Replacing timing belt on 97-01 Camry

Alright. No, it is not an interference engine, so the likelyhood of valve damage is minimal. Yes, you do have to independently set the cam and crank pulleys seperately. The repair manual is assuming the ols timing belt is still on the car. Here are some tips:

-The crank pulley has a white mark on its circumference. On the black plastic timing cover there are marks right above the pulley there should be three marks - 0, 5, & 10. The white mark on the crank needs to line up with the '0' mark on the timing cover. This means that #1 piston is at the top of it's stroke, or TDC.

-The cam pulley has a small hole on its face. When this hole is positioned at approximately 11:30 (I think, can't quite visualize it right now) you will be able to see a small vertical notch about 1mm tall and .5 mm wide etched in the area just around the cam seal. It's helpful if you have a small mirror and a flashlight to line it up properly. I'm not quite sure what the manual is speaking of when it references the cam bearing cap. This would require removing the valve cover, of course, and I have never done so. Perhaps there is a timing mark, but I couldn't say. (BTW, I am referencing the N American camrys. I don't know if things are different elsewhere.)

That's pretty much it for lining it up. Some other things I would suggest-

-Inspect the condition of the water pump whilst in there. Timing belt failure is most often caused by a faulty h2o pump. Infact, it would be advisable to just replace it. But if not, make sure the H2O pump turns smoothly and has no freeplay.

-One thing that makes this job very accesible (after everything is lined up) is to back the front engine mount bolt out about 2/3, place a wooden block under the engine, and jack the engine up a bit. This will raise the front a bit and make it very easy to get to.

-Good luck and remember, it's just a machine. It has to bend to reason eventually. Post if you need tips.

camshaft. If when turning either and you feel alot of resistance stop and try turning backward or other shaft. The timing notch on crankshaft pulley aligning with TDC mark on lower belt cover would give you top dead center on pistons 1 and 4. And 180 degrees from that mark on Crankshaft pulley would give you top dead center on pistons 3 and 2. TDC mark on the cam bearing cap is seen when the valve cover is removed and when the hole on the camshaft gear is upward it can be seen. That is the cam bearing cap is the first cap that holds down the camshaft in its bearing directly behind the gear. Sometimes the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley is in the wrong place because the rubber bonding between the inner and outer part of the pulley has slipped. Then what I do to find TDC is to remove #1 spark plug and have someone put a long thin screwdriver in the hole till it touches top of piston and you turn the crankshaft bolt with a socket till he sees when the screwdriver comes up all the way ( you might have to turn crankshaft slowly back and forth to find exact TDC.) I would put belt back on and just put back crankshaft bolt and metal piece so belt doesn't slip off. and make sure maybe front engine mount back in and spark plugs back, and valve cover back and other belts or nothing in way and try to see if it starts (be careful and don't leave socket attached to crankshaft bolt, don't ask me how I know). If it doesn't start perhaps you have bent valves and better take it to a mechanic or mechanic friend for a head job. Good Luck

Many thanks to qslim and Edmechanic for the hints. I will try again tomorrow. In the meantime I have other questions:

1. I read that there is a TDC on the compression stroke and a TDC on a exhaust stroke. Will lining up the white mark put the number one piston at TDC of the compression stroke?

1. How do I get the crankshaft pulley off? That is, how do I keep it from turning so I can remove the bolt? Also, how do I keep the number one piston at TDC while wrestling with the job of removing the crankshaft pulley? Seems to me attempts to remove the pulley are likely to turn the crankshaft and move the number one piston from TDC.

Thanks for your help

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Getting the crank pulley can be a bit of a pain, and there are a couple of ways to do this. The first is proper, and is to use a puller. It threads into the pulley bolt hole, fastens around the back of the pulley, and when tightened will slowly pull the crankpulley off. The second and not-so-proper way is to thread the pulley bolt in about

1/2 way or so, and use an air hammer with a blunt attachment to vibrate the bolt while simultaneously pulling on the crank pullley (with your other hand or with the aid of a helper).

"Godfrey Muganda" wrote

$50 electric impact wrench worked for me. Spun the crank bolt right off without altering the pulley position.

BTW, using a round tooth pick to find the groove through the hole in the cam pulley seemed to work better for me than using a light and mirror - still hard to see that small mark precisely.

If you want to do a more complete job, check the idler pulleys for condition, check the oil seals.

Recommend you use a harmonic damper puller - bolts should be 8 mm

Thanks to all you helpful guys out there for taking the time. I think I know how to proceed. Will let you know how it turns out. Probably take me a while 'cause I am new at this and I have to work every day.

Godfrey

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Yeah man, you can do this. Just take your time and think about whats going on. Don't let the machine outsmart you. BTW, if by chance you do move the crank pulley during removal, there is no worry. There are also marks on the crankshaft timing belt sprocket itself, so you can line it up with the pulley off.

Many thanks to the wonderful people who answered my questions. You were great! With the help from my brother-in-law and the suggestions I got from this forum, my 99 Camry is back on the road.

It turned out that the timing belt had not snapped: it had nearly all the teeth abraded off. The water pump sprocket had a crack in it, and it was bent downward. Apparently the damage on the belt was caused by the water pump.

Thanks again for all your help.

G.

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Hellllppp!!! Okay I'm the same way, cept I'm doing a '94. I'm down to the Crank pulley. I have the bolt out, it was no sweat. The book (Haynes) and the local Dealer says use a prybar to get the pulley off. This is not working at all, and I'd feel much better with a proper puller, but I don't know which one to buy (snap-on??). I've already chipped the very inner rim of the pulley a bit (plastic I think) and I can see that its make with rubber between the inner hub and outer hub because it stretches when you pry on it. Any ideas on this puller???

Brad

Steering wheel puller should also work, as long as you can get 8mm bolts for it. I found the damper puller at toolsource.com, and then had the dealer give me some generic 8mm bolts of the correct length. My set up was kind of improvised, with a couple of washers under the head of the bolt so it wouldn't fall through the slot on the puller. Kragen may also have them. For the few times you're going to use this, you probably don't need Snap On quality (and price). A lot of force is not required, only applied properly and evenly. With the correct puller, it came right off, very easily.

Yeah I got a Steering Puller from Napa last night and the proper bolts for it this morning at a different store. With washers this part was a snap. Wish the whole thing was easy... It this time my car is back together and running, but the ignition timing needed 'retarded' a lot and she pings a little bit yet. The dealer says I may be 1-tooth advanced on the cam. I did the whole thing today TWICE by the book, except you cant see thru the cam gear hole very well. Maybe I'll open 'er up again and just retard the cam exactly 1 belt cog and I'll have it. Maybe...

Brad

If you only replaced the timing belt, the ignition timing should be unchanged, actually perfectly restored back to the factory setting when the timing belt was new. Remember, when installing the timing belt, facing the engine, the tension on the belt needs to be on the right side. So pull that side tight when you're checking the belt timing. With the crankshaft turning clockwise, that's where the tension will be with the engine running. May have mentioned this before, but I used a round toothpick through the tiny hole in the camshaft pulley to find the groove on the bearing shell to set the cam timing. Temporarily install the crank pulley so you can use the timing mark, get the tension on the right side of the belt, have that toothpick pointing straight out when centered on the upper timing mark, and you should be just right. Then you'll probably have to reset the distributor to correct the ignition timing.