Remember to change your timing belt!

[white90dx]

Or this might happen to you (yesterday, about 6pm):



Luckily, AAA got my car home and I was able to replace the belt, idler pulleys and tensioner in about 4 hours even with a lunch break today...

And its all fixed (today, about 4pm):



I did figure out that you can pretty easily check for cam alignment with a small allen wrench through the alignment hole to feel for the mark on the head. Much easier than a mirror and light...

Oh, and it was a nice bike ride to the parts store (yes, for about a day, none of my three cars were running).

-Charlie

[blu_91_cam]

Wow 4hrs? I think it would've taken me like 4 days to finish all that. What are the chances that your other 3 cars weren't working either lol. We got to get some pic updates Charlie.

[white90dx]

Its a pretty long story how I got to that point...

Earlier in the winter, I was just starting the motor swap to move the 3s-gte from the FWD '90 to the Alltrac, but then the bearings on the WRX motor went bad. I'm currently waiting on custom pistons for the WRX, and then the timing belt breaks on the Alltrac. I knew I was pushing the timing belt issue, but I just didn't want to put in the extra effort since I'm not planning on using this motor much longer.

For those that actually want to keep their motor for a while, its important to do this before it breaks... its no fun to be on the side of the road. Make sure you replace the water pump, idler pullies and cam/crank seals while you are in there... (of course, I didn't! )

As for doing the timing belt, it was MUCH easier than I thought it would be. Remove accessories, motor mount, crank pully, timing covers, put on belt, replace parts, put the belt on the bottom half of the motor, align and put on the belt on the upper cam, tension, check alignment and re-assemble the rest...

-Charlie

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by white90dx

Or this might happen to you (yesterday, about 6pm):



Luckily, AAA got my car home and I was able to replace the belt, idler pulleys and tensioner in about 4 hours even with a lunch break today...

And its all fixed (today, about 4pm):



I did figure out that you can pretty easily check for cam alignment with a small allen wrench through the alignment hole to feel for the mark on the head. Much easier than a mirror and light...

Oh, and it was a nice bike ride to the parts store (yes, for about a day, none of my three cars were running).

-Charlie

Just curious how many miles were on that timing belt before it broke? also, did you replace the broken belt with another goodyear gatorback belt? I wonder how it compares to the OEM Toyota name brand one.

I finally got around to changing my timing belt and water pump last October 2009. Timing belt (toyota brand) had 175,000 miles on it and the water pump had 165,000 miles on it. I guess I was pressing my luck too. Happened to get them changed before they went kaput.

JOET/CAMRY

[atobe]

biking is healthy

[white90dx]

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

Just curious how many miles were on that timing belt before it broke? also, did you replace the broken belt with another goodyear gatorback belt? I wonder how it compares to the OEM Toyota name brand one.

I finally got around to changing my timing belt and water pump last October 2009. Timing belt (toyota brand) had 175,000 miles on it and the water pump had 165,000 miles on it. I guess I was pressing my luck too. Happened to get them changed before they went kaput.

JOET/CAMRY

The car only has 132k on it, and the Goodyear belt was at least the second belt. I've had the car since 92k miles, and I'm not sure when the last belt change was. I would go with all Toyota OEM parts if you are looking for long life. From what I have seen, pretty much everything lasts twice as long as the normal aftermarket stuff.

As for my repair, I ended going up with the cheap Gates stuff - but I'm not planning on using this motor for more than another 10k miles. It was all in stock at PepBoys and I needed to get my car back up and running. Luckily, I didn't have any leaks under the timing cover...

-Charlie

[fredk]

Good work Chuck

[Doctor J]

It took me 6 hours to do water pump t-belt, rollers and alternator brush repalcement on my frioend's 89 Camry.