Miles on Tundras

Well on my way. Just rolled 33k on my 2003... bought it in November.

Don't forget to change the timing belt at 90k.

--- Rich

Of course it is. Toyota was thoughful enough to give you two extra cylinders :)

--- Rich

My 2000 V8, 4WD, Access Cab just turned 37,000.

Skip

It started at about 55,000 miles. It began by shifting a little stiff into overdrive. Not all the time, just once in a while. My mechanic noticed after he test drove it for new tires. It seemed to run fine. Then at

59,000 miles I came to a stop at a traffic light and went to go and nothing. The engine stalled. I restarted and put it into gear 3-4 times, resulting in a stall. Then I got a little upset, revvedd the engine a bit, and dropped it in gear and it took off and functioned fine for another 2-3000 miles. Then the big day. I was going down the highway, about 70'sh and kabumy/klunk, and nothing but the rev of the engine. I did a bunch of research including posts to this group. I found some other trans. failures very similar but very, very few. The warranty I received from the dealer supplied me with a trans. but not the labor. It has run excellent in everyother way. And the trans. has been fine, too. I figure I may still get the 250,000 miles I got out of my 1st. toy. truck. I believe the failure is one of those % things. It is a very sifisticated trans., according to my mechanic. I havn't lost faith, yet. Toyotas have always been good to me. I have put motors and trans in the many ford and chevy products I have had in the past.

Good luck,

Oh yeah, sophisticated. Not very, huh? My truck is a 2000 tundra, 4x4, x-tra cab with a v-8 and an OD auto trans.

Dennis I remember when you were going through this. I am very glad that Toyota at leaste helped you with the cost of the replacement. Mine was still in complete coverage when it failed. I am also very pleased with the performance since. Might be a oversensative imagination but this tranny seems smoother all around. I got a sneak at the factory invoice for the replacement tranny and it was 2700 something. That would have hurt out of pocket.

WF

Aw, c'mon. Ford did it back in the mid 60s for the SOHC 427, and those motors were running a *lot* more valve spring tension than my Tundra, 'cause it was for racing. That makes it _old_ technology IMO.

Tom S

You said it yourself: SOHC

Try it with a DOHC. Just sketch it out yourself on paper.

----------------------------------------------------- "Conservative wisdom and principles are derived from willingness to learn, not just from what is going on now, but from what has happened before." - R. Reagan

Toyota's 4.7L V-8 *IS* an interference engine. If the timing belt breaks, the engine is trash.

Ken

A small number of people have reported automatic transmission failures. The problem seems to be in the overdrive section.

Don't tow in overdrive. Do change your ATF regularly. I suggest a complete ATF flush every 30,000 miles, and I install an external ATF filter, about $25, in the cooler lines. If you don't do complete ATF flushes, at least drain and refill the transmission sump, about 4 quarts, maybe @ 15,000 miles, maybe sooner. Some folks use synthetic ATF...I do, and I send a sample to a lab @ the first 30k on that ATF and @ 15k thereafter for analysis so they tell me when to change it and I save the money I would have spent on flushes before the ATF is depleted.

As always, flush and renew your coolant and brake fluid every two years.

Ken

Not too sure about that.

Those were 16-valve engines, so the TWO camshafts were pushing 8 valves each.

We have four camshafts pushing 8 valves each, but spring tension isn't the issue... if it were then chain would be far preferable.

Nahh.... Lubrication, room, and noise are all concerns. Remember that the Iforce was not designed for the Tundra, it was designed for Lexus.... the noise of a chain would be a serious detriment, and I don't think we'd be willing to foot the bill for a new design just for Tundra/Sequoia/4-Runner.

If the Avalon were to get an 8, it would probably get the same engine as the Lexus and not the truck version.

--- Rich

It actually wouldn't LOOK much different. Remember, our belt only directly drives the two intake camshafts... the exhaust camshafts are gear-driven off of the intakes.

That's one reason that Mobil-1 is a good idea, and sticking to frequent oil changes is a good idea... there's a lot of shear stress on our oil in those gears.

--- Rich

Precisely my point.

Agreed.

----------------------------------------------------- "Conservative wisdom and principles are derived from willingness to learn, not just from what is going on now, but from what has happened before." - R. Reagan

And you know that was a unique setup, very few Galaxie/Fairlane "cammers" were built at all. As for valve spring pressure, the Tundra has much less with its smaller 4 valve per cylinder setup.

WF, that was just for the tranny I bet.

OK, Ford did that too in the mid 1960s. Remember the 255 cubic inch DOHC Indy cars? I _think_ that was all gear driven, but I could be mistaken about that.

Tom S

Which should make it _easier_ to design a chain drive for, right?

Just because Ford didn't build very many of those motors doesn't mean the design wasn't valid. Some of those old cammers are still in service, and hauling _ass_!

Of course a chain drive would be more expensive than a belt drive, but I'd rather spend a few hundred extra $$ at the outset than have to worry about replacing the timing belt(s) before they snap (at the worst possible moment, of course).

I tend to keep my vehicles a long time. Owning a Toyota has gotten me used to that concept. I take good care of my vehicle, and I don't want to have to tear into the motor that frequently.

Bottom line: Timing belts _suck_! :^P

Tom S

Gear driven would probably be more doable than chain driven, or perhaps a combination of the two, but gear driven would be extremely noisy... worse than chain.

--- Rich

So, all in all, Toyota made the best possible choice.

Except for the interference part.

----------------------------------------------------- "Conservative wisdom and principles are derived from willingness to learn, not just from what is going on now, but from what has happened before." - R. Reagan