The "real" durability of timing belt and water pump on 5VZFE?

[snydmax]

The "real" durability of timing belt and water pump on 5VZFE?

Just like anything, going past rec’d maintenance you’ve got to pay attention.

Had a ‘93 “Tacoma” with 215k on apparently original gear and didn’t worry until I heard a gnarly bearing noise... WP bearing had failed and a ball bearing was sitting in the bottom of the timing cover eating away at the belt!

With my new-to-me ‘98 4Runner, did the job first thing (couple months back) with 158k on the clock... Had a sticker showing it was done at 40k in 2006... could hear a bearing noise and sure enough, one of the idler bearings had some play and wasn’t as smooth as it should be. Everything else had significant life left... except for the dreadful brownish coolant!!!


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[4RunnerAquasport]

Old thread alert.....97' T100 240K miles. What you think? OEM? The cracking and residue on the tensioner and pulleys might be a good clue.

 

[Hungryhawk]

There is the opinion of some that old coolant can become acidic. Some versions of head gaskets have copper in their construction. Acid eats at copper. Therefore the acidic old coolant can lead to head gasket failure.
Test kits for coolant servicability measure pH and give a color of the coolant condition.

 

[endoscott]

Daughter has my old 97 4runner, recently had a new radiator and hoses due to a crack. Now, a few months later the water pump and timing belt blew up going down the freeway. I assumes tge water pump bearing seized up and caused TB to break. Could it be related to tge recent cooling system work??

 

[AuSeeker]

Daughter has my old 97 4runner, recently had a new radiator and hoses due to a crack. Now, a few months later the water pump and timing belt blew up going down the freeway. I assumes tge water pump bearing seized up and caused TB to break. Could it be related to tge recent cooling system work??

Not enough info...but that being said I highly doubt replacing the radiator and hoses could make a water pump fail.

Was it the original water pump and timing belt?

The good news is that engine is a non-interference engine and it will not hurt the engine because the timing belt broke...(unless it over heated?), if it didn't over heat put a new water pump and timing belt on it and you're good to go.

 

[T4R2014]

Just change it every 90k - works and you have plenty of leeway before a reliability issue arises. Trying to push it an extra decade to save some chump change is false economy. It's good to open things up every so often and have a look. We are now fighting age in addition to miles. Harnesses breaking down, plastic getting brittle, rubber dust seals crumbling, crank bolts should be replaced after a few stretches out of good practice. The parts list is bigger than you think now.

 

[DAW89446]

CURIOSITY: With 212K on the original belt (and no failure) I am really wondering if the recommended 90K Timing Belt change is necessary. I am wondering if it would be safe to extend that interval (especially for us DIY’rs) to somewhere around 140-150K miles?

What is your opinion/experience?

Going on memory here, long time ago. I had a 2002 Tacoma TRD Off Road, purchased new. Around 2007, with around 105,000 miles, I had the 90,000 belt replacement done by the dealer I purchased the truck from. Being proactive, I also had the dealer replace the water pump, hoses, thermostat and serpentine belt.

In 2019 I purchased my current '18 T4R and gave the Tacoma to my grandson with just under 200,000 miles. He still drives the truck daily and is still running on the timing belt/water pump that I had installed.