MTL_4runner

No, dealers are not replacing them when they do the timing belt despite what the FSM says.

20005spd

dont use rubber sealant or a paper gasket on the water pump. the reason the pump leaked from the factory was the paper gasket failed. if you were to get a pump from toyota today you would see that it now comes with a metal gasket.
when i removed my pump it had paper, the new one came with metal, and i have no problems.

good info on here though, i didnt use the torque spec when i did mine but i havent had any problems so far. i did use a chain wrench and a breaker bar and that bitch was tight. needless to say i will be taking the time to remove that bolt, put some thread locker and torquing it just to be safe.

khaug

Excellent article!!! This should get a sticky.

What isn't explicitly said is that the nose of the crank can be damaged by the wobbling pulley, necessitating a new crank!

kpfoten

THANK YOU for this topic. My '98 4Runner was just at the dealer, 15k after the local service station replaced the timing belt. Loose crank pulley--I called it after reading this thread.

The stealer said the keyway was gouged badly and the key itself was sheared off. They said they torqued it back to spec and gave me no guarantees. It runs fine now, no ticking, and is in-time. I just wonder how long this is going to last...

SnowRunner98

sorry for the noob question, I purchased mine with a 215,xxx miles on it. and have no clue if it was done, any ideas on how to check? worried I might have a ticking time bomb. I have plans to drop in a another motor 239,xxx now, but don't want to be doing real soon. thanks!

mt_goat

Check for a sticker on the top of the timing cover, they sometimes put one with the date and mileage of the timing belt change.

eddieleephd

If you don't have the holder tool you could probably take it to a dealer and offer one
of the mechanics $10-$20 To check it for you and I am for one glad you bumped this!

SnowRunner98

i don't think there is one on, will check in the daylight and comb it over again. : will check the manual, and paperwork i got with the truck see if anything turns up there also.
OH thanks for the tip on the tool, I priced one on the snap-on site.. 50dollas!

eddieleephd

Were you asking about the timing belt change or the torque on the bolt because I was refering to the torque check.
And I see goat was refering to the belt change time! if you don't find a sticker remove the TB cover and Visually inspect it for wear!
and one thing to look for is the marks/ timing lines on the belt itself if they are fairly distant then the belt is older rather than newer
if they seem fairly clear, then just double check the wear down near the pulleys where it bends backwards and at the egdes
for wear

SnowRunner98

cool, i will look at that when i have time. if there is no sticker, i just read about everybody changing them ever 60 or 90k and I got paranoid. I want a fresh motor but, not because I lost the crankshaft/harmonic balancer.

SnowRunner98

didn't see any sticker, and didn't want to tear the cover off. handled the harmonic balancer. didn't see any slop.
paper work turned up nada.

eddieleephd

the cover is not that bad!

just move the hose clamp and slide it back
Should give you enough play to look down in with a light and at least see if the belt is freyed on the edges, as for the inspection I mentioned earlier yes you will have to pull the
hose off catching what ever coolant spills out but it is worth the peace of mind!

Think About It!!!!!

15 min. tops!

PHD

SnowRunner98

maybe this weekend, its supposed to be nice. careplan due friday. i can get some coolant.

Runner4Yota

Long time listener, first time caller! This forum is great, and I appreciate the time everyone takes to help out.

I had my timing belt replaced by a local repair shop recently, and I'm afraid it might be the worst mistake I ever made. Shortly (1 week) after the replacement, I went to start my 4Runner ('96 5VZFE). I heard what sounded like a grinding noise for just a second and then the motor wouldn't start. I checked the camshaft alignment marks and they no longer aligned with the belt marks (cranked engine over until they should have aligned). I had the vehicle towed back to the mechanic and he "fixed" it. He re-replaced the tensioner and thought that was the cause. The other day, the same darned thing happened. I checked again, and both camshaft pulley marks are ~90 degrees off of the belt marks. I'm wondering a couple of things. If the crankshaft pulley slipped, the camshaft pulley marks should still align with the belt marks, and it should just be the crankshaft that's out of position (relative to the belt), right? I'm really thinking that it probably is the loose crankshaft bolt issue, but would that explain the above? If not, then what would cause the belt to skip teeth on both camshaft pulley ~the same?

eddieleephd

you keep saying belt marks "meaning the marks on the belt itself"

after install these are null and void the marks to use is the marks at the top of the heads inside the housing! those marks and the marks on the camshaft sprockets should line up as for the crank shaft bolt
may be the issue!

97ltd4x4

Oh damage! :

Do not worry about the belt marks(2 solid white lines and 1 dashed lines on belt)They are for alignment installment help(most belts have no marks at all,FYI..

You need to be concerned with the cam dowel pin alignment relative to the crankshaft alignment at cylinder #1 DTC..It if runs fine chances are the belt is lined up correctly.

About the starting noise? are you sure its not a starter / ring gear on the flex plate problem?.......Will sound like a high pitched ringing noise on first start..

Runner4Yota

Thanks! That's some invaluable info on the alignment marks not having relevance after the installation. I figured that after each revolution, the belt alignment marks and the alignment marks on the crank/cam shaft pulleys would be aligned but it makes sense that that is not the case. The noise definitely sounds like some sort of teeth skipping, and it sounds more metallic than belt/pulley. My misconception about the belt marks led me to suspect that the belt had slipped/skipped. I did figure that it might be the starter causing the noise, because I knew that the solenoid was going out. On several recent occasions, I got no response on the first couple of tries starting. Given the grinding noise on top of this, I replaced the starter and checked the ring gear through the starter hole during the installation. I couldn't see the center of the ring gear though, so I know the teeth looked ok at that spot, but it could be cracked at the center and flexing away from the starter? Anyway, it would turn over fine at this point but would not start.

I basically have three dilemmas at this point: The motor won't start, I'm unsure of the ring gear condition, and I'm unsure if the crank pulley is properly seated and the bolt torqued. Given the latter, I will disassemble to the crank pulley bolt and check the torque and alignment of the pulleys. I have a sneaking suspicion that the torque is incorrect on the crank bolt and the pulley has rotated. Hopefully it's the pulley that's hogged out, and not the crank shaft! I'm stupid for having the work done at a non Toyota specialist, and I doubt I'll get a new short block out of the guy if the crank is hosed. Dumb!!! I guess inspecting/replacing the ring gear is the subject for another thread, if I need to do that.

I really appreciate the feedback from you guys. I'm not the most experienced auto mechanic by any means. I do know my way around tools and troubleshooting though. I fix manufacturing equipment at work and enjoy doing as much as I can around the house, cars etc. I would really rather do this work myself at this point so that I know it's done right. I am grateful for the guidance of people like you who can get me over the knowledge hump on these issues so that I can fix them right and keep my Yota running strong!!

Thanks again,
Nate

eddieleephd

The big thing I find helpful about doing the work your self is that if you do take any short cuts or have any issues you know what they were and whre to look when there is an issue!
If an auto mechanic at a shop takes a short cut or messes up a bolt or any thing they usually won't tell you and you will not figure it out till there is a major problem after many hours of then you might hopefully find it and be able to fix it!

SnowRunner98

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/v...8/DSCN0093.jpg

got a crazy sound when running, sounds metallic, no fluids leaking though. does a water pump make a god awful sound when going out??

eddieleephd

Water pump can make all kinda sounds when going out and some times they just freeze up and pow goes a timing belt.