Done!
The timing belt, thermostat, coolant change and water pump are DONE! :drum: :rockon:
The biggest problem we had were some cheap-a$$ bolts. Broke one in the top square portion of the top water tube, and one on the right cam cover. A nut was bad on the left came cover and one bolt wouldn't come out at all on the left cam cover, prefering to break out of the left cam cover completely.
Easy outs are essential tools!
Fortunately, I have a 5 gallon bucket of misc metric bolts and nuts. Picked them up at a local flea market a few years back, probably out of a garage
I took a few pics I'll share once I get them off my tablet and resized.
It was tricky to get the timing marks lined up on the crank and then on the top cams.
We replaced all the idler, tension pulleys and the tensioner. The idler pulley hadn't failed, but I could feel a little slop and grittiness in it. I was glad we changed it and the others.
Found the water pump gasket had a small leak.
The coolant has NEVER been changed or serviced in any way. Over 160k and 10 years, but the radiator and all the chambers looked BRAND NEW! I'm glad we refilled it with genuine Toyota SLLC (pink). It was expensive, but after this, I am a believer!
So, how was the timing belt you ask?
The belt looked to be in okay shape at first glance. But the square profile of the teeth were a bit trapezoid in shape and shiny. It had not jumped any teeth, but as my buddy showed me, when both cams were lined up with the marks, the crank was between 10 and 20 degrees off to the driver's side (advanced timing)!
Talk about S-T-R-E-T-C-H!
The results? Much crisper throttle response, a very significant decrease in the mid-rpm power dip, and it felt like better performance. I'm guessing with that far out, The ECU (or possibly the ECU?) could have been advancing the timing for the performance power curve, but with the belt stretch, it got too aggressive and had to be retarded.
I don't know if this is so, but it would explain the hesitation and power sag. The power, rpms, and acceleration seem much more continuous. I have a slightly modified exhaust that I remember added power to the mid-rpm, but didn't realize how it has been fading over the years...frog in water thing, I guess
This job took us about 9 hours with the broken bolts and looking for replacements. I also wasted (a ton of) time looking for O-rings that I didn't realize were in the kit already and using easy outs and drilling the upper square coolant bolt hole.
Moral of that wasted time? Open your parts and look at them BEFORE getting too deep into your project! I was excited to get this done and neither of us slept much the past few days (we shared that story as we were dragging butt when we met for breakfast) and didn't think about it.
I also took the opportunity to clean up some of the plastic parts while they were out on the ground. Dollar store imitation Simple Green in a spray bottle, a small round scrub brush with stiff plastic bristles and a long handle, and a hose.
Oh- and I ordered 10 replacement plastic 'rivet' style fasteners/clips for the plastic bits. I need some more, but this was what I could get quickly for about $1 each. I plan to order more for various locations.
In retrospect, I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND you change your timing belt about 100k miles. Not because of impending FAILURE of the belt, but because of the decrease in performace due to a stretched belt! In my case, the different is quite noticeable, even without the "I should have had a V8" head-smack
Hope this is helpful to others thinking of this job or putting it off like I did.
