Repairs on Gen5 Camrys

[musashi]

I have a Gen5 (2002 J-vin) Camry with 114,000 miles on it and am now getting to feel the luxury of repairs. My list includes:
Drive Belt: 98,000 miles
Catalytic convertor: 102,000 miles
Drive belt tensioner and new belt (roller siezed and took the new belt with it): 114,000 miles
This is above the typical preventative maintenance. Now it seems I will need new CV boots or front axles for the car shortly. The dealership wants me to replace the front axles and not just the boot, but how reliable are those joints to begin with? Would the whole axle be a necessity?
I was interested if anyone else has an older Gen5 to compare with. I know my car was a rental car for 33,000 of those miles, I know the time as a rental car added to the wear on the vehicle to the point that it seems everything is going out in a short period. I cannot complain because I had not done anything until the drive belt went the first time. I love the car and want to keep it for a very long time, can anyone vouch for the durability of the rest of the car, as soon as I finish the rest of these repairs?
Also any thoughts on the CV boot or the whole axle. The holes in the boots are near the top of the current boot, drivers side being very small but the passenger side is nearly half of the boot.
I am just curious what I can expect to fault after these repairs, I know the brakes may be next, because I haven't changed them at all, but what else? Perhaps Gen5 owners can list all their major repairs for a comparison.

[musashi]

Forgot to mention it was an I4.

No thoughts yet by anyone?

[kn38ms]

Also include:

New plugs
Adjust/ Check valve shim clearance
Flush all fluids
Check/ repack wheel bearings

You should be good for another 100K miles for about $2000 worth of service

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

Mine has 142,000km (not miles) Only thing that has gone on it was the EGR Valve. And the rear-brakes seized...

I'm getting the Timing Belt and water pump done in the spring.

[musashi]

Thanks for the help and thoughts. I did the conversion for from kilometers to miles and you are at about 88,000. Mine was still runnning great at that time and I wish you the best of luck with yours. As for the list from kn38ms, I appreciate all your thought for that list and will keep it handy as I can afford those repairs. Thanks a lot guys.

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

thanks for the conversion! You could get a dealer to check the car over and give you list of what needs to be done or recommended to be done before you make any decisions.

[lee@foxgroup.or]

This doesn't seem too bad at all. A drive belt every 100k or so is really pretty remarkable. The fact the pulley went is no big deal. Maybe we should change that with the belt from now on. The CV joints can be rebuilt individually or the axle with both joints can be changed. This requires far less labor time for the dealer and less cost to you. The old axle is sent back to be professionally rebuilt for the next guy.

[toyomoho]

If the CV boots are torn or broken dirt will often get in and the grease will come out. The result is sooner or later CV joint failure on the joint with the damaged boot. Unless the replacement boot is of split design (not recommended) replacing a boot takes as much time as installing a new axle. Plus the joint may already be damaged or contaminated and will fail anyway.

As these cars age various issues pop up such as worn rubber bushings, coolant hoses, cracked radiators (tops and bottom are plastic), etc. Several TN threads have covered the issues of what start to fail as these cars age.

One thing you can do is conduct preventive maintenance. If an automatic trans change the fluid every 30K miles and the differential every say 60-90K. If the fluid is dark when the brake job is done have them bleed out the old fluid and install new, over time brake fluid absorbs water and can cause corrosion in the brake system.

If you have power steering, remove the fluid from the reservoir using something like a turkey baster (make sure it fits into the hole) and refill with new. After a few changes over a short mileage the fluid will be clean again.