[V8] Toyota water pump replacement...

[Roger M. Woodbury]

This is a very tricky and dangerous situation, I understand.  When getting
into any repair or maintenance issue with the V8's on these things, it is
essential to first disconnect the battery and preferably, remove all four
tires and wheels letting the vehicle rest on its rotors on concrete. This
serves two purposes.

 

First, the vehicle will be much lower to the ground and therefore easier to
reach into the hood.

 

Secondly, there is little chance that the brakes will fail to stop the
vehicle when it continues to move uncontrollably.  It is well documented
that front floor mats will roll forward in a spiteful move, jamb the
accelerator into full open position, and cause sudden forward motion for no
human reason.  

 

By resting the truck on its brakes on concrete, the electronics in the ecu
that keep the brakes from fully engaging will be overpowered by the inertia
of the resting truck, and the well known Toyota brake issues will likely not
cause any harm while working on the front part of the engine.

 

While not strictly necessary, it has been discovered that the sudden and
accidental acceleration problems of Toyotas are substantially diminished
when the battery is disconnected.  However, the DOT is investigating several
instances where Toyotas have suddenly lurched forward nearly maiming the
mechanic attempting to remove front engine assemblies for maintenance, even
after the battery has been disconnedted.

 

Toyota claims to have no knowledge of these problems, but an internal memo
at the DOT investigations office has identified the problem as "The Midway
Revenge Syndrome" because all the reported incidents occurred between June
4th and June 7th...

 

Information has reached me that the DOT may issue a recommendation that when
working on the front end of Toyotas, especially V8 engine models, that the
battery be disconnected and removed from the vehicle, and placed in the
neighbor's garage under a steel trash can.

 

Be careful out there!

 

Roger