Yaris leaking water pump

[SeattleCommuter]

I recently bought a used Yaris and it has a leaking water pump and worn serpentine belt. Does it make sense to flush the coolant and replace thermostat while the coolant is drained? I'm pretty handy with cars and plan to do the work myself. Neither the coolant nor the thermostat have ever been replaced.

The car is a 2007 Yaris sedan with 1.5L engine and has 77,000 miles.


Replace leaking water pump
Replace worn serpentine belt
Coolant flush
Replace thermostat

[tmontague]

I replaced the t-stat on mine when I flushed the coolant because it was cheap and the coolant was drained. I haven't heard of many of the t-stats having issues but it's good insurance.

I got a Gates t-stat from rock auto and the gasket it came with was 1-2mm too big. I had to use the original which was still in great condition.

[bronsin]

With the new long life coolant I doubt flushing is necessary anymore. Some dont even replace it and they go hundredes of thousands of miles with no problems. The T stat hasnt benn a problem either.

[tmontague]

To add to what Bronsin said, I only flushed my coolant because it was contaminated with some green prestone stuff. Otherwise I would have just drained and filled. I probably wouldn't replace the t-stat until you're over 200,000km at least

[SeattleCommuter]

Thanks for the tips. I'll check if the coolant is contaminated first.

[nookandcrannycar]

I'm living proof of Bronsin's post. Never any trouble with the thermostat either.

[xdarkxfirex]

I did this on my yaris. Mines had some universal mixed in it as well, and I replaced it with a better compatible coolant. It was concentrated, cheaper than the toyota pink stuff and lasts longer. It's called motormaster asian long life coolant(Canada). Seems to work pretty good. Flushing it out a few times is a good precautionary measure, which I what I did. As for the pump itself, I found the best place to get one with a gasket and lifetime warranty was rockauto. I bought the airtex. Cheaper than anything I found here even with tax and shipping.

Water pump is a pain to remove though, you have to remove the bottom cover, drop the engine from one motor mount, and hold it until you get enough room to remove the bolts off the housing and pulley.

[SeattleCommuter]

I did this on my yaris. Mines had some universal mixed in it as well, and I replaced it with a better compatible coolant. It was concentrated, cheaper than the toyota pink stuff and lasts longer. It's called motormaster asian long life coolant(Canada). Seems to work pretty good. Flushing it out a few times is a good precautionary measure, which I what I did. As for the pump itself, I found the best place to get one with a gasket and lifetime warranty was rockauto. I bought the airtex. Cheaper than anything I found here even with tax and shipping.

Appreciate the tips. I was planning on purchasing GATES 42253 water pump from rockauto and getting a separate FEL-PRO 35743 high quality gasket.


Water pump is a pain to remove though, you have to remove the bottom cover, drop the engine from one motor mount, and hold it until you get enough room to remove the bolts off the housing and pulley.

I thought it was possible to change water pump without dropping engine by unbolting the alternator to get it out of the way. Has anyone tried that method?

[tmontague]

I just re used the metal gasket that came stock w/ my Yaris since the paper crappy one it came w/ ripped.

I would never try this job without removing the passenger side engine mount. It makes your job very easy.

Put car up on Jack stands, put a jack w/ wood block on jack and put jack under oil pan, remove engine mount, use the jack to raise and lower the engine to make all the bolts easily accessible.

I wouldn't recommend the motomaster Asian long life, it is not the same ingredients as the OEM toyota. However Canadian tire now has the pink toyota stuff that is the exact same ingredients as toyota's and it is made by a company called OEM. It is good for 5years/250,000km and I used that in my Echo and Yaris, works great.

[SeattleCommuter]

I would never try this job without removing the passenger side engine mount. It makes your job very easy.

Put car up on Jack stands, put a jack w/ wood block on jack and put jack under oil pan, remove engine mount, use the jack to raise and lower the engine to make all the bolts easily accessible.

Is there a DIY on showing how to remove the passenger side engine mount? I haven't seen a writeup on the steps, so I'm not sure what tools I'll need (besides jack stands to raise & lower engine) and what the torque specs are for engine mount bolts.

[tmontague]

I don't have the manual on hand right now for torque specs, but I've always just hand torqued them really snug by hand and had no issues.

I don't know about a specific DIY but it is straight forward, here are the steps I did:

Remove the 3 14mm bolts that mount the mount to the engine bay wall. You also need to remove the 1 10mm bolt holding the a/c line onto the mount (can't remember if that applies to the '08 Yaris or not)

Remove the 3 bolts that attach the mount to the egine itself. There are 2 on the top and one hidden underneath, I believe they may be 12mm not entirely sure.

You will need a socket and an extender to make it easier. An air ratchet is a bonus but definitely not needed.

Make sure the jack w/ wood is under the oil pan before you start the job. Once bolts are removed remove the mount. You may have to turn and twist the mount to remove it. The alternator will need to be removed first.

Once the mount is removed you can jack the engine up and down which allows very easy access to all of the bolts on the water pump (3bolts and 2 nuts).

Re use the original metal gasket, if it is damaged than just use some water pump safe RTV which works just as good, just don't over apply it.