Easy way to verify timing belt failure

95 Toyota Camry XLE 4 cyl auto 105,000mi.

timing belt has never been changed I know it is past due.

This morning the car cranks fine but fails to start. Luckily it is in my driveway.

Is there an easy way to verify that the problem is the timing belt?

A belt relacement is too big of a job for me so I will need a tow.

Before I do that, I want to verify that it is indeed the belt. What is the easiest way for a low level backyard mechanic like myself to do that?

thanks Mark

Reply to
Mark
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It will sound like it's cranking faster than usual. I guess you could pull a spark plug and try and feel for compression. Of course, you could always pull the cover and see what's not going on in there. jor

Reply to
jor

If your no start condition started suddenly, it could be a broken belt or a belt with the teeth sheared off in a spot. If the belt is worn, not broken / damaged, it will probably start and run, perhaps badly though. It probably is not but, I'm not sure if your motor is a "crasher" motor that will damage the valve train if not in the correct position to not interfere with the pistons when you either try to start it or if it broke while running. If it is, you've probably damaged it already. Check for compression, or remove the valve cover to verify valve train movement. An easy way to check basic compression is to hold your hand over the end of the tail pipe while another person engages the starter to turn the motor over. You should feel pulsating air pressure. If you do need a belt Mark, check around for pricing, and I would strongly suggest that a Toyota dealership do the job. Guaranteed work, OEM parts, and I've noticed that sometimes they will offer a coupon for timing belt replacement at a substantially reduced rate. This is a very common repair and they do this all the time, go with experience. IMHO.

Reply to
user

Take the belt cover off the front of the engine & see if there is still a belt there.

I.

Reply to
Iain Miller

Thanks for the ideas.. there IS air pressure at the tail pipe when cranking and I appear to have no spark...

So I'll be looking for an ignition problem instead...

and I probably can handle that myself...

I had always heard that when the timing belt goes, the engine cranks really fast and easy and it didn't seem to be any different then normal, so looks like not a timing belt after all..

thanks again I'll let you know what it was when I get er done...

Mark

Reply to
Mark

When is timing belt replacement due for your vehicle?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

You may also check for fuel pump failure. On my Dad's Sentra, it failed with only 70K miles

Reply to
EdV

Nobody has mentioned the glaringly obvious - pop off the distributor cap, have someone crank over the engine, and see if the rotor turns. If yours is one of the vast majority of engines where the camshaft turns the distributor that's a rather reliable check for the timing belt at least being there and operable.

Won't work on the last few years cars fitted with distributorless ignition systems, but nothing's perfekt.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

But...that's a Nissan!

Reply to
Hachiroku

I'm surprised there's still no repsonse to my last question? Well, as a service to the readers of this newsgroup (especially the newcomers), I'd like to remind them that Hachiroku is a convict (a convicted criminal).

We still don't know the true nature of his crime--he likes to pretend it was software related, yet he spent a full year-and-a-half in prison--not jail but prison.

Please keep that in mind when you may decide to follow his advice.

One can never be too cautious.

Reply to
Built_Well

I have the 4 cylinder 2.2 liter 5S-FE. The belt was due to be replaced at 80,000, yes i know its way overdue..

Are you saying the distributor is driven by the camshaft in this engine. So that fact that I have no spark could be due to a broken timing belt...is this correct?

I DO get air pressure at the exhaust pipe when cranking, would that be able to happen with a broken belt?

I'll pull the distributor cap tomorrow and see if it turns.

My question for now is... Is the distributor driven by the camshaft in this engine?

thanks Mark

Reply to
Mark

BW, you seem awfully interested in child molesters (and doing a lot of research into members' posts on the subject, and awfully interested in Hachiroku's alleged time in the Greybar Hotel. Even if this were true, what possible interest can this be to you? And since when is a "convicted criminal" 's advice not to be trusted because he once served some time? I find Ray O's advice (and his vast experience) to be stirling...and it wouldn't matter to me a whole lot if he had been convicted of being an axe murderer. It's still the best advice around. I'll bet you've seen Clark Gable in many movies (or at least one, Gone with the Wind.) Would it make a great deal of difference to you that he was once guilty of running down and killing a pedestrian while drunk? Would you boycott his pictures?

Reply to
mack

I did have one fuel pump go after parking my car for over a year and having the seals all dry out.

Reply to
Hachiroku

I've made no effort to keep it a secret.

You like to pretend you actually know something.

Go pound sand up your ass?

Yeah, true. I'm going to reach through the Internet and throttle you to within an inch of your life.

Reply to
Hachiroku

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Is that right? This guy's too funny.

Reply to
Built_Well

We have 153k miles on the Corolla and it's never failed.

Reply to
Moon Goddess

If your car has a distributor, it is driven by the camshaft, which is driven by the timing belt. So, if the distributor rotor is not turning, then a broken timing belt is the likely suspect.

If the distributor rotor is turning, check the coil and igniter. Here is a link to on-line manuals:

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Reply to
Ray O

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

FYI, I've never murdered an axe ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

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Yep, Ray knows his stuff. And he's a good man.

Reply to
Built_Well

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