and the timing belt, too. The old belt was loose. it runs and sounds like a new car at 119k miles now. I watched my friend work on it. What a hassle taking it out. Why do they power the water pump by the timing belt? The timing belt kit, water pump, fan belt, power steering belt, manual and anti-freeze and labor came to $500. The dealer would of charged me over $200 more. Stan
I think it's because you don't want the engine to run if the water pump isn't also running. The engine will quickly overheat and seize up if the pump doesn't work i.e. if the pump were powered with a different belt that broke.
That's in the ballpark, if a little high. I paid about $600 but I ended up with a nice DeWalt impact wrench in the bargain.
Because it's easy to do using the timing belt. Other cars (or some Toyota trucks) run the pump off the crank with a serpentine belt.
Many cars are moving toward *electric* water pumps for reduced drag and a reduction of flow rate when not needed.
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