I took these shots of my timing belt because I'm getting ready to have it done and I wanted an idea of what kind of shape the visible parts were in. I'm hoping for some input on what the wear on the belt is telling me and what if anything can be gleamed from these shots. BTW the dust cover is on and off in under 30min if anyone is wanting to check their timing belt. There are six bolts I think holding it on and some wires you have to unclip to remove the cover, very simple and you can see a lot.

I see a couple of things, the first is that the belt is not centered on the cam gear. I also notice that looking from the side, the belt is worn to its inner core. if you look at all the shots you can see that the side wear on the belt corresponds with lack of center positioning on the cam gear. It looks sort of like a tire worn to its belts. It seems the belt is drifting toward the front of the engine and rubbing on the side of the cam gear or something lower on the engine. The rest of the belt looks great, no cracks at all. I was told that when the pulleys are wearing and getting sloppy it causes uneven belt wear and I wonder if that's what I'm seeing. Any input is appreciated, thanks a ton!

 

Few more pics.

 

Well, while you are in there, replace the two idler bearings as they are cheap and worth replacing while you are in there. Do your cam seals and crank seals as well, along with the water pump & thermostat. Considering the mileage on your car (185k), you may also want to buy a new tensioner for extra insurance. I've had a few timing belts creep a little bit on me, but were fine for many many miles.

Hope this helps.

 

My friend's original one with 144XXX miles looked much worse. I take it this is not the original. It still looks to have life in it, I'd be more concerned with those idler bearings and the replacement of the tensioner.

Is that H2O all over the belts or is that grease in a couple of shots?

Are you going to replace it yourself? Good luck.....

 

All the moisture is coolant I spilled removing the radiator hose if you subtract that there was no coolant or oil leaking anywhere that I could see. No I'm not doing it myself, it's my daily driver and I can't be without it for long. I dont have a garage or proper tools either. I found a shop that is going to do everything (cam/crank seals, water pump, belt, tensioner/idler pulley, drive belts) for 950$. They say if there is anything that doesn't need it they wont replace it. I'm hoping it doesn't need everything but I saved enough to cover it if it does. Loving the input if anyone else wants to chime in.

 

After doing countless dozens of timing belts on Hondas, it all looks very good to me. The belt will never be perfectly centered on the pulleys, that's just the way they are (hondas are like that too) I just hit 180k and since this is the 2nd belt I'm going to go ahead and replace the idlers and the hydraulic tensioner. Hey, if you have it torn down this far you might as well go ahead and do it yourself!

 

I'd say that belt is fine.... I've seen much much worse still hanging on.

 

ya that belt looks good ... mine looked fine even though it had 130k on it but the water pump decided 188k is enough and died soo i just replaced everything down there

 

The belt looks perfectly fine to me!

 

It looks just like the one I took off last year at 120K.

 

Thanks for the input, you guys who have all done your belts at 150k+, what else did you end up replacing?

 

Here is the link to a whole kit on Ebay thanks to Elton who just did his Tbelt. The only thing else to include would be some OEM coolant and a gallon of distilled H20... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Timin...Q5fAccessories

 

well my belt with about 130k on it have small crack around it even though it might look new on the engine it might not last that long.

 

What do you guys think about after-market idlers? Not bearings, but the whole assembly? You really should go by mileage looks can be deceiving.

 

i suggest you order this kit i also order it and have finish my timing belt maintain on the 4runner. i also suggest you get your self a pulley puller cuz i broke my crank gear trying to pry the damn thing off

 

This is the shop owner. Just wanna say thanks for trusting us with your yota. And it's good to know you have the "funds". After reading post #5, I got a feeling that you may need to have it ALL replaced.
Thanks again for paying out the nose, nothing like that feeling of assurance though. hehe.

 

Nothing wrong with that t-belt. Like tunnelmotor I have done many timing belts on Hondas and they look exactly like that: not centered on the pulleys. That is fine. However, I disagree with Cbohl. I believe that the idler bearings are pressed in and they don't sell them individually. The pulleys with the bearings are between $100-$150 ea! If it were me, I would not use aftermarket stuff. Get Toyota Original. I never put anything but original on my Honda and Toyota and any other Japanese car I work on when it comes to timing belts and water pumps. It is not worth the risk of having to do it again. You can go to Toyotapartscheap.com and order the parts for basically what a shop would pay for them. As far as the pulleys - I wouldn't replace them unless they have play. The dealer doesn't. They are expensive and the dealer usually doesn't start repacing them until the 2nd timing belt around 200K. I would wait to do it if I was you unless you have a leaky water pump.

 

Check ebay like people have been saying, there are a few sellers who ONLY sell OEM kits, and they are very fairly priced. Nachi bearings, Aisin water pump, Bando belts, etc....

 

I got my stuff from partsgeek.com and it all turned out to be OEM. The tensioner they sent me was real Toyota in a Toyota box--I'm guessing there is no other supplier. I see no reason to pay a dealer a serious premium for a Toyota logo on the box if I can get the same thing elsewhere.

 

Pulled the trigger and got the belt, water pump, idler and tensioner bearings replaced. Drive belts were all good as were the cam/crank seals. Got it done at TOS in Sacramento for $805, picking it up tomorrow, will post again when I get to hear it run etc.