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

[96RedRunner]

Purchased 96 5-2000 at 74k miles, change belt only at 125k miles, cooling sys flush Toyota red. Belt was good could have gone longer. Flushes performed 30-40k miles. @ 240k miles did complete TB kit change belt showing age. @ 380k Got totaled in wreck.

 

[TheDurk]

Straight Red? No water? Where in the FSM does it say this? Cannot be right.

This is what it says:

2. FILL ENGINE COOLANT
(a) Slowly fill the system with engine coolant.

Use of improper coolants may damage engine cooling
system.

Use ”TOYOTA Long Life Coolant” or equivalent and
mix it with plain water according to the manufacturer’s
directions.

Use of the coolant which includes more than 50%
(freezing protection down to -35°C (-31 °F)) or
60% (freezing protection down to -50°C (-58 °F))
of ethylene-glycol is recommended, but not more
than 70%

http://www.teamtoyota4x4.org/archivio/1996%20to%202002%20Toyota%204Runner%20Repair%20and%20Wiring%20Manuals/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/02toyrm/02toypdf/02rmsour/2002/024runne/co5vzfe/cool/repl.pdf

 

[holen01]

Did mine at around 250k just because I thought it was time. When I pulled the belt and WP everything looked fine, no cracks on the belt and WP looked good. I think I'm good for another 200k

 

[JayRolla]

290k miles here on original water pump and timing belt.

 

[KHoffRunner]

Sounds similar. Mine had 245k on it when I changed it, the previous owner said it had been done but it had definitely not been done in the last 150k, or maybe ever. My belt was only hanging on by the inner cords, coolant brown, pump seemed fine though.

My dad has a low mileage '03 Tacoma and has been badgering me to do his timing belt he's at 110k, trying to get him to wait past summer.

 

[thegipper]

The donor motor (200k miles) I swapped into my rig had 120k miles on the belt (aftermarket) and I'm pretty sure the WP was original and wasn't changed with the belt at 80k miles.

The belt still looked completely fine and so did the WP. I couldn't believe it wasn't leaking a drop and had zero noise/play in the bearings.

On the flip side my blown engine had the WP/TB done at 100k miles and made it to 216k miles before the HG blew. The TB was starting to crack a little (OEM Belt) and the WP was leaking from the gasket. The WP itself still seemed to be smooth and probably could have gone a while longer.

I would have no problem going well past 90k miles before changing the WP/TB if you used OEM parts. When I had the donor motor on a stand, I put all new OEM parts (TB/WP seals, pulleys etc) and since i only put about 6k miles on it a year, the truck will rust away before I ever have to touch it again.

 

[yella]

I did my TB job at 285,000 KM. Pretty sure it was all original. WP was not leaking but belt was barely holding on.

When I showed my mechanic buddy and asked, "can I get by another month?" ( i was very busy ). He replied, "i wouldnt even start it". I still have the belt, just for fun.


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[DaMonkey]

i just did my 2nd belt at 190k, had 105k on it. looked brand new. my truck came from a life of dry dry dry and a lot of the rubber needed attention.

but i think every 100k a big dose of TLC is well deserved to get a good look up the skirt, so sure i'll swap it again in 100k.

interesting that no replies in here talk about when their timing belt broke? only talk about the condition of it when it came out functional.

who's had one break, what were circumstances?

FWIW, i think it's interesting that we read so much effort into timing belts, and a lot less concern in here about good fuel filters, clean throttle bodies, MAF, and life of o2 sensors.

 

[BamaDrewski]

i just did my 2nd belt at 190k, had 205k on it. looked brand new. my truck came from a life of dry dry dry and a lot of the rubber needed attention.

but i think every 100k a big dose of TLC is well deserved to get a good look up the skirt, so sure i'll swap it again in 100k.

interesting that no replies in here talk about when their timing belt broke? only talk about the condition of it when it came out functional.

who's had one break, what were circumstances?

FWIW, i think it's interesting that we read so much effort into timing belts, and a lot less concern in here about good fuel filters, clean throttle bodies, MAF, and life of o2 sensors.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's input/experiences with respect to the TB and WP. Clearly (from what it seems) the 90K "recommended" change interval can be extended a bit...in some cases it seems these are getting over 200K miles on them before changing.....

