To get at the timing belt on a Toyota 3.4L V6, does the water pump first need to be removed?If so, is there a way to tell how worn a water pump with 85,000 miles is? Like a loose bearing feel, etc?
does the water pump first need to be removed? no. but is exposed during the procedure. ----- If so, is there a way to tell how worn a water pump with 85,000 miles is? Like a loose bearing feel, etc? you can check for pulley noise, pulley wobble and coolant condition as a precursor to it's failure, but even if it passes that inspection, it may fail in 1000 miles (example). that's the nature of consumable components. ------ since it costs 300-400 in labor to do those individually, it behooves one to put them both on the same maint schedule. replace both at same time. needed or not. every 90,000 miles. and this is a non interference type engine. no engine damage will occur as a result of belt failure alone. FYI, since it's not an interference engine, if this be an autotrans, you could go longer between belt changes as autotrans have smoother torque apps. purdy much constant torque. my V6 has over 200,000 miles on the belt. water pump too. and i have pristine coolant and no pulley noise. and i'm pushing my luck. i run the risk of a towing bill.
We have a Camry Conquest V6 1998 model and all these are similar in desing and yes it is recomened as most of the items removed to replace timing belt also will need to be removed if water pump fails and ta a cost of about $900 AUD each time best to replace together for an extra $100 or so. We usualy replace all the following every 100.000 kilometers: Timing belt kits including all pullies, Water pump, Drive belts (The ones for air cond and generator) and becuase half the motor has to be dismantled to reple the spark plugs we also do these as well. All together it cost about $1200.00 AUD to do them all together well worth it and saves you about $1000.00 in servicing in long run. Hope this is helpfull. Note our cars has just turned on to 388.000 kilometers with out missing a beat also we change oil and fileter and service it as required by the service book but then again it never has broken down or given us problems. Its better than buying new car everytime the blow up du to no proper servicing. :)
If you are replacing the timing belt it is recommended you also replace the water pump. They have similar life spans and one has to be removed to replace the other.
