How do you replace the water pump on a 2000 Toyota Echo?

Answer 1

This can be a very difficult job - mostly because there is no clearance to remove the water pump without lifting the engine. One person has said you can somehow remove from the bottom of the car by first removing the air conditioner compressor but I have not seen this info verified from more than one person. Several have posted about how they just pried the heck out of it to get it out, and actually ground down the new replacement water pump on both ends to fit it in.

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To remove the water pump, here's the step-by-step directions from the shop manual and from experience (keep in mind - this is a very difficult job for a novice mechanic as the free working space is very tight, so you need to be pretty mechanically inclined and have correct tools to attempt this - else wise, just pay a professional to do the job and save yourself the hassle).

1. Park the car on a set of car ramps or on car bay.

2. Drain the coolant from the engine and discard it accordingly per city laws

3. Remove the cowling under the front half of the car so you can have room to work. Remove both of the drive belts (you will most likely will have to remove the alternator and maybe the A/C motor (but you don't need to disconnect the cables) as well if you have having problems getting much needed room - personal preference of mine was not to remove the parts as I was already burdened with replacing the water pump, but if you've got big arms this may not be an option)

4. Using a special wrench that holds the water pump pulley in place (by attaching itself to two of the pulley holes), and a open end wrench (think it was 10mm), loosen the three pulley bolts. If you don't have the special tool to hold the pulley in place while you attempt to remove the bolts, you'll need to create some type of tool that will hold the pulley in place while you attempt to remove the bolts (a pair of channel lock pliers with Duct Tape wrapped around the jaws (so you don't accidentally mar the pulley) would be my "desperation" choice if I couldn't find anything else). Check with places like AutoZone, Napa, or PepBoys to see if they have such a tool, as the Toyota dealer will charge you an arm and a leg to sell it to you (after all, they don't really want you to do the job, when they can charge you a small fortune to do it for you).

5. This may be the hardest part of the job, as the old pump will have to be worked off the engine. Remove the three bolts, two nuts, water pump and the old gasket from the engine. I would not recommend using a screwdriver or some other prying tool to wedge out the pump, as you may inadvertently gouge the surface of the engine in the removal process. Use such tools to remove the pump at your own risk.

6. Clean the area of the old gasket material, but use EXTREME CARE as to not gouge into the engine (if you're using a putty knife or a similar tool). The last thing you want to do is create a potential leaky spot that's going to create problems. I prefer to use the red shop rags (not the blue shop paper towels) and some type of adhesive remover. Be sure to allow the engine surface to completely evaporate as you don't want to contaminate the surface when you reapply the new gasket.

7. Inspect the water pump to see if it's bad and look for the following to confirm the pump is bad:

(a) Visually check the drain hole for coolant leakage. If radiator fluid is found, replace the water pump.

(b) Turn the pulley, and check that the water pump bearing moves smoothly and quietly. If necessary, replace the water pump.

To re-install the water pump, perform the following tasks:

8. Install the water pump and a new gasket (yes you need to use a NEW gasket - something that costs less than $10 (US) should not be viewed as a major spending decision when performing this job) with the 3 bolts and 2 nuts. Torque: 11.0 N·m (110 kgf·cm, 8 ft·lbf). It's not necessary to use "blue" RTV silicone gasket material, but you can if you just want to hold the gasket in place. A pea-sized amount in strategic locations (so the gasket doesn't fall down when you attempt to mate the pump to the engine) is usually more than sufficient. You may not even need the RTV adhesive, if your gasket has a self-adhesive surface. The reason you don't want to use so much of that RTV, as it is that it's a real annoyance to remove the water pump after the RTV has completely cured - if you ever have to remove the water pump in the future (which is why people use putty knifes to scrape the RTV silicone off their car engines - which in turn causes gouges in the engine block).

9. Again using the special pulley holding tool (or the channel lock pliers) to hold the pulley in place, install the pulley with the three bolts that holds it in place. Torque: 15 N·m (150 kgf·cm, 11 ft·lbf).

10. Re-install the drive belts (make sure that you don't need to replace them, as this would be the time to do the job while they're off the engine). If you've removed the alternator and/or the A/C motor - reinstall those parts.

11. Fill the engine with coolant. Use of the coolant which includes more than 50%

[freezing protection down to -35°C (-31°F)] or 60% [freezing protection down to -50°C (-58°F)] of ethylene-glycol is recommended, but not more than 70%. You never want to have undiluted antifreeze poured into your radiator, as you will significantly increase your risk of over-heating your engine during warm or hot weather (as undiluted or minimally diluted antifreeze reduces the engines ability to transfer heat).

If you've completely drained out the coolant from your car, here's the capacity amounts:

(a) manual transmission: 4.4 Liters (or 4.7 US quarts)

(b) automatic transmission: 4.3 Liters (or 4.5 US quarts)

12. Start the engine, and check for leaks (cross your fingers).

13. Recheck the engine for additional coolant if needed.

If you are still having over-heating problems here's a few things to consider; make sure you don't have a blown head gasket (do a compression check to make sure), check and replace your hoses if needed, and inspect the radiator for holes and fluid obstructions.