I'm sure a lot of the potential wear comes from the way we run the rig and the climate. In the case of my boy's truck, it was a Texas truck and spent most of its life in that hot and DRY climate. I guess that is why the "snake skin" lines developed in the belt...it was clearly drying out.

With the kits on Ebay, the cost of parts to do the job is not bad - it is just the "time factor" involved. I think I am gonna give this last belt change at least 140K miles before I think about changing it.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I disagree with the sentiment that it put off, at least with regards to changing the coolant. Timing belt and pump can probably be put off a long time but if you dont change the coolant you risk issues with the heads down the road.

 

[phattyduck]

Clearly (from what it seems) the 90K "recommended" change interval can be extended a bit...in some cases it seems these are getting over 200K miles on them before changing.....

Has anyone ever had a belt break on the 5VZ? I haven't read of one yet. (not advocating you don't change it though!)

-Charlie

 

[MStudt]

I just replaced both a couple months ago, and they were original. My mileage at that time was 192k.

 

[dogtail]

Original timing belt 252k, here's the stuff just pulled out, looked at the belt at 112k when swapping out the motor, looked fine didnt change it, checked it again at 250k, still looked good, but figured water pump may be getting tired, that still looked good too. Granted, I drive up to 1,000 miles per week, that can def extend the life with a lot of highway.
I just learned that if you do break a timing belt, the 3.4L is a non interference motor and it won't damage it, something I always worried about.

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[01thunder]

i just did my second belt on my truck. the first change was in 2013 when i bought it. it was the original belt with 206k on it, along with pump, pulleys and tensioner. this belt had almost 90k on it and was already cracked almost through in all directions.

 

[dogtail]

i just did my second belt on my truck. the first change was in 2013 when i bought it. it was the original belt with 206k on it, along with pump, pulleys and tensioner. this belt had almost 90k on it and was already cracked almost through in all directions.
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That's low, what brand belt? Doesn't sound oem. I just got the Aircabinman oem kit on eBay. Mitsuboshi timing belt, Asin water pump, etc.

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[DaMonkey]

i just did my second belt on my truck. the first change was in 2013 when i bought it. it was the original belt with 206k on it, along with pump, pulleys and tensioner. this belt had almost 90k on it and was already cracked almost through in all directions.
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Thinking belt might be on backwards? I put mine on like that first. then the crank register mark on belt did not line up with imprinted dot on crank gear at 3:00 position. The top dot of crank gear was lined up with 12:00 position dot on front of block, but the mark on belt supposed to line up with another dot on gear. Then Realized left/right is driver facing, not mechanic facing. I swapped it around then the crank register mark on belt lined up proper with the dot on crank gear at 3:00 and the 12:00 marks lined up too.

I don't think it's a problem though as long as teeth lined up. If it's running well, all is good.

 

[yella]

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

A good friend of mine had almost 300,000 miles on his v6 Honda Odyssey van - original timing belt.


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[BamaDrewski]

i just did my second belt on my truck. the first change was in 2013 when i bought it. it was the original belt with 206k on it, along with pump, pulleys and tensioner. this belt had almost 90k on it and was already cracked almost through in all directions.
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From the looks of all the responses, these belts can get WAY MORE than 90K miles out of them. I have religiously replaced my TB and WP (along with pulleys, tensioner, thermostat, etc.) every 90-95K miles. (Toyota recommends every 90K miles) I am going to wait until the last one gets to around 140K miles before I check to see if it needs replacing. I am OCD so replacing all the parts I mentioned might be overkill but that's how much I want my truck to last.....pampering it and making sure all the PM is done.....

 

[96RedRunner]

A thing I started doing the longer I run TB is check it. You can slide upper rad hose clamp toward rad, remove upper cover bolts slide cover toward rad on hose. You can see a section of TB, mark with paint pen, bump starter, inspect, repeat till you've seen it all.

 

[nobb]

I definitely think that unless you are doing extremely severe stuff with your truck (eg. mudding, water crossings) that the belt is good for way wayyy longer than the OEM recommendation. I'm going to double the OEM recommendation on my next change, seeing as how great the condition of my TB was last time. Time is also an important factor, I would swap out the belt after 10-15 years even if the mileage was low. I do strongly believe that all auxiliary parts (idler, water pump, seals, tensioners) should be replaced with the belt together. I have never seen a belt fail on it's own, it's usually a bad idler/water pump that locks up or fail in some catastrophic mode first that then breaks the belt with it.