Is it good practice to tell the customer when the timing belt breaks on a 92 toyota camery, that the water pump should be replaced also? Since the water pump blew up 3 months later and cost $330?
thanks!
Maybe and maybe not. Really depends on the shop. Honda dealers have for years been doing both as a service package, however elsewhere the practice is not as common. I am sure the shop could have wrote up a $3000 estimate for all the things that are wrong or could be replaced on your car, however most people focus on the bare minimum to keep a car this old on the road.
Is my belt in any danger of going out again because the water pump blew up and was leaking fluid. I’m wondering if ther was damage done because the water pump wasn’t changed and I am an accident waiting to happen.
My timing belt went out on the interstate at 60 MPH and the water pump at 50 MPH.
I feel lucky a the moment
It depends on which belt drives the water pump. If the water pump is driven by the timing belt, then it is a very very good idea, because the pump is cheap and most of the labor cost of changing it is from having to take the timing belt off. Also, if the water pump seizes up, it can snap even a brand-new timing belt, ruining your engine so it’s a good idea to keep a fresh one in there. Most “timing belt kits” for these engines come with a water pump.
If it’s driven off of an external belt, there is no reason to replace it as a maintenance item.
let me clairify:
My timing belt was replaced 3 months ago, and the water pump blew up last week and I had it replaced. My concern is that my timing belt was damaged when the water pump blew up.
Thanks!
How did it “blow up”? If it died in such a way that it leaked all the coolant out the bottom of the engine or your engine overheated with no other symptoms, it’s probably okay. If it died in the manner of making horrible noises and/or burning rubber smells, a new timing belt might not be a bad idea while they’re in there.
Thanks jack!
It leaked antifreeze and made sort of a grinding noise and then died. No smell of rubber that I recalled but my thermosat rose to well over 1/2 as this was happening ( but not in the red zone). That’s when it died
It was a new belt and not damaged by the water pump failure, right? Then, continue to use it.
It makes no sense to leave the old water pump in a 92 Camry, or any other old car when the timing belt is changed and the pump has never been or is over 100,000 miles old.
I think the prudent thing is for the shop to suggest replacing it but not push it.
Whenever I did the timing belts on my Pathfinders I replaced the waterpump every OTHER time.
At what mileage did you change the timing belt? Many people will change a timing belt at 100,000 mile intervals. Some, at 60,000 miles. From, admittedly limited, personal experience, I’ve seen most water pumps fail at 140,000+ miles. This falls in-between the 100,000 mile timing belt changes. Therefore, based on this observation, many mechanics will advise changing the water pump at the 100,000 mile point that the timing belt gets changed.
Thanks for all the great replies!
I don’t know if my timing belt was damaged or not when the water pump went out. that is what I’m tring to figure out if I should be concerned about, or how to go about it.
The bottom line is I’ve lost faith in my mechanic