I have a 97 T100, 3.4 liter, manual tranny, 2wd, 170,000 miles.

A friend asked me if I'd ever changed the timing belt; to which I answered no. My owner's manual only shows a timing belt change needed at 120,000 miles IF special operating conditions are used (trailer towing, repeated short trips in sub-freezing wx, extensive idling, rough-muddy-salt covered roads, and unpaved-dusty roads). My driving doesn't meet any of these conditions.

So, is a timing belt change ever needed; and if so, how long would you push this engine w my driving habits?

 

Yes, a timing belt change is needed because they do wear. The good news is that the 3.4 V6 is non-interference, meaning that the pistons will not hit the valves if the timing belt breaks. No engine damage will occur, you just won't be able to drive the truck. It is recommended to change the timing belt at 60,000 miles and some wait until 90,000 if there are no problems.

If you do have the timing belt replaced, do the water pump at the same time.

You probably should have the timing belt replaced soon because it may be worn and your water pump may be near the end of its life. It would do more damage to have the water pump seize and deprive the engine of adequate coolant flow.

 

No damage if it breaks? Well that's good to know. Thanks NY

 

i would go 90k or 60k if you drive it hard also wrong section

 

i had my water pump and thermostat go out and i almost blew my truck up.. then got my timing belt replaced and they said its a miracle the truck would still run cause my belt was tore up

 

Yeah, that is the good news- non interference engine. I think that the V8 Tundra (4.7L) however, is an interference engine?

 

i was told it was the opposite, if the timing belt goes, so does the motor? the t-100 has the same 3.4 as the tacoma right? maybe i was misled, i hope.

 

If you have not had the recall done on the head gaskets, have the dealer do the Tbelts at the same time. The labor cost was drastically reduced since they had to tear it apart any way. Just a thought.

 

Head gasket recall was on the 3.0 - not the 3.4

 

I must have either gotten lucky, or my memory has failed. I could swear it was the head gaskets that were replaced under recall on my 3.4. Sorry to mislead anyone, I will check my record when I get home.

 

I think you are right. I thought it was only the 3.0L as well, until I was considering a 95' T100. It had the 3.4L and the owner told me that at 8000 miles, Toyota replaced his because it blew - he said it was only 3 months later that a recall was issued, but since his was replaced, he obviously did not have to go back. I think that it was only the 95-96 year model 3.4L's that were involved. I think that the 97-98 3.4L's were fine. Something about the 95-96's- something about heads not torqued down tight enough or something? It was something totally different that was causing the 3.0L to lose them.

 

I went back and looked at my records and they performed an "X-01 Recall" It did not go into specifics, but I remember at the time they told me it was the head gaskets. I also found this when I did a search:

SPECIAL SERVICE CAMPAIGN X01 INVOLVING REPLACEMENT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS INSTALLED ON CERTAIN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 3.4 LITER V6 ENGINE.

 

The 3.4 is an interference engine,and there was a recall on the head gaskets on a few years.

 

Hmm. I have asked two Toyota techs that said they are not interference engines. At least not the 1995-1998 models. Not sure about the 3.4L in the Tundra.

Also- I just found out today that the reason that the 96' T100 (with the 3.4L) I was interested in had suddenly stopped running was because the original timing belt had snapped at 184K. New belt installed and all was fine. No damage.

 

The whole interfernce non-interference has been beaten to death. Everytime one side pipes up someone else claims the opposite. But here we have some real experience, T-belt broke, was replaced, engine was fine, I would say non interference. The early 3.4 was 60k change but later in the production they switched that to 90k, I would imagine they can all go 90k. And the real early 3.4 had the HG issue, but I remember it was different than the 3.0, something like the 3.0 leaked internally while the 3.4 was leaking externally, IIRC.

 

The one I am considering is a very early 96' model. I think it was made in September of 1995. 184K, so I imagine that either the HG was already replaced under recall.... if not, I think it would have went by now.....

Yeah, good to know they are non-interference.

 

The early 96 runners, some tacos and 95/86 T100's all had HG issues, yota will honor the warranty on them AFAIK.

As for the timing belt, its a non interference engine-if it breaks no damage to your engine.

 

My 96 T100 3.4 has 154,000 miles on the odo. Runs like a champ.

The valve cover gaskets seep. No big deal.

I keep a good eye on the original timing belt. It looks just fine. No cracking and has all its teeth.

Might be wise to carry a spare?