Friend at work was surprised that I hadn't had the timing belt changed on my
97 Camry with 93K miles. He claims I'll ruin my engine if it goes and it'll cost me 4 grand in repair work. I told him all it would do is leave me stranded by the side of the road and cost me 3 hundred for a garage to replace it. No engine damage at all. Who is correct?
You are - the 4 cyl and 6 cyl engines in this year are non-interference engines, meaning that if the timing belt breaks, the pistons should not hit the valves, and you are simply stranded with a dead engine.
Mind you, it still isn't a terrific idea to plan on doing it! The repair would involve being very careful to get the belt timing right on the camshaft sprockets, and although there are marks, I found it is rather easy to be one tooth out. It is much better to have the old belt there to look at first.
There seems to be a lot of controversy over whether the belt should be routinely changed at all when the engine does light duty only. This is defined as an absence of stop-start driving, towing, very cold or very hot or dusty conditions.
Those who say YES (including me) subscibe to an interval of 100,000Km, or about 60K miles, so you could think about it. I changed mine at 120,000Km, and there was evidence of wear - the belt was "hairy" looking.
If you go ahead, give the belt idler pulleys, the water pump, and the crankshaft nose oil seal a very careful look. Replace these if there is any wear or seepage apparent.
Geoff
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Best to replace all these items at the time the belt is done including camshaft seals and the 2 seals on the oil pump while your in there. It may be another 90,000 before your next belt change so those parts would have 180,000 miles on them....
There is a round O ring on the oil pump shaft and a big rubber gasket that is between the motor and pump. That big one failed on me causing a bad leak.. Water hoses on these cars are incredibly good. I finally changed mine at 185,000miles as a precaution.
I know for sure, the 4 cylinder will not result in any damage. Ours broke travelling at about 75mph....besides leaving my wife stranded, new belt and back on the road in no time.
Essentially you are correct. Actually the "O-ring" is more of a flat doughnut shape - correctly speaking it is an oil seal, similar to those at the crankshaft and camshaft, only smaller. It prevents oil from seeping past the rotating shaft that drives the oil pump. The "big" rubber gasket between the pump and block is actually a very thin round cross section long flimsy piece with a wavy circumference that snakes its way through the bolt pattern - overall very small and light. When installing mine, had to coat it in a small amount of grease to prevent it from falling out of position while installing the oil pump cover. It installs into a groove that appears to be apx.
1/16". I suppose it is a testament to the precision of Toyota machining that this tiny bit of gasket contains the oil pressure effectively.
This is great info, I plan to change out T-belt and water pump in the near future. There is a oil leak near the front of engine, so I assume its the front crank seal or one of the oil pump seals. As far as other recommended items to replace in that area, I think there is a belt tensioner bearing(s)??? When should that be placed on a 90 V-6 camry with approx 120 Kmi. No record if ever replaced in the past. To replace the seals on the oil pump, I'm under the impression that the oil pan needs to be removed, is this correct???? Also has anyone had any experience with using generic parts vs. oem for the water pump, seal, tensioner bearings, T-belt, etc. I was going to use Toyoto oem parts, but may do a price comparison first. Thanks for the feedback. Jim
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