Water Pump Im Not Paying £260!

[Woolymammoth]

Hello everyone i have a 52 plate roadster my first one and its awesome glad i didnt get an MG!!

Just taken it in for a service at a dealership and they tell me my water pump is leaking and they want to charge me £260!

I have looked on the internet and can get one with the gasket for £30, i have a small amount of mechanical knowledge so i might try it myself, can anyone tell me:

1) Is there good access to get to the water pump as the engine bay is tight?

2) If its easier to get to it from the topside or underneath?

3) How much should it cost to replace from a non dealership garage?

Thanks for any replys and any help you can give , merry christmas!

[McLovin]

5) am i getting in over my head here?

yes, if you have to ask the above 4 questions then this job isnt for you. A water pump replacement on an MR2/S isnt really for someone that hasnt done much work on them before

[Woolymammoth]

Thanks for replying but that wasnt the answer im after i have worked on a lot of cars before just not my MR2, im confident i can do it just with the correct information so can anyone help please?

[Parts-King]

You need to visit the Toyota tech doc website where you can pay a small amount and download the correct information

TOYOTA TECH DOC SITE

You then have the correct info. The water pump on an MR2 changes in 2002, make sure you have the correct one. The genuine pump is about £75. PM me if you want one

Kingo

[Black Knight]

Be certain it is leaking first.

The pump has a bleed drain in it. A small amount of condensate/droplets of water gets through the dynamic seal on the pump during start up. It's meant to. That's the whole point of having the drain there. Hoever due to the choice of fairly livid colours for the coolant when it then dries on the body of the pump it looks like a leak.

If you're not seeing the water level drop by any amount (i.e. it's still between max/min on the expansion tank and you aren't noticing it going down one week to the next) just clean the crystalised gunk off the outside and keep an eye on it and the coolant level.

[Woolymammoth]

Thanks for the advice mate, and i must say very good advice.

I have been monitoring the coolant level for the last few weeks and the level has not gone down at all, it hasnt moved, although i havent actually looked at the water pump yet as its tricky to look at.

It may very well be that Toyota are trying to pull a fast one on me, they are very good at doing that especially with brakes pads that are worn and are not!!!!

[GIDDLEPIN]

To be honest I had the same report after one of my services, "There is a slight water leak and a new pump will be £xxx (whatever it was at the time)". As I check my levels religiously on a VERY regular basis I knew that any fluid loss was so minimal it never required topping up..................So, nearly four years later I still have the same water pump and have NEVER needed to top up the system.

Just keep checking your levels on a regular basis and all should be as fine

Les

[Woolymammoth]

I just wanted to update this nearly 3 months later and my coolant level is still the same, so my pump does not have a leak. So if a garage has told you your coolant pump is leaking leave it a couple of weeks first keeping an eye on the coolant level as it appears both me and les have nearly been ripped off.

Cheers lads you have saved me £260!!!

:D