Anyone replaced their own timing belt on an Avalon?
My Brother has a 98 Avalon. It has 250,000 miles and has NEVER had the timing belt changed. He's broke and can't afford to have it done. So I'm going to do it for him. I've never done it before. The belt looks easier to get at than other cars I've seen. Anyone done this on an Avalon and what are the procedures? Thanks!
Go to this Camry forum. They have Factory Service Manuals for Camry's which include your engine and will give you exact and perfect instructions. Which engine do you have? I did my 99 Avalon last year. I can help you if you have the same engine (1MZFE).
Great link. Thanks. Has anyone used the Timing Belt kit from timingbeltkit.com?? Is this stuff worth the money? Don't want to install junk and do it again in 25k. Kit looks like it's cheap (worth the money for all the parts). Thanks for any help. Working on 97 Avalon by the way.
Great link. Thanks. Has anyone used the Timing Belt kit from timingbeltkit.com?? Is this stuff worth the money? Don't want to install junk and do it again in 25k. Kit looks like it's cheap (worth the money for all the parts). Thanks for any help. Working on 97 Avalon by the way.
Buy new GMB or Koyo idler & tensioner bearings. They are both OEM suppliers and you can get these pretty cheap at almost any on-line discount shop. I would buy a Toyota TB. Can get one for $35 or so. Another approach is to buy a kit from Gates. It will probably have GMB bearings. Also, Gates now owns Uttica in Japan who used to be an OEM supplier to Toyota. The Gates belt probably won't come from the Gates-Uttica factory but it will be an excellent belt complete with timing marks.
Just finished the job. For this engine, it is a major procedure that requires removing the entire intake plenum and both valve covers. You have to remove the rear timing belt cover to remove the old water pump, thus you must remove the cam sprockets and the only way to do so is by removing the valve covers to be able to hold the camshaft with a wrench. Thus you also have to buy new valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals.
I had to build a tool to hold the crank pulley still while using a huge torque wrench to loosen the large bolt.
All told it was a 2 day solid job. I've heard that dealerships take as long as 10 hours to do the job. So its probably worth saving the money to do it yourself, but I should also say that you might need to be a tad mechanically inclined
Just finished the job. For this engine, it is a major procedure that requires removing the entire intake plenum and both valve covers. You have to remove the rear timing belt cover to remove the old water pump, thus you must remove the cam sprockets and the only way to do so is by removing the valve covers to be able to hold the camshaft with a wrench. Thus you also have to buy new valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals.
I had to build a tool to hold the crank pulley still while using a huge torque wrench to loosen the large bolt.
All told it was a 2 day solid job. I've heard that dealerships take as long as 10 hours to do the job. So its probably worth saving the money to do it yourself, but I should also say that you might need to be a tad mechanically inclined
I cut away some of the No 3 TB cover so I could remove WP without having to remove No. 3 TB cover. I sealed the gap with red Hi-temp RTV - it worked great. I have also removed valve cover to inspect for sludge and reused valve cover gasket and SP seals without problems. However, I understand why you installed new ones and probably would have myself if I had been in the mode to do so.
PS Please describe the tool you made to hold cam pulleys. Thanks.
It will take us much less time to do the job next time. Simply put, we did not have the expertise to do the job as this is my first timing belt job. I had to fabricate the tool to bolt to the crank pulley. That took a few hours. Secondly, we didn't have a large enough breaker bar or a sufficient torque wrench. We also did not have any of the gaskets. So a lot of time was spent driving around getting tools and parts.
Secondly, we screwed up a lot. We wound up getting the cam sprockets all out of whack. Since we are noobies, we spent a long time figuring out how to reset everything. I also did not understand how the marks on the new belt worked. Took a long time to "discover" that the solid lines line up with the cam sprocket marks and the dotted one with the crank pulley. That and it has to go on one way or it won't work at all. We kept putting the belt on and then the tensioner only to find that the sprockets and crank pulley had moved and were out of whack again. We seriously spent 2-3 hours fiddling with this until we had one of those DUH moments. Now I understand that the marks are there so that when you put the tensioner back on, the exact amount of slack is between each sprocket to keep them in the exact position once tension is applied.
