Timing Belt/Water pump costs

[dieselndixie]

Ok, so Im all over the forum for pretty much the same thing. We bought a used 2001 with 120k miles. Everything looks great as far as records, hell the PO even had the dealership do all the oil changes. I had them look up the service records and the last "major" service done at the dealership was replacing some U joints. There is no record of a timing belt/waterpump service.

Im not gonna give my full sob story, but there is no way I can afford the service anytime soon without using a credit card. Without putting the vehicle at too much risk....how far are people going before they handle the waterpump/timing belt service (in terms of mileage) Trust me, I know its best to handle it right away...but priorities are just not going to allow it right now.

(i can take care of both diffs, spark plugs, and even the trans fluid - atleast drain/refill)

 

[TheDurk]

Ok, so Im all over the forum for pretty much the same thing. We bought a used 2001 with 120k miles. Everything looks great as far as records, hell the PO even had the dealership do all the oil changes. I had them look up the service records and the last "major" service done at the dealership was replacing some U joints. There is no record of a timing belt/waterpump service.

Im not gonna give my full sob story, but there is no way I can afford the service anytime soon without using a credit card. Without putting the vehicle at too much risk....how far are people going before they handle the waterpump/timing belt service (in terms of mileage) Trust me, I know its best to handle it right away...but priorities are just not going to allow it right now.

(i can take care of both diffs, spark plugs, and even the trans fluid - atleast drain/refill)

You will get a lot of different opinions on this. Here is mine. The timing belt is really durable and pure TB failures are very rare up to 200k. I deliberately waited until 120K to do mine. The wild card is the water pump. Most TB failures are in fact WP failures, where coolant leaks on to the belt or the bearing seizes and kills the belt that way.

The key to long water pump life is good coolant maintenance. If you have service records that show regular coolant service with Toyota red or pink or your PO was anal about maintenance, you are probably safe in going to 140 or even 160k. If your rad was full of brown crud, then a total WP/TB and coolant flush needs to be done soonest. If you are going to run longer, pull the upper hose and open the top timing cover. Inspect the belt and the WP as best you can. Any accumulation of green or red coolant crud seeping out or cracking, tearing or obvious wear on the belt says you should not wait. My original belt was pristine at 120k, could have easily gone to 160k.

Others will say you are 30k overdue. Here are some links to consider:

How many miles on your 3.4L timing belt? - YotaTech Forums

4biker's Profile (97 Ltd) - YotaTech Forums

how much mileage on your 3.4L's original timing belt? - TTORA Forum

 

[dieselndixie]

awesome man, thanks. i asked the PO about the waterpump/timing belt before I bought the car, and he said the dealer inspected it, and said it was ok.

now, i DID NOT believe him, but its just good to hear that it may have another several months before I can get to it. I will be sure to check the coolant asap.

Its the wife's car....and only 2wd. (drive a highly modded K5 blazer) but I swear I would buy a 4x4 4runner if I had it to do over again. loving this suv more and more as we own it longer.