Car Dead - Timing Belt Ripped to Shreds

[corollamax]

Folks,

I need your help with my 4 cyl 1999 camry. The Timing belt tore to shreds while I was driving so I had it towed back and replaced it today. After replacing the timing belt, the car will turn but will not start. I checked all the spark plugs and wires and they all ignite. I'm sure the fuel pump is working because I could here it and it smells of gasoline under the hood which resulted from the many starting attempts.

I aligned the "O"/zero to the Crankshaft pully and the dot/dimple on the camshaft pulley bearing. There's also after indentation on the camshaft pulley bearing which is more of an indented slot. Should I align the camshaft pulley to the dot/dimple or the indented slot?

Since it doesn't start w/the dot/dimple, should I try the indented slot?

Thanks for your help folks.

[corollamax]

Thanks for your reply DC. Just to confirm take a look at the pictures in this thread:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t181317.html

The folks in this thread aligned it to the "notch" which is the one at 12 O'clock. Currently, I have my engine with the marking at around 10 O'clock and it won't start.

Thanks again.

[toyomoho]

In the TN photo the cam pulley needs to be rotated until the hole is at the top. You should be able to look through the hole and see the “V” or notch at the top of the cam bearing. The crank should be at 0-degrees on the No 1 cylinder compression stroke.

Once the belt is installed, rotate the engine 2-times clockwise to make sure the cam/crank timing is still the same. It is possible when the tensioner is released to have belt slack move the cam pulley off by one tooth. You want to make absolutely sure the timing is correct before buttoning up the engine.

[Kep]

Did you determine what caused the belt to rip up in shreds? That seems a little more intense than the belt just breaking.

Kep

[xtremeskier97]

Originally Posted by Kep

Did you determine what caused the belt to rip up in shreds? That seems a little more intense than the belt just breaking.

Kep

Well..if you are going at highway speeds...and it breaks...wouldnt it get tossed about and ran through the gears in there and result in a shredded belt? Not sure..just asking..as Ive never had a timing belt break before..nor have I ever replaced one.....yet.

[corollamax]

Well, it never dawned on me even when I heard a flap/slapping noise while the car idled. It was making the flap/slapping noise for about 1.5 months but I ignored it until it stalled while going about 30 mph. I guess the belt was just getting old because there are other small tears on the belt.

[ihartmacz]

Yeah, most likely your timing is off.

Be glad that the 5S-FE is non-interference! This means that skipping belt change intervals is A-OKAY!

Be sure that the Crank is at TDC for cyl 1 is on the compression stroke and rotate the cam so that all four valves on Cylinder 1 are closed. Then reinstall the belt. The for-sure way to do this is to take the valve-cover off and examine the valves while shining a light down the spark plug hole to see when the piston reached the top of the bore.

[camryvibe]

Originally Posted by ihartmacz

Be glad that the 5S-FE is non-interference! This means that skipping belt change intervals is A-OKAY!

Of course it'll still leave you stranded and it might be someplace where you'd rather not be.
I knew I was pushing my luck well before the belt broke on our '97 Camry I-4, but was somewhat surprised when I looked through the owners manual later to find that there was no recommended maintenance interval for the timing belt. It did mention that vehicles in commercial service that involved lots of time with the engine idling (taxi or police use) should have the belt changed every 60,000 miles but said that this isn't necessary in normal use. And the schedule went out to 120,000 miles in detail and then indicated what intervals to follow past that - no mention of tbelt replacement for typical use.

Based on my experience, 144,000 miles would have been just right, but trying to get to 145,000 was a little too far. You may want to be a little more conservative than that to be on the safe side.

[corollamax]

Thanks a whole bunch guys. I lined up the timing for the camshaft at around 12 o'clock @ the notch and not the dot / dimple and everything started up. It was a bit choppy after starting but I was able to back the camshaft gear 1 tooth and everything sounds good. Thanks again guys.