Lastly the car has 260,000 miles and since it has had a kind of hard life with "occasional" oil changes, I wanted to see if the engine was sludged up. I know these 90's Toyota V6 engines are notorious for sludging. Surprisingly the undersides of the valve covers and the cam area was squeaky-clean. Also- the old gaskets were hard and brittle. We had to replace them because the rear cover was leaking lots of oil.
Anyway, my Brother has been driving it for a week. It runs smooth as butter, has stopped leaking oil, gets better fuel economy ( we cleaned the intake system) and doesn't use a drop of oil. Amazing for a car with this many miles. I also assume that we'll never have to change the belt again since by then the car will ahve what?- like 350,000 miles?
Looking for some clarification on timing belt kits
Have a 99 Avalon with the 1MZFE engine. Looking to replace timing belt as part of 90K service recommendation. Service manuals are a HUGE help. Thanks for posting that link. That will make the job doable for me.
My question now is on the timing belt kits. When I shop online for kits - looking mainly at Gates brand based on recommendation in this thread - I see mutliple "fits" for the car.
In particular, there are 2 Gates kits that are $100 different in price that look to be the same to me so I'm a bit confused.
There is Gates Part: TCK257 which is around $100. It says it does not include the cam. tensioner hyd assy. The picture shows the belt and one pully.
Then there is Gates W0133-1788026. This one is over $200. This one says it has the Belt, Idler, and Tensioner/Brng but it says it does not have the hydrolic tensioner.
I'm assuming the pulleys are what the service manual refers to as Idler Pulley 1 and Idler Pulley 2. One of them has a flange to the side and the other seems to bolt through the center. They don't look the same on the pictures though but I know pictures for autoparts are not reliable.
The same kit with both pulleys is listed from Contitech as well for only $98. That's the same parts for about $120 less than the Gates. It the quality really that much different or is there something else that I'm missing.
There's also an AISIN kit that comes with both KOYO pulleys and a Mitsubishi belt and also a Water Pump and gasket for the same price as the Gates kit with 2 pulleys and no water pump.
I'm really confused as to what to get and it seems that the wrong decision could easily cost me over $100 so hoping for some guidance.
Also, one last question. Would everyone out there replace the water pump, crank and cam seals, and hydrolic tensioner regardless while in there or save the money and only do the belt? The service manual indicates that the other parts can just be inspected and reused but if the water pump or seals were going to need replacing at 100K anyway or something - might as well do them right?
I'm asking because I'm not sure I have all the seal removal tools that I would need and don't want to risk having my car tore apart with no way to reassemble it for weeks because I can't get a seal back in or something.
Have a 99 Avalon with the 1MZFE engine. Looking to replace timing belt as part of 90K service recommendation. Service manuals are a HUGE help. Thanks for posting that link. That will make the job doable for me.
My question now is on the timing belt kits. When I shop online for kits - looking mainly at Gates brand based on recommendation in this thread - I see mutliple "fits" for the car.
In particular, there are 2 Gates kits that are $100 different in price that look to be the same to me so I'm a bit confused.
There is Gates Part: TCK257 which is around $100. It says it does not include the cam. tensioner hyd assy. The picture shows the belt and one pully.
Then there is Gates W0133-1788026. This one is over $200. This one says it has the Belt, Idler, and Tensioner/Brng but it says it does not have the hydrolic tensioner.
I'm assuming the pulleys are what the service manual refers to as Idler Pulley 1 and Idler Pulley 2. One of them has a flange to the side and the other seems to bolt through the center. They don't look the same on the pictures though but I know pictures for autoparts are not reliable.
The same kit with both pulleys is listed from Contitech as well for only $98. That's the same parts for about $120 less than the Gates. It the quality really that much different or is there something else that I'm missing.
There's also an AISIN kit that comes with both KOYO pulleys and a Mitsubishi belt and also a Water Pump and gasket for the same price as the Gates kit with 2 pulleys and no water pump.
I'm really confused as to what to get and it seems that the wrong decision could easily cost me over $100 so hoping for some guidance.
Also, one last question. Would everyone out there replace the water pump, crank and cam seals, and hydrolic tensioner regardless while in there or save the money and only do the belt? The service manual indicates that the other parts can just be inspected and reused but if the water pump or seals were going to need replacing at 100K anyway or something - might as well do them right?
