Leaking water pump 2008 4.7lt UZJ200

[Spudman]

Hi all

I have a 2008 4.7 litre petrol UZJ200, which I purchased 2nd hand in 2012, when I drove home from Perth to Halls Creek around 3,000km's the vehicle broke down 10k's from home, turns out the petrol cap was stuck and wasn't breathing properly, anyway that's another story.

The Toyota Dealer here towed it back and while they had it they checked out the engine and stated they found coolant at the bottom of the motor

So I contacted the Toyota dealer I bought it from and they said they'd get the dealer to check for leaks.

So they had the car for a day and reckon they found no evidence of leaking.

BTW I have never seen a drop of coolant on the ground at home or anywhere else that I park the vehicle.

So over the next 5 months about twice I had to top up the overflow, so I drove my vehicle to Perth and booked it in at the Toyota dealer I bought it from and asked them to fully check the engine as it must be leaking coolant.

So I get the vehicle back from Toyota and I am assured that nothing is leaking and all is fine, top ups are necessary

So then next 5 months I need to top it up twice again, so I decided to book it into a qualified mechanic up here, not the backyard Toyota mob.

And whilst having a look this is what he found after removing the inspection plate

To be continued

 

[Spudman]

Okay I so I sent all the photos to the Toyota dealer in Perth to the Manager told him it was leaking and expecting a phone call back saying yep we were wrong lets fix it.

Boy was I wrong

They wanted to examine and reexamine the photos, never heard of a petrol V8 leaking water pump, it must be hoses or it's just coming out of the overflow and then getting sprayed onto the motor.

They rang the mechanic questioned him for a while, questioned his experience (which btw is over 30 years as a qualified mechanic) yet they were prepared to listen to someone at the Toyota dealer here with limited experience.

So eventually after numerous phone calls and getting extremely upset
They allowed the mechanic 5 hours to pull it apart and replace the water pump if necessary.

The mechanic pulled the radiator out and everything else around the water pump and this is what he found

So he then removed the water pump

If you closely at the old pump you can see where it's leaking

So I'll be taking the old pump to Perth at Christmas time and having a word with the Toyota Dealer Principle and then smack the manager over the head with the old water pump

So the moral of the story, never trust a Toyota Dealer and always get a second opinion

 

[Spudman]

I forgot to mention, there was a bit of talk on Lcool that the leaking water pumps on the diesels and now also the petrols maybe down to the long life coolant they are using being too corrosive and corroding the gasket.

 

[r3run33]

Hello sorry to hear about the troubles; also Australian Toyota mechanics have always been great with my 100 series back when I lived in Sydney. Had work down from Melbourne to Darwin. I have not heard of the water pumps being an issue in the 4.7L; now the 5.7L on the 200 series are known to have water pumps issues from the Toyota Tundra forum boards. Just keep up with the Toyota customer service reps and should be resolved.

 

[Spudman]

Thanks mate, even on other forums no one has heard of the 4.7's having a problem with the pump, but having said that if I hadn't been so vigilant about it, I would never have known, as I said before jive never seen a drop on the driveway