Timing belt failure <2 Years after replacement

[Schnaars]

I just sold my 99 4Runner SR5 to my friend/coworker/neighbor. It's up to about 234K and I replaced the timing belt at 220K in May '21. Before that the sticker said it was done at 137K.

After two weeks of hearing about how much he loved the ride, he called me yesterday from the side of the road on the way back from a ski trip 3 hours away. He told me the timing belt snapped. Today he had it towed back to our maintenance shop and I saw it for myself and couldn't believe it.

When I replaced the belt less than two years ago I had the help of someone who was replacing his TB for the third time right next to mine. He finished about 3 hours before me and was able to assist with pretty much everything after getting the cover off so I felt pretty confident that it was done right. When I told him about the failure he basically said sometimes Shit Happens and stood by our install.

So tomorrow I will be helping my coworker replace the belt I just put in 14,000 miles ago and I'm wondering, did I do something wrong the first time? I couldn't find info on the kit I ordered, but I thought I got quality parts.

I drove that thing for 9 years and never got stranded anywhere ever. He's had it for two weeks and is probably really hating his choice right now, so hopefully we can get it rolling again.

 

[brillo_76]

Did you use OEM parts on this timing belt change? Or did you use aftermarket?

I made that mistake back in the early 2000s on my 83 toyota timing chain change. I bought all aftermarket parts. Low in behold, the timing belt tensioner failed, thus letting the chain hit the housing, grinding it away and letting the antifreeze into the crankcase.

Since then. On critical parts. I stick with oem or oem mfg parts only.

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[Romeo1]

Timing belt failure &lt;2 Years after replacement

Stuff happens. Fix it and move on with life. It's a non interference engine, so no big deal.

The brand new stuff breaks too. Know a guy with a 1.5 year old super duty that cost over $80,000 that was parked for 4 months (last time I talked to him, hell, it could still be parked...) due to lack of valve bodies or transmissions from Ford.

That said, I'm a fan of all OE in the timing belt department. Only issues I've ever seen have always been with aftermarket timing equipment......Doesn't seem to matter what brand of car.

 

[thegipper]

Was probably just a bad belt, it happens. What brand belt did you use?

 

[JoeT4R]

If you didn't use OEM stuff, I'd recommend the Aisin TKT-005 kit. If you wanna replace tensioners you'll have to purchase those separately outside of the kit.

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[JoeT4R]

Oh I'm sorry. The Aisin TKT-025 has a hydraulic tensioner included in it.

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[gamefreakgc]

Mitsuboshi (not a typo) is the OEM supplier of timing belts. Anything else is aftermarket.

Replace the tensioner. It's a complete pain to get to if you don't want to remove your A/C compressor but a failed tensioner that over did the tension would cause the belt to snap. Also double check all pulleys are smooth with no wear or noise.

 

[phattyduck]

I couldn't find info on the kit I ordered, but I thought I got quality parts.

If it was from eBay or Amazon (other than probably aircabinman on eBay), it was a fake.

5VZ is a non-interference engine - you'll be fine. Use quality parts (Aisin kit or actual Toyota parts) and you'll be back on the road in no time.

-Charlie

 

[spartacus]

Take a look at the cank sprocket teeth. If they are broken or chipped they will eat at the belt.

 

[71gs3504sp]

I just replaced 02 limited timing belt due to a leaking waterpump and the timing belt that I removed was ready to break, it had cracks all over it. I did its first timing belt replacement just 3 years ago with all Toyota OEM parts. My 4runner still only has 115k miles on it. I believe the belt was a fake Toyota OEM one.

 

[Schnaars]

Yeah I’m chalking the failure up to a non OEM part. Everything else seemed fine when we opened it up, and he’s now back up and running.

 

[brillo_76]

Great news. Glad it's all fixed up..

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[whyzee125]

Aftermarket parts are junk. OEM belts routinely go 250k+ so while this is a little surprising, I've seen a ton of almost brand new or occasionally brand new aftermarket parts fail. Go OEM or Aisin and it'll outlast the truck.

 

[fatherdoug]

This was my experience. Since one of the tensioner bolts was such a pain to get at, I didn't get the one bolts tight enough. The new belt lasted about a year before it snapped. The tensioner was wobbling. Lesson learned.