ok so i have a crack in my radiator a small crack but anyways yesterday it caused my car to over heat. i normally keep coolant in the car but it just got low and over heated pretty bad. so today the car is making a really loud annoying noise. coolant is also draining out of the bottom of the engine when the car is on. at a pretty good pace. it is coming out like right under the belt area so my friend said it is probably the water pump baring and he said it could have gotten damaged when it over heated. so i think these symptoms def point to the water pump. anyways i called a mechanic and he said that he had to change the belt to and he said he had to charge me $385. what you guys think. does he need to change the pump and the belt or just the pump? and is $385 a rip off or is that the going rate? thank you all for your knowledgeand information
Read the above PLUS realize that you MUST use ONLY genuine Toyote coolant in your car. Other coolants will cause further deterioration of your cooling components. I have seen Toyota cylinder heads that look like Swiss cheese from using the green stuff. Also, make sure that your mechanic uses only genuine Toyota replacement parts, and NOT rebuilt pump. Replace the tensioner and idler pulleys now, as well. The price is a rip off if cheaper parts are being used. If these are all factory parts, then this price is GREAT!!
That water pump is driven by the timing belt. Usually when you do a timing belt or water pump it makes sense to change both now because they are both difficult to get to and you have to take off the same things for both. $385 is a bad price If you want to look smart about it, ask him to look at and check the seals, all he would be able to tell you is if they are leaking, if they are, ask him how much more. It's all worth it if the car is still good. We just did that on a friend's '91 and her's overheated a few times. She ha 235,000 miles.
