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Water pump & belt replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ToyNutt, Jan 18, 2014.

  1. ToyNutt

    ToyNutt New Member

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    Just got a call from the dealer who is doing coolant flush and two recall repairs on my '08 with 105k. They said there is some seepage from the water pump and that the belt has some cracks so it'd be cheaper to repair them now while doing coolant. They said around $450 to do it now. I usually do my own basic repairs, is the water pump replacement a horrible job to do on a Prius? Just wondering if it's worth doing to save $.
     
  2. Rich12

    Rich12 Member

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  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Many members have changed the water pumps on their own, it's not really that difficult. As for the dealer charging $450 to save you a little money "now", I believe $450 would be the regular price of the service. If you do plan on changing the water pump yourself, I would hold off on the coolant drain/change because you would have to basically do it again when you change the pump.
     
  4. Rich12

    Rich12 Member

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  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    A liar? which part of my statement is a lie? I believe when you tried to replace yours, you didn't have the proper set of tools to do it. Either not the right tool or a non quality tool that failed. Basically you tried using a handgun to shoot down a fighter jet......you would probably fail.

    Just so OP would know about pricing, you went to the dealer and paid $350 to have the pump replaced after the failed attempt and was offered a belt replacement for an additional $35, which you declined.
     
  6. Merkey

    Merkey Active Member

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    I've had some seepage from water pump since I bought my 2006 with 160K miles on it in 2012. I just watch it closely and seepage rate hasn't changed in 20K miles. I change the oil & filters, plugs, PCV, inverter coolant and trans oil myself, but when it comes time for the water pump, I would rather pay dealer for that repair. Yesterday I had dealer replace the original front brake pads and rotors at 180K (outer pad had some life left but inners were down to metal)...$293.00 and done in less than 1.5 hour. Well worth it to me.
     
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Please see my post here regarding engine coolant pump replacement. I would say this is between basic and intermediate level difficulty, assuming you have a reasonable set of metric tools.
    How to replace engine coolant pump and thermostat | PriusChat

    One issue is how to freeze the pump pulley when removing the three bolts that attach the pulley to the pump. You can always buy a special tool intended for that purpose.

    However, I found that I was able to loosen the bolts by using a box wrench and also using a screwdriver to help hold the pulley in place. The serpentine belt is left in place for this task, as that helps provide additional frictional force to lock the pulley. The tightening torque of those bolts is 11 ft.-lb, so it is not that big of a deal to loosen them.

    Purging the air out of the engine coolant loop can be a project on its own, so allow at least 1/2 day to account for learning curve, etc.
     
    koolingit likes this.