My 88 4Runner has 255000 on it and runs strong. Does the timing belt give any warning noise if it needs changed? Can I check it somehow without taking everything apart? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

From my experience, belts typically do not give any warning they are going to fail, they just break and that's it. I have had one jump time once, but that was just as bad as breaking.

 

IMO, pulling the timing cover is not that big a deal....compared to if the timing belt breaks. Wouldn't take you long. Shouldn't be more than an hour job. Pull the plug wires, the belts, the radiator hose, water inlet pipe and studs, cover bolts, and then the cover. Look for cracks, fraying, tension, etc. Inspecting the top idler pulley/inlet would be good too with that many miles on it. The bearings should rotate smoothly with no play.That's what I would do, anyway.

 

Has it ever been changed? If not I'd start considering replacing it and the water pump. Might as well do one if you're doing the other...

 

The warning is the valves hitting the pistons.

 

ouch...hehe

 

Not in a 3vze...

 

3vze is a non interference motor so when the belt breaks it just stops running nothing gets hurt, except your wallet from the tow home.

 

Just replaced mine at 215k it was working fine but it didn't look the best.

 

Still...ouch. (It would still be a PITA)

 

Yeah and no. Getting stranded sucks, but doing preventative maintenance ain't so bad. It's really not that hard of a job. You can do it on a weekend with a day to spare, depending on your skill level.

 

Thanks...I will take the cover off and check it...appreciate all the response.

 

well I know when mine broke I had extremely horribly performance prior, a few teeth had broken off and done somthing to the timing.

Mine finally broke when I tried to start it after I got home.

 

I had never dove into an engine until i did my timing belt, water pump and thermostat. Then the next time in I reshimmed my valve train. The thrid time in I fixed the blown HG....and Im sure I can do a timing belt very quickly now. Just take it slow, follow your FSM to the letter and if you have any doubts take 80 billion pictures! and label stuff as you pull it off of the engine.

Think of it as a stepping stone...

 

Hah, word of advice: when putting the new belt on, the arrows on the cam gears both point UP... My dad and I screwed that one up. The pass side was up, but the drivers side was down. Luckily we fired it up for a second to see if it was right. There's something about a 4runner running on 3 cylinders.... It did fire though, but god was it ever terribly rough!

So yeah, take it slow, read the instructions... That's probably the dumbest thing I've done when working on a vehicle...

 

Timing belt life for the 3.0 is around 90,000km so if it has been done regularily then it will be due for a new one pretty soon. At the same time change out the water pump and spend the extra cash to change out the tensioner pully and the water jacket. I chose not to change out the water jacket and was putting a new belt and all new idler and water jacket less then 1 month later.

The sound that the timing belt makes just before it is about to go depends on what is causing it. For me it was a squeeling bearing, followed by silence, followed by all the lights on my dash lighting up followed by the smell of burnt rubber and then a tow job. Then there is the 1-2 hours of extra work spent cleaning the belt remains and melted rubber off of every moving surface of each and every pully under the timing cover...There are 5 or 6 of these pullys to clean.

Have fun!!!

 

my water pump is leaking so I'm going to replace my timing belt and oil pump while I'm in there. I'm also going to replace the belt tentioner and the idler pully. BUT WHAT THE IS A WATER JACKET?
thanks, thefreq

 

The water jacket is just part of the water pump....the casing. Why do you ask?

 

huh?!

I thought that a water jacket is the sum whole of the cooling areas inside of the block containing coolant...hence "water jacket"

You know that the water pump is just an impeller mounted on a chunk of metal that the timing belt turns right? Or do you mean that felt gasket that comes with the waterpump? Or do you mean that additional port from behind the thermostat housing for the oil cooler that only 3vz-e's with the towing package had? Or do you mean the thermostat?

 

90k MILES, not kilos.

Regardless, you're WAY overdue!