Cambelt And Waterpump On My Is200 (2003)

[Waz911]

Hello all,

Just looking for some advice from any Lexus IS200 owners. Bought the car recently and has done 101k miles but never had the cam belt done or waterpump.

I have now bought from Lexus the cambelt kit for £147+VAT and wondered whether the water pump HAS to be done as well as parts have cost me an arm at the moment but probably a leg soon!! Are there any signs to look out for to see if the waterpump need replacing?

Any thoughts would be great.

Thank you for looking

[steve2006]

I think the logic behind replacing the WP at the same time is that you will have to do the job all over again if a few thousand miles later the pump gives up.

As far as I remember the WP on the IS is not cambelt driven but to get to the pump the cam belt has to be removed.

There are other quality WPs available for example Blueprint so it doesn't have to be genuine Lexus/Toyota.

I must admit I didn't replace mine at 60,000 miles and it is still OK at 77,000 but it's a chance you take.

Look for signs of seeping from the pump bearing it will leave a tell tale sign and then spin the pump by hand to listen for bearing wear noise also waggle the pulley to feel for any play in the bearing if it all checks out OK you may be good until the next CB change.

Another factor that can effect WP life is to make sure the correct type of antifreeze is used in the system correctly diluted with distilled water as this will minimise corrosion effects.

[scudney]

Hi,it baffles me how specific instructions tend to get ignored or disregarded,however having said that,personally I would have the water pump changed at the same time as the cambelt as chances are it will fail sooner rather than later and you would then have to go through the whole process again just to change the WP.Furthermore if you have it done now you will be paying nothing more in labour costs just cost of the WP.Hope this helps.

[The Transporter]

I replaced my cam belt a few weeks ago and was unpleasantly surprised that at only 50k my water pump was weeping so whilst the belt was off I fitted a new pump.