Determining if timing belt was replaced

[BOFFROAD]

Need Help determining if timing belt was replaced

I bought my V8 4Runner a little over a year ago with about 132,000 miles on it. It now has 145,000. The previous owner told me the timing belt had been replaced at 120,000 along with the radiator and hoses. However I have been thinking about it more and realized there isn't a label on the engine stating when it was replaced. I have many service records for the vehicle and can't find anything for the timing belt other than this shown below. She told me it was done during its 120,000 service but I don't see anything hand written about the timing belt here. I called the mechanic, sent him these photos, and he said he can't tell. Is there a way I can peek in somewhere to look at the condition of the belt?

 

[Brutalguyracing]

Its an expensive mistake if it has not been changed


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[asdfman7]

You can't really tell the condition of a timing belt just by looking at it. When I did the belt on my old VW, the old belt with 90k looked "newer" than the one fresh out of the box...

 

[ZebRuaj]

If that's the shop the previous owner used, you can try giving them a ring to see if they kept records.

 

[CXS]

There should be a sticker on/around the fan shroud are noting the date it was changed. If it's not there it probably was not done.

 

[RonJR]

Any chance it was done at a Toyota dealer? If so, you can go to Toyota Owners Official Web Site, put in the VIN (you'll have to set up a free account), and see a history of all services done at a Toyota dealer for that vehicle. You should do that anyway just because it's such an easy source of info.

 

[BOFFROAD]

If that's the shop the previous owner used, you can try giving them a ring to see if they kept records.

I called them before posting this thread and he said he can't tell by looking at this paper. I will call him again and see if he has anything saved on file or computer.

There should be a sticker on/around the fan shroud are noting the date it was changed. If it's not there it probably was not done.

I don't recall seeing one but I haven't looked closely at the fan shroud. I will do that later today when I have a chance.

Any chance it was done at a Toyota dealer? If so, you can go to Toyota Owners Official Web Site, put in the VIN (you'll have to set up a free account), and see a history of all services done at a Toyota dealer for that vehicle. You should do that anyway just because it's such an easy source of info.

Just checked the Toyota Owners site and nothing about timing belt is there.

 

[BOFFROAD]

Called the shop again and he said he wouldn't have any record of it being done since it was last there in 2014. He also said he would have stuck a label somewhere stating that is had been done. I found the text from the seller stating it had been done which was after I had asked the question if it had been done. I sent her another text today to see if her answer changes from a year ago as she may have said that to help sell the vehicle but I haven't received a response yet. I also just searched everywhere and cannot find and label relating to the timing belt.

 

[BOFFROAD]

So, it looks like she will be getting a new timing belt next week along with everything else that goes with it. I am currently in Phoenix now and will be heading home to LA this weekend and am planning to stop in Joshua Tree for 2 nights for the TW T4R meetup. What are some things I should avoid to reduce the amount of stress on the belt? Avoid high RPM and just mainly take it easy? I would like to replace the belt myself at home but if anyone knows of a place in Phoenix that can do it for a good price please let me know!

 

[V8Man]

[MENTION=105012]BOFFROAD[/MENTION]

I found lots of loose, missing, and damaged bolts on mine!
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/[email protected]

 

[HaulsBike]

Called the shop again and he said he wouldn't have any record of it being done since it was last there in 2014. He also said he would have stuck a label somewhere stating that is had been done. I found the text from the seller stating it had been done which was after I had asked the question if it had been done. I sent her another text today to see if her answer changes from a year ago as she may have said that to help sell the vehicle but I haven't received a response yet. I also just searched everywhere and cannot find and label relating to the timing belt.

Confirming what others have said. There is almost no way to be sure from a visual inspection. Any good shop will put a sticker with a date, but if you can't find that I would go under the assumption it was not changed. Too expensive of a mistake to risk it.

You could try and examine the water pump since those are most often changed with the timing belt, but that would still be circumstantial evidence at best.

That being said, timing belts typically last a LOT longer than the change interval so I would be too worried about it for the drive back to LA. Good luck.

 

[blackoutt]

If you don't know, best to replace and start fresh - DOCUMENTED. Since you're doing it yourself it's not too big of a deal and good cost savings. They have a pretty big safety factor so you'll be fine til you get to it.

 

[AuSeeker]

I had the same concern when I bought my 2004, I looked high and low for the sticker hopinng to find one and no luck, since I do all my own work on my rides I made plans for getting the belt, research procedure to replace it, etc. and one day when I was checking other items under the hood and I just happened to look up when I was closing the hood and spied a little sticker on the underside of the hood up front on the passenger's side on the corner about where the adjusting stop hits was a timing belt sticker!!

I have never seen anyone ever put maintenance stickers there, I guess when I was looking high and low I didn't look high enough.

 

[BOFFROAD]

I had the same concern when I bought my 2004, I looked high and low for the sticker hopinng to find one and no luck, since I do all my own work on my rides I made plans for getting the belt, research procedure to replace it, etc. and one day when I was checking other items under the hood and I just happened to look up when I was closing the hood and spied a little sticker on the underside of the hood up front on the passenger's side on the corner about where the adjusting stop hits was a timing belt sticker!!

I have never seen anyone ever put maintenance stickers there, I guess when I was looking high and low I didn't look high enough.

Wish I could find a sticker. I looked everywhere near the engine and the hood. I even checked the manual to see if someone stuck it there but couldn't find a thing.

 

[BOFFROAD]

Well, I ended up replacing the timing belt myself and replaced all the other recommended parts while I was in there including water pump and gasket, timing pulleys, tensioner, serpentine belt, serpentine idler pulley, and a full coolant flush. I took my time on it and spent a few days doing it. Labeled every piece of hardware and didn't have a single screw or nut lost or left over. Getting the actual timing belt on was difficult but after that everything came together smoothly. Only had a small coolant leak after running it for a little however I was happy to find that it was due to a loose lower radiator hose clamp and not the water pump.


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