newbie timing belt question:

[Jimmy6string]

Just yesterday picked up a 98 Sr5 2wd with 241k on the clock. The truck has no records and no indication of when the timing belt was last changed. Overall condition is pretty good and besides having been smoked in seems pretty well taken care of.

I'm a full-time freelance musician and money is always an issue so the question is, go ahead and change the timing belt or roll the dice until I've had a chance to rebuild the war chest and have enough to do the water pump too...?

I figure a shop would charge about $500 to do it, yes?

 

[MR.H]

If it is not in the records, check the valve cover, there should be a sticker there saying when it was last done, if it was done. If you are at 240k w/o any timing belt replacements, I would be very very surprised, then very very worried. It is wise to do it ever 90k miles. So imho, do it now! But it can be done by you, and a friend. To save that extra few bucks. If you arent mechanically inclined, definitely take it to a dealer though.

If you wait, and it breaks, you are looking at a totaled car (in insurances' eyes). The motor would no longer work :/

 

[Ol'Blue]

I just did my T-Belt, Water Pump, and idler pulleys etc..,T-Stat (do it at the same time as the water pump) Cam Seals, Crank Seal and I was in it right 600 all said and done.

If you can save up for all of this and do it all at the same time so you are not paying book time (5.0 HR's per Alldata) for all of this twice if you just choose to do a t-belt and then come back to do a water pump later.

Hope that helps out

Blue

 

[Ol'Blue]

If it is not in the records, check the valve cover, there should be a sticker there saying when it was last done, if it was done. If you are at 240k w/o any timing belt replacements, I would be very very surprised, then very very worried. It is wise to do it ever 90k miles. So imho, do it now! But it can be done by you, and a friend. To save that extra few bucks. If you arent mechanically inclined, definitely take it to a dealer though.

If you wait, and it breaks, you are looking at a totaled car (in insurances' eyes). The motor would no longer work :/

UM NO!

The 3.4 in a non interference engine. It would just be out of time but no piston to head/valve love going on. Not a total.

Blue

 

[MR.H]

UM NO!

The 3.4 in a non interference engine. It would just be out of time but no piston to head/valve love going on. Not a total.

Blue

Well that is some good news. Thank you for the update.

But get it done OP!

 

[Jimmy6string]

Okay, thanks for clarifying Blue, that was my concern. There is no sticker on the cover but I'm gonna wait until I have enough to do the t-belt and then some.

Thanks!

 

[sportscarfan]

Okay, thanks for clarifying Blue, that was my concern. There is no sticker on the cover but I'm gonna wait until I have enough to do the t-belt and then some.

Thanks!

If a dealer ever performed the timing belt service, that sticker could be anywhere under the hood - on my '97 there is one on the underside of the hood. Reminds me that I need to do mine - I've only had the parts for a year now!

 

[amalik]

Just yesterday picked up a 98 Sr5 2wd with 241k on the clock. The truck has no records and no indication of when the timing belt was last changed. Overall condition is pretty good and besides having been smoked in seems pretty well taken care of.

I'm a full-time freelance musician and money is always an issue so the question is, go ahead and change the timing belt or roll the dice until I've had a chance to rebuild the war chest and have enough to do the water pump too...?

I figure a shop would charge about $500 to do it, yes?

Jimmy,

My advice is as follows:

1) Ask the dealer/person you bought it from if it had the timing belt replaced. At this point, they already made the truck money off you, so they ideally would be telling the truth and not afraid to tell you it wasn't done.

2) Register at this site with the VIN number of the truck and see if you can find any dealer-service history on there. The caveat to this site is I don't think they have service from years ago on there (I know my truck had service history at the dealer the first 5-6 years it was new, yet none of that history is on there).

Toyota Owners Official Web Site: Service Coupons, Owner's Manuals, Service Scheduling And More

3) If you are at all mechanically inclined or have the desire, try to find another local forum user or other type of mechanic friend to help you with the job. If your main thing is saving money, sure you save some money -- but more importantly, you LEARN about maintaining the truck -- which is priceless.

