miles ago) along with the belts. Another receipt from the same shop shows that the truck was brought back in November 2012 with a coolant leak and the notes say that the water pump was re-sealed, hence the visible squeeze-out of FIPG.

So, it looks like this water pump only has 20k miles on it. Would I be okay to remove it, clean up the mating surfaces, and re-install? (Assuming the gasket can be purchased seperately?)

 

[inkpot]

The most common water pump leak I have come across is the bearing seal. Cheap replacement pumps seem to fail early for me.

 

[dioscw]

It's for a non-US 1FZ-FE. Probably with direct ignition as opposed to our setup with dizzy and wires.

The illustration is from Aisin web page for general precautions. The 1FZ-FE uses only one pump, I purchased the pump for my carbureted 1FZ-F on USA and was exactly the same that came with the truck in 1996.

 

[dioscw]

Thanks to all for the replies and insight. Elhombre, great tip on loosening those 4 nuts before loosening the belts! That is the kind of stuff that is not always obvious to a novice like myself.

I went through all the maintenance records last night and discovered that the water pump was replaced in March 2012 (about 20k miles ago) along with the belts. Another receipt from the same shop shows that the truck was brought back in November 2012 with a coolant leak and the notes say that the water pump was re-sealed, hence the visible squeeze-out of FIPG.

So, it looks like this water pump only has 20k miles on it. Would I be okay to remove it, clean up the mating surfaces, and re-install? (Assuming the gasket can be purchased seperately?)

Does the body of pump says "AISIN" or "TOYOTA"? If not then probably is an aftermarket pump.

I recommend that you use a good quality water pump, if only after 20000 miles is already failing I would replaced it, but also check the matting surface in the timing chain cover (where the pump meets the engine) if corroded then a good seal will be difficult.

Like I says before the water pump only uses a metallic seal covered in rubber so FIPG is not needed, that's the cheap way of reseal a failing pump or a corroded timing chain cover.

 

[TEXASYETI]

I might be restating some things but definitely use a high quality pump. I see no reason to use anything other than original Toyota.

My pumps have always come with the metal gasket and I install with no sealant. Never had one leak.

Definitely replace everything mentioned. Check the idler pulleys as well. May not be a bad time to service the fan clutch if you are having temperature issues. My truck runs (in town - highway) between 186 and 190 unless it is approaching 100.

What kind of coolant are you running. I have switched both of my rigs back to toyota red. I do a thorough flush and then refill.

Oh, I also deleted the rear heat on both my trucks as well.

 

[Robin Masters]

I'll take a look at the existing water pump tonight to see if its aftermarket or OEM. As far as coolant goes, the existing coolant is green, and I haven't changed it. I'm not sure if it's Toyota green or Prestone green (not sure what Toyota green coolant looks like). Also, the radiator is aftermarket and the maintenance history indicates a few coolant flushes over the truck's life thus far.

I don't have a device to measure the coolant temp, but the dash gauge has never shown any high temps. From what I understand the dash gauge is not super sensitive though.

This job will be a good time to replace the fan clutch though.

Thanks again.

 

[Robin Masters]

Pics

It looks like my water pump was made by MDN if I'm reading the logo correctly, which I'm assuming is not OEM.

Does the fan clutch look original? The maintenance history does not indicate a replacement, but there was no history of the radiator being replaced either (which it has been).

 

[dioscw]

It looks like my water pump was made by MDN if I'm reading the logo correctly, which I'm assuming is not OEM.

Does the fan clutch look original? The maintenance history does not indicate a replacement, but there was no history of the radiator being replaced either (which it has been).

The one in my truck has Toyota where yours has the MDN logo, and the replacement that I brought says AISIN is the same place, the fan clutch if I remember correctly also has the logo in one of the sides. Toyota anti freeze as far as I'm aware is Red or Pink (but I'm not sure that green is not TOYOTA).

If you are sure that is leaking from the body and not from the vapor hole, I would take the water pump off the engine clean the surfaces really well and use the same pump with a new gasket, if is leaking from one of the pump holes just replace the pump.

 

[Robin Masters]

If you are sure that is leaking from the body and not from the vapor hole, I would take the water pump off the engine clean the surfaces really well and use the same pump with a new gasket, if is leaking from one of the pump holes just replace the pump.

Maybe I need to take another look. I didn't even know that a water pump has a vapor hole. As previously mentioned, I'm a real novice with this stuff. Thanks.

How tough is it going to be to remove the water pump due to the FIPG being there? Am I going to need something like a small putty knive (going easy) to seperate the pump from the block? Would there be a better way of doing this? Thanks.

 

[dioscw]

Maybe I need to take another look. I didn't even know that a water pump has a vapor hole. As previously mentioned, I'm a real novice with this stuff. Thanks.

How tough is it going to be to remove the water pump due to the FIPG being there? Am I going to need something like a small putty knive (going easy) to seperate the pump from the block? Would there be a better way of doing this? Thanks.

The pump has two holes from which is normal that a small amount amount of dried anti freeze to be present, but more than an small amount then the seal is failing. If you remove the fan clutch pulley you will see it, one on top and one on the bottom.

To remove the water pump you shouldn't use anything that could damage the soft aluminum surfaces, remember that the pump is installed in the timing chain cover and that is really expensive and time consuming to replace if you make any damage to it. You could hit it with a wooden block in the pulley plate to loose it a little.

To torque the water pump to the engine use a star pattern and go small amount at a time, the pump is aluminum and if you torque it down uneven it could break the pump.

 

[Robin Masters]

To remove the water pump you shouldn't use anything that could damage the soft aluminum surfaces, remember that the pump is installed in the timing chain cover and that is really expensive and time consuming to replace if you make any damage to it. You could hit it with a wooden block in the pulley plate to loose it a little.

Yeah, I'm a little nervous about the water pump being really, really stuck to the timing chain cover with the FIPG/RTV gasket material.

I can over-think anything, and this might be really dumb, but does anyone think that a length of heavy fishing line tied to 2 handles (short wood dowels or something) would be able to slice through the gasket material without the risk of damaging the mating surfaces? (using a sawing motion like a pocket chainsaw)