Question regarding seals/brands & timing belt

[yella]

Im about to do the timing belt job and was going to buy the aircabinman kit off ebay. However, after shipping and exchange ( canadian eh ) the price is almost $500.

So I was thinking of just piecing together my own "kit".

On rockauto I have chosen the fel pro seals for the camshaft and crank. How does everyone feel about fel pro? I DO NOT want to be doing this job twice.

Also doing the valve cover gaskets / spark plug seals. Have chosen Fel Pro again.

Does anyone know if the Aisin T Stat comes with a gasket? It does not specify.


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[thecole1098]

Just get all OEM and be done with it. Buy once, cry once. Also, the tstat should come with the o ring.

 

[Kanoe]

I put felpro valve cover gaskets in 2 cars. Both were showing wetness within a year. Now it's OEM only for me.

 

[mtbtim]

Just get all OEM and be done with it. Buy once, cry once. Also, the tstat should come with the o ring.

Actually, I've bought 2 OEM thermostats and they didn't come with the o-ring. You have to buy it separately.

 

[yella]

Well, as much as id like to go only OEM, in Canada the options are very limited unless you want to shell out huge money.

The aircabinman kit was nice; however after exchange and shipping, it turns into $500.

I purchased the 8 piece kit from amazon.ca, then pieced together all the other parts from rockauto.

I bought everything to do the full timing belt job and the valve cover job, and it came in at 450$.

Just for fun I went to a canadian toyota parts site.....$35 for the crank pulley bolt, $45 for the valve cover gasket. For a non-daily driver, i cannot justify spending that money.

I went Aisin for the timing belt stuff, t stat and tensioner, fel pro for gaskets and seals.


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[prcGTI]

Great quote. I'd not heard it phrased like that before.

 

[nobb]

Piece out the parts on Amayama.com and see if it's cheaper? It's one of the best places to get OEM parts and I've found the pricing very good.

Realistically though, any half competant big name is able to make an oil seal and improper install is more likely to be a cause in failure.

 

[BlackCat914]

Just used felpro valve cover gaskets on my gf’s 96 about 2 months ago. They’re already seeping again.

 

[Drcoffee]

Trust me on this. Use OEM seals especially crank and cam seals. You dont want to do a deep dive on the engine twice. If each seal is $20 each its still worth it.

I used a felpro crank seal and after starting the engine, oil was flowing out of the crank seal. Once you get oil on the belt, you will need a new one.

 

[yella]

It seems, like most things I suppose, that there is a divide between using OEM and not. I did a lot of searching online and most reviews on the felpro stuff is good. Im sure some failures have to be due to installation.


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[mtbtim]

It seems, like most things I suppose, that there is a divide between using OEM and not. I did a lot of searching online and most reviews on the felpro stuff is good. Im sure some failures have to be due to installation.


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Well, you're soon going to find out and hopefully it works out for you. These decisions a lot of times comes down to what you value more, your time or your money. Going OEM was the safer bet, but like you said, it was going to cost you a lot more. But, if one of the seals doesn't work out so well, you're going to spend a crap load of time tearing down the front of your engine again.

You can pretty much guarantee that most people on this forum are going to suggest going with OEM parts because it's the safer and more proven bet. It doesn't always hold true, but most of the time, you get what you pay for.

 

[yella]

I just cant see how $45 for one gasket is reasonable.
$35 for a bolt. Seriously?


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[BlackCat914]

I just cant see how $45 for one gasket is reasonable.
$35 for a bolt. Seriously?


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Spend $15 on an aftermarket gasket and have to do the job 3 times. You’ll then wish you spent the $45 off the bat and done it once.

 

[Drew76]

I just did all of these same repairs, I used the fel-pro valve cover gaskets/tube seals.

I used the Aisin TB/Water pump kit from Rock Auto, it came with the tstat seal but no tstat.

I bought the tstat,cam/crank seals and pulley bolt from the dealer.

Where are you in Ontario? I have the crank/cam pulley holders needed for this repair.

 

[NWFL4Runner]

It seems, like most things I suppose, that there is a divide between using OEM and not. I did a lot of searching online and most reviews on the felpro stuff is good. Im sure some failures have to be due to installation.


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I guess it all depends on how much you are saving. My feelings on fel pro is that their valve cover gaskets leaked after 10k, my OEM lasted 130k and 20k (still going), so there’s that. If your pieces together kit is half the price and you’re ok with the possibility of tearing it down again sooner than OEM, you make that call.

Everyone else’s opinion on here is likely going to be OEM.

 

[yella]

I just did all of these same repairs, I used the fel-pro valve cover gaskets/tube seals.



I used the Aisin TB/Water pump kit from Rock Auto, it came with the tstat seal but no tstat.



I bought the tstat,cam/crank seals and pulley bolt from the dealer.



Where are you in Ontario? I have the crank/cam pulley holders needed for this repair.

I am south of Ottawa.

How did you find the quality of the gaskets and seals


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[Kanoe]

On rockauto I have chosen the fel pro seals for the camshaft and crank. How does everyone feel about fel pro? I DO NOT want to be doing this job twice.

Also doing the valve cover gaskets / spark plug seals. Have chosen Fel Pro again.

You asked for opinions. We are just taking a few minutes of our own time to offer those opinions based on our own experiences.

That aside, have you looked at toyotapartsdirect.ca? I have found them to be the cheapest source for parts in Canada. Cheaper than my local dealer by a good deal. You might find them more within budget.

Based on my past experiences I would be hesitant to use Fel-pro anywhere where it is not easily accessible to change out again. As for installation error, the OEM valve cover gasket in my 4runner is 5 years old and dry as a bone. The fel-pros I used in 2 daily drivers were showing wetness within a year. You take your chances.

 

[Scramble]

OP asks for advice...doesn't want to do the job twice....everyone says fel-pro doesn't last (by experience not opinion)...OP buys fel-pro...OP will be doing the job twice...no money saved...spends more in the long run:shrug:

 

[mtbtim]

You asked for opinions. We are just taking a few minutes of our own time to offer those opinions based on our own experiences.

That aside, have you looked at toyotapartsdirect.ca? I have found them to be the cheapest source for parts in Canada. Cheaper than my local dealer by a good deal. You might find them more within budget.

Based on my past experiences I would be hesitant to use Fel-pro anywhere where it is not easily accessible to change out again. As for installation error, the OEM valve cover gasket in my 4runner is 5 years old and dry as a bone. The fel-pros I used in 2 daily drivers were showing wetness within a year. You take your chances.

It sort of sounds like the OP has made up his mind on this. I think he was looking for validation that using aftermarket was fine and he didn't get that from us. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. We lead the OP to choose OEM over aftermarket but I think he's going to choose aftermarket. Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way.

 

[yella]

Toyotaparts direct is the site I looked at that wanted $35 for the crank bolt.

I ended up ordering the OEM crank bolt, crank seal, and cam seals.

Still using the fel pro valve cover gaskets. Again, i usually read a lot of reviews before buying, and a lot of people have used them with good success.

The truck does maybe 10-12000km / year. Its not a daily driver. I look for a good in between for parts and get the best I can afford. If I were to have bought all OEM stuff for these two jobs, it would have cost me $1000 or more. At what point do you just stop and buy a new vehicle?

Thanks for the opinions.


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