 

[krenaud33]

I would pull the timing cover off and take a look at the time belt. I think 6 bolts and you can pull the plastic timing belt cover off far enough to see the belt. I have probably 200K on mine, but I don't recommend it. I checked mine out a couple weeks ago and it is in bad shape. Ordered my parts today.

 

[TheDurk]

I would pull the timing cover off and take a look at the time belt. I think 6 bolts and you can pull the plastic timing belt cover off far enough to see the belt. I have probably 200K on mine, but I don't recommend it. I checked mine out a couple weeks ago and it is in bad shape. Ordered my parts today.

This is what I would do, too. Although a belt can look decent and still fail, it is far less likely than with a frayed, cracked one. These belts rarely fail on their own, usually a bad WP, bad idler, bad tensioner or coolant leak (kills belts) is the direct cause. So look for pink or green deposits around the WP and listen carefully for bearing noise as well as eyeballing the belt. At your miles, if above is good, I would roll the dice and assume it has been done at least once, and then do the full monte when I had the coin: idlers, tensioner, wp, TB, all 3 aux. belts, thermostat, and rad hoses.

Yes, it is definitely non-interference and always has been.

 

[Jimmy6string]

I had looked for a sticker but there's nothing there... might have been at one point but not now. Bought it from a dealer who had no knowledge of the service history, which didn't surprise me.

I figured I'd pull the cover off and look at it just incase it was really bad but i know that sometimes you have to take the belt off and turn it inside out to see cracks at the base of the teeth that indicate it's time to change the belt you're now holding in your hand.

My plan is to save up until I can get at all the belts, t-stat, water pump, etc. If it breaks before that and I end up on the side of the road I'll call AAA and deal with it then. In the meantime I have some other issues to take care of like the Speedo which quit working the day after I brought it home!

Thanks for the info all, very helpful!

 

[Ask10]

Here's what I did (parts wise anyway) for my truck (277k) which roughly 100k on the previous belt.

OEM parts, $450. Water pump, timing belt, camshaft seals, crankshaft seal, tensioner and bearings x2.

Labor would have been around $350 at a local shop but I did it myself.

Reason I say do it like that is because OEM parts made it ridiculously far anyway, so why not redo it with OEM parts. It's not a ton more expensive but it'll last a very long time.

Either or, just a suggestion, not saying you have to but that's what I did.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Here's what I did (parts wise anyway) for my truck (277k) which roughly 100k on the previous belt.

OEM parts, $450. Water pump, timing belt, camshaft seals, crankshaft seal, tensioner and bearings x2.

Labor would have been around $350 at a local shop but I did it myself.

Reason I say do it like that is because OEM parts made it ridiculously far anyway, so why not redo it with OEM parts. It's not a ton more expensive but it'll last a very long time.

Either or, just a suggestion, not saying you have to but that's what I did.

I agree with you on this but because for cash flow I went the Gates belt and hoses route. I use them every day on customers cars and they are the only other part I will put on my car other than OE. There are a few other brands but not many.

Blue

 

[Arnezie]

I have some other issues to take care of like the Speedo which quit working the day after I brought it home!

Id be going back to the dealer you bought it from. If they won't fix the speedometer then check your laws in your state and threaten to return the vehicle. Most states have anywhere between 3 and 30 days to return a vehicle

 

[Jimmy6string]

Id be going back to the dealer you bought it from. If they won't fix the speedometer then check your laws in your state and threaten to return the vehicle. Most states have anywhere between 3 and 30 days to return a vehicle

SC has a lemon law that applies to new vehicles and I signed a buyer's guide that said "as is, no warranty". A preliminary web search didn't leave me optimistic. I'll call my lawyer tomorrow and see what he thinks. It would be great if the dealer helps me out with this but I expect I'm on my own.