I'm asking because I'm not sure I have all the seal removal tools that I would need and don't want to risk having my car tore apart with no way to reassemble it for weeks because I can't get a seal back in or something.
Thanks for the help.
Kevin
Gates TCK 257 is the right kit. It includes a Gates TB and probably GMB idler and tensioner bearings (aka pulleys). You can buy this kit for around $70. TCK 257 is the Gates factory number. The Gates W0133-1788026 kit is exactly the same as TCK 257. It is just marked-up by the reseller. W0133-1788026 is the reseller's part number, probably assigned by Gates. The Aisin kit is OEM containing the the same parts originally installed by Toyota at the factory. It is a great price IF you need to replace the WP. I've never bought OEM parts from an on-line reseller because I don't trust them but the one you are looking at may be legit.
Replacing parts as a preventative measure is a highly personal decision which depends alot on whether you will do the work yourself or have to pay someone else to do it. My Avalon WP was sticking a little at 87k miles so I replaced it. However, my case is highly unusual. The norm would be to replace the WP at 180k when you install your second TB. So, I would say if your WP turns smoothly (no noise or sticking) and there isn't any evidence of a leak, save your money. Regarding the hydraulic tensioner, I can say with almost complete certainty that you do not need to replace it. Finally, I would not replace the crank/cam shaft seals unless they are leaking.
Thanks for the great and very quick response artbuc! This is exactly the explanation I was looking for.
My mechanic (I sometimes use him for big jobs when I don't have the time) always replaces the WP and Thermostat on a TB job. His philosophy is to do it while you are in there since it's tore down already anyway. He sometimes recommends the seals as well - again since your in there anyway.
If I'm doing this myself - which I plan to - I figure I can take it apart again later if I need to so I tend to agree with you. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thanks again for the quick response. I'll start the search for a gates kit tonight.
Depends on the cost of the water pump, but, if its less than 50$, I would do it while the thing was all apart.
Crank and cam seal only if leaking, or, you know they haven't been done and you are on your 3rd belt (high mileage).
Like any tb job, its usually a pretty full day in the garage.
C
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A very confused driveway...wife with a bmw z4 for the summer, and avalon (97) in the winter. Son with a honda, girlfriend with a toyota. I am a confirmed VW tdi guy, with an old vette for summer fun. I just get to fix them all
Trust me I do this for a living. You are wasting your time if you do not replace the following: cam seals, crank seal, both idler bearings, water pump, timing belt tensioner, and drive belts. that puts everything on the front of the engine ready to go another 100,000 miles. The timing belt itself rarely fails. It is usually a bad water pump, or failing bearing that seizes and causes the belt to fail. Oil leaking from cam and crank seals can damage the belt to the point of failure but, it is usually the water pump bearings that goes bad and cause the belt to fail. Use good parts. It is not necessary to remove the valve covers to hold the cams to remove the cam pulleys. The cam pulleys can be held with a spanner or, chian drive vice-grip if you are careful. However, it you want to go the extra mile, now would be a good time ro replace the valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and spark plugs. Mnimal or limited mechanical ability/skills could result in having to pay someone big bucks to fix screw-ups trying to do this job.
Trust me I do this for a living. You are wasting your time if you do not replace the following: cam seals, crank seal, both idler bearings, water pump, timing belt tensioner, and drive belts. that puts everything on the front of the engine ready to go another 100,000 miles. The timing belt itself rarely fails. It is usually a bad water pump, or failing bearing that seizes and causes the belt to fail. Oil leaking from cam and crank seals can damage the belt to the point of failure but, it is usually the water pump bearings that goes bad and cause the belt to fail. Use good parts. It is not necessary to remove the valve covers to hold the cams to remove the cam pulleys. The cam pulleys can be held with a spanner or, chian drive vice-grip if you are careful. However, it you want to go the extra mile, now would be a good time ro replace the valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and spark plugs. Mnimal or limited mechanical ability/skills could result in having to pay someone big bucks to fix screw-ups trying to do this job.
"You are wasting your time" is a pretty strong statement. Are you saying that it is a 100% lock that your WP, cam/crank seals and/or pulley bearings will fail before the 2nd TB change?
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