Timing Belt and other questions

[Eleximp]

Hey all,
Since I have been home for a little while I have been replacing a few things on my mom's 98 Camry I4 but have ran across another few questions...

I found a DIY on the Timing Belt but didn't see what the suggested mileage was for changing it. I figure its 60k but just making sure.

Also, I DO need to change a serpentine belt and I am wondering if there are any special tricks to this (I've had to fabricate my own tools to change it on my Saab, so just checking before I dive in to change it)

And another unrelated question is that when I drive the camry for more than 20 minutes, I smell burning rubber near the engine compartment. The car behaves normally and there are no other red flags, but has anybody ever experienced this before?

Thank You! This board has been a big help!
-Steve

[zythr]

Hi I believe the replacement for the timing belt is longer than 60,000 miles, but kudos to you for doing it earlier, better safe than sorry. Regarding the serpentine belt, I don't know of any special tricks or techniques regarding changing it.

Regarding the burning rubber smell, if could be an oil leak, or even the serpentine belt, or something kicked up from the road that is burning on the exhaust or manifold. Sorry I could not be more help.

[Mike Gerber]

1. The recommended timing belt replacement interval for the 98 Camry was 90,000 miles.

2. You don't have a serpentine belt. A serpentine belt is where one belt drives everything external to the engine. It goes over a lot of different pulleys to do this. You have 2 separate belts on the outside of the engine to drive things.

3. Like zythr suggested, the most likely cause of the smell is an oil leak. Oil leaking on a hot exhaust part will give you a smell like that. Look carefullly under the hood and try to find a leak.

Mike

[Eleximp]

Thank you for your help!

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

2. You don't have a serpentine belt. A serpentine belt is where one belt drives everything external to the engine. It goes over a lot of different pulleys to do this. You have 2 separate belts on the outside of the engine to drive things.
Mike

Wow, I have to stop letting my mom take her car to a mechanic. I looked at the "recommended items to replace" and it said Serpentine belt so I figured I would give it a go instead. The mechanic might mean these two separate belts then so I will probably just end up replacing those.

[JohnGD]

5 years/60K miles the engine will perform better. The belt is likely stretched a bit by then. These engines do NOT have automatic tensioners to pick up the slack. So it's good to change it earlier.

Basically a complete timing job would involve replacing the following. Some insist on OEM parts and you can also buy them cheap online.

The serpentine belt is a common design. However, on the I4 it's still quite primitive. You'll turn a jack screw to adjust tension on the alternator, and use a pry bar on the PS pump.

I do recommend getting a Krik-it II belt tension gauge, about $20 on Amazon. The rest you can read in the DIY section.


(old list form www.rockauto.com prices for 3/5SFE)
GATES TCK199 (kit of timing belt with two pulleys and instruction)
$84.79
GATES Part # K030295 PS belt $4.32
GATES Part # K050435 Alt/AC $12.12
FEL-PRO TCS45641 Cam seal $4.11
FEL-PRO TCS45920 Crank seal $6.04
BCA Part # 221820 Oil pump seal $2.71
AISIN (Toyota #16110-79185) water pump $58.79
FEL-PRO VS50304R valve cover gasket set $13.94

You might want to add a Toyota thermostat, coolant hoses and Toyota Red coolant/distilled water.

Originally Posted by Eleximp

Hey all,
Since I have been home for a little while I have been replacing a few things on my mom's 98 Camry I4 but have ran across another few questions...

I found a DIY on the Timing Belt but didn't see what the suggested mileage was for changing it. I figure its 60k but just making sure.

Also, I DO need to change a serpentine belt and I am wondering if there are any special tricks to this (I've had to fabricate my own tools to change it on my Saab, so just checking before I dive in to change it)

And another unrelated question is that when I drive the camry for more than 20 minutes, I smell burning rubber near the engine compartment. The car behaves normally and there are no other red flags, but has anybody ever experienced this before?

Thank You! This board has been a big help!
-Steve