Swede

So I decided to change my timing belt today (151,000 klms on it) and not knowing if I needed to or not, i decided I'd replace the water pump as well. I'm kind of glad I chose to do this because once I got the covers off, this is what I found:


Kudos to everyone at Yotatech for all the info on replacing the timing belt and also the the advice on changing the water pump while you're at it!!!

profuse007

have never seen anything clutter up like that. about time to inspect the problem. so definitely the stuff thats surround that front-side block is not suppose to be there.

MTL_4runner

gpcollen1 had the same thing happen, have a look.
Once the WP starts weeping that's pretty much what it's going to look like when it's been doing it for a while.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w...llen1/4Runner/

NaeSLaS

the power of researching before tackling a job.

profuse007

do you mean the wp has a seepage? if that was the case, then that WP needs immediate attention and toyota red coolant might NOT be a great idea after all.

MTL_4runner

I'm talking about when the WP goes south.....that's when seepage occurs.
.....and yes, toyota red coolant is a good thing for your engine.....all coolants leave a residue when evaporated.

profuse007

so is that residue due to seepage failure or what? if failure due to seepage, the flow rate on the seepage hole is pretty significant to let you know the cooling system is lost of coolant and cause overheating slowly.

i am not sure wether which coolant will be better but i still use toyota red coolant for my 4runner. from two past experiences w/ conventional prestone on two diff car w/ diff block material (aluminum and iron w/ leakin seals, if that matters) and it has a failure due to seepage. however, the residue that stayed on there for couple of days do not show any sort of sign of residue built up like that. as a matter of fact, the coolant was still retained around the oil pump housing and such, but still no residue. it actually cleanned away the oil residue from the aluminum housing.

not to conclude but it seems like the toyota red has an adverse effect on the material(s).

Swede

No kidding, it's sure great to have the resources here on Yotatech to help you through. Gotta love that "search" tab hey? I've been planning and researching off and on for about 4 months now and finally had the time to get to it.

Out of curiosity, has anyone had any experience with not getting the timing belt done correctly? For instance, having one of the cam sprockets out of alignment (or time) by one gear tooth (I know it's a belt but not sure what else to call it) and try to run the motor that way? How bad will you notice the missalignment or will the motor even start?

NaeSLaS

when i did the timing belt on my subaru, the left side cams were off by one tooth. this caused the engine to run, but very poorly. it felt like we unplugged a spark plug wire. no power whatsoever.

be very careful though, some engines are interference engines, meaning that if the valve timing is off, then the valves will strike the piston crown.

habanero

Mine looked like that too, thick and gooey. Never had a green coolant wp have that kind of build up, but then again, my wps have never been hidden behind timing covers to weep for who knows how long, either.

The 3.4 isn't an interference. Mine went together fine. 2

MTL_4runner

It's not an issue on 99% of the Toyota engines out there (most are non-interference design) unlike Subies and Hondas.

NaeSLaS

yeah....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

MTL_4runner

See in red above.

Swede

I've had the rig for some 4 years now and put on around 80,000 klm's and have just within the last 6 months or so added a small amount of coolant maybe 1/4 to 1/3rd of a liter. That's all. Just to get it above the "low level" mark in the reservoir. It probably looks worse than it actually is, because when the coolant from the seep-hole hits the idler it probably gets sprayed all over the block. That'd be my guess. I've never had a cooling issue otherwise.

Also, when I removed the old pump, it looked fine. No play or roughness in the impeller shaft either. Who knows how long it could've lasted.

gpcollen1

Hey those pics look familiar!!

Mine appeared to be a very slow leak over a long period of time. I usually check all my fluids here adn there but definitely at oil change time. Not once do I remember having to add any significant amount of antifreeze to the vehicle but I probably added a little here and there - figuring a bit of evaporation in the transfer to the overflow/reservoir.

I had not removed the top cover to inspect the water pumps til i did the Timing Belt at 120k-ish.

G

Ringmaster

Your pic brings back memorys of when I did belt/wp combo on my 4Runner.

mkgarrison5

replace the damn water pump and refill the coolant with red yota antifreeze.. damn hahaha

profuse007

tell me about it. if it builds up like that, its definitely not good for the components in there, especially for the timing belt. pretty odd to see it happens like this.
that seepage (weep?) isnt suppose to be there for sure. if the other guy has to top off his coolant, he definitely needs to check out this cooling system.

habanero

Yeah, I had a WP on hand when I did the TB. I'd been adding small amounts of coolant for awhile so I had an inkling.

Adam F

It looks a lot worse than it is. When that Toyota red coolant dries up it gets crusty, unlike regular green coolant. I think it's a good feature as it helps you identify a coolant leak a lot easier. It only does this when it dries up from outside air, so it's not going to do this in your cooling system.