Well...I'm please with myself. And not with the previous owner. (Fairly typical, that)
Went out and got denso spark plugs and a cabin air filter for almost nothing. Then popped over to the Toyota dealership to check on the price of ATF and coolant. Guess what? The genuine Toyota fluids are cheaper than the knock offs everywhere else! I came home with their antifreeze and ATF.
It was not yet 9 am by this point, so nothing for it but to buckle down and give it all the attention it deserves. Flushed the radiator with actual stuff meant to do the job and deionized water (Two or three times), then reloaded with coolant. Dump and fill on the ATF, the old of which was distinctly black once it was in my drain pan. New spark plugs went in, as did the cabin air filter.
Spent all of $75 to do it. Mostly on the fluids.
So, of course, gotta take it for a test drive. She idles much smoother once in gear at slow idle. Please with that. Cooling fan stayed on most of the time once warmed up...not please with that, after having just flushed the system to help prevent it.
Popped the hood when I got back. Fan running. Something isn't right. Top hoses are hot. Top of radiator is hot. Middle all the way down to and including the bottom radiator hose are cold. And fan is running. That ain't right.
Plugged radiator? You'd assume so, right? Hmm...I had the thermostat out to do the flush, and could see the coolant flowing like mad. Maybe the thermostat is stuck closed? Entirely possible...
Wait a minute...I remember looking up the belt routing on this thing:
Another, presumably with power steering:
Better:
They all point to the same thing...the back of the belt is supposed to drive the water pump.
Guess what? Wait for it... wait for it...
The ribbed side of the belt is driving the water pump!!! It's running backwards!!
It's been on there like that so long that slight grooves have been worn in to the pulley.
Zomygawd!!!
I don't know how this thing survived without overheating. A testament to Toyota quality, perhaps?
Uhh....I'm done working on it for today, but guess what I'm doing first thing in the morning?