96 4Runner timing belt broke
 

I am new to Toyota always having a Jeep before so the issues on this SUV all seem to symptom other things. I was having a lot of vibration coming from my undercarriage. I knew my CV axles needed to be changed since the boots had been blown. After they were changed and the 2" lift spacers were taken out i got new front struts only to still have the vibration. Turns out the "U" joints on the front drive shaft were starting to go. But on the way home driving at about 30mph the car died. The timing belt broke. I just put a new one on in late 99 and once I took this one off it is still very new. So now my concern is when I put the new belt on and check compression if the valves were not damaged what caused the belt to creep off and get caught. The pulleys are all tight and the water pump seems fine too. What else should I look for? I thinks the vibration might have cause it but other people say that is not possible.

The 3.4 engines are non interference motors which means that the valves do not occupy the same space as the pistons and will not be bent from the timing belt breaking.

Thank you James Woods!!!
 

I could just kiss you for that info!!! I have been going nuts with worry! so now i should just be able to turn over the engine a few times to get all the marks to line up to the dots at the top and the dot on the bottom to line up to the notch replace the belt and put it all back together? What do you think about changing the timing bolt? I have seen discussions on doing that. Also, any ideas about why the belt crept over in the first place? other than the major vibration (I was on the road back so for about 900 miles)? And the water pump seems fine so I was not going to change it for now.

When you see how much stuff you have to take off to get to that water pump, you might think twice about replacing it while it's right there out in the open.

even though I just put a new one on back on 9-09?

How many miles on the pump? I'd probably do it to keep it in sequence with the belt.

The crank bolt is a non-reusable part per the FSM. Yes, get a new one from the dealer and be sure to get it torqued to 217 ft-lbs.

the water pump? roughly 50k the same as the belt... I mean the belt was in perfect condition other than if got caught then you see the strips that came off then it finally broke. on the other hand do you think the excessive vibrations from the worn U joints over a long continuous ride (900 miles straight) would or could have gotten the belt to shimmy off? of what else should I be looking for as the culprit?

It's possible one of the pulleys froze up. Have you pulled it apart and confirmed the broken belt? In some cases, the crank bolt has came loose and caused all sorts of bad.

the belt is broken. I took off the cover and have taken the car apart in order to replace the belt. I am now stuck trying to get the crankshaft pulley off. I just don't have the strength I used to have since my surgeries. But slowly I am getting there. I learned about setting the tdc by putting a wad of paper in the 1 spark plug hole till it blows out. That should also be when it is lined up to the dot on the bottom. then I set the 2 top cam pulleys to the lines and replace the belt and all the stuff. right?

I use a pipe over my breaker bar to make it longer and give me more leverage to break the crank bolt loose, I'm not strong enough otherwise. I've also seen several posts on how to let the truck do it for you, never tried it, something else to check out.

Have you seen: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timing_belt/ ?
Very useful.

thank you habanero... Actually I got it off yesterday. A friend told me to use the breaker bar and turn over the engine. So after an hour of debating and making sure I had it wedged to the right side of the car for a clockwise turning engine. I put it on the bolt, placed the bar on the frame used a zip tie to hold it there, made sure no wires or hoses were in the way, climbed inside and turned it over one time. POOF! the bolt was loose and I pulled it off by hand. Then the stupid bolts in the gear puller broke off inside the dampner but I'm using a 3 prong puller now to get it off. Then I can extract the broken bolts. They were not grade 5 bolts look more like Aluminum but i'm going to change the 1 pulley that seems a little worn (the others are quite solid and quiet) put the belt back on. I have set all my marks and am at TDC. then i will hand turn the crankshaft 2 revolutions make sure everything still lines up. Then put it all back together and hope it runs fine. I have gotten many people to tell me that my 3.4 is non-interference but one guy swears that it will have valve damage... so I'm hoping he is wrong and everyone else is right. I just don't need any more trouble from this truck. I'll finish by changing the front U joints just behind the differential and hope there are no more vibrations in the car when I drive.

Another: http://home.centurytel.net/stevenjac...lt/timing.html

Thanks rworegon.... I got everything off and am cleaning all the pulleys and surrounding areas before I put the new tensioner pulley and belt back on. Thank EVERY ONE for taking a moment out of your time to help me get through this. I will tell you how it goes once I get the belt back on and everything is back together.