99 Camry 2.2 liter timing belt issues/noises

Over the past few weeks I had noticed a rattling sound that seemed to
be coming from the area of the a/c compressor which I thought might be
a bearing getting ready to fail. It seemed to be most noticeable at
startup. I couldn't or didn't hear it when I drove the vehicle. I
stopped at a garage and the mechanic also thought it was the a/c
compressor and didn't think it would hurt to drive the car. Engine
performance did not seem to be affected in anyway. Yesterday, I got in
the Camry, cranked it, then it ran for about ten seconds and died. I
turned the ignition and let the engine turn over a few times, enough to
know it won't start. I bought the car in May 05 with approx 88k miles
on it and maintenance records ffrom the previous owner indicated the
timing belt and water pump had been changed at 66k miles. The car now
has 105k miles on it, another reason I didn't believe the timing belt
was about to give out. Since yesterday, I have been trying to educate
myself and have learned that my 2.2 liter four cylinder engine is
non-interference, reducing the likelihood of serious engine damage.
However, I'm now most concerned about the rattling I heard before the
timing belt failure and what was causing the rattling. Isn't the belt
itself a metal/rubber composition and could the noise have been the
metal separating from the rubber and could that have damaged the
engine? Before I sink money into a black hole, I wanted to determine
whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
if the engine runs, you're ok. If not, you got big problems. Can
anyone shed some light on my situation. Thanks.

"David Mc" <bosco4994@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>...I wanted to determine
> whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
> timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
> if the engine runs, you're ok.[/color]

If the belt is broken or stripped, all that can be done is put a new belt
on, then BEFORE attempting to start, rotate the engine by hand with the
plugs out to check for anything unusual. If it looks OK, start the engine.

The rattling was probably a tensioner bearing giving up. When it did the
belt stopped running true and self destructed. Belts dont usually fray and
split like alternator belts.

SD

first, thanks for the information. one other question(s).....what is a
tensioner bearing? it it's failure serious? could it have caused the
belt to fail? is it a separate repair than the timing belt? tks
again....this will help when I visit the mechanic this morning.

On Oct 23, 7:35 am, "Stewart DIBBS" <s...@pixcl.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> "David Mc" <bosco4...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>[color=green]
> >...I wanted to determine
> > whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
> > timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
> > if the engine runs, you're ok.If the belt is broken or stripped, all that can be done is put a new belt[/color]
> on, then BEFORE attempting to start, rotate the engine by hand with the
> plugs out to check for anything unusual. If it looks OK, start the engine.
>
> The rattling was probably a tensioner bearing giving up. When it did the
> belt stopped running true and self destructed. Belts dont usually fray and
> split like alternator belts.
>
> SD[/color]

On 23 Oct 2006 06:03:58 -0700, "David Mc" <bosco4994@gmail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>first, thanks for the information. one other question(s).....what is a
>tensioner bearing? it it's failure serious? could it have caused the
>belt to fail? is it a separate repair than the timing belt? tks
>again....this will help when I visit the mechanic this morning.[/color]

I am not a mechanic!

As I understand it the tensioner is the device that tensions the
timing belt. It should be part of the process of replacing the timing
belt.

[color=blue]
>
>On Oct 23, 7:35 am, "Stewart DIBBS" <s...@pixcl.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> "David Mc" <bosco4...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>>[color=darkred]
>> >...I wanted to determine
>> > whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
>> > timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
>> > if the engine runs, you're ok.If the belt is broken or stripped, all that can be done is put a new belt[/color]
>> on, then BEFORE attempting to start, rotate the engine by hand with the
>> plugs out to check for anything unusual. If it looks OK, start the engine.
>>
>> The rattling was probably a tensioner bearing giving up. When it did the
>> belt stopped running true and self destructed. Belts dont usually fray and
>> split like alternator belts.
>>
>> SD[/color][/color]

--

Scott in Florida

On 23 Oct 2006 06:03:58 -0700, "David Mc" <bosco4994@gmail.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>first, thanks for the information. one other question(s).....what is a
>tensioner bearing? it it's failure serious? could it have caused the
>belt to fail? is it a separate repair than the timing belt? tks
>again....this will help when I visit the mechanic this morning.[/color]

Here is an article of replacing the timing belt ....

[url]http://autorepair.about.com/cs/doityourself/a/aa051102a_3.htm[/url]

[color=blue]
>
>On Oct 23, 7:35 am, "Stewart DIBBS" <s...@pixcl.com> wrote:[color=green]
>> "David Mc" <bosco4...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>>[color=darkred]
>> >...I wanted to determine
>> > whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
>> > timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
>> > if the engine runs, you're ok.If the belt is broken or stripped, all that can be done is put a new belt[/color]
>> on, then BEFORE attempting to start, rotate the engine by hand with the
>> plugs out to check for anything unusual. If it looks OK, start the engine.
>>
>> The rattling was probably a tensioner bearing giving up. When it did the
>> belt stopped running true and self destructed. Belts dont usually fray and
>> split like alternator belts.
>>
>> SD[/color][/color]

--

Scott in Florida

"David Mc" <bosco4994@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Over the past few weeks I had noticed a rattling sound that seemed to
> be coming from the area of the a/c compressor which I thought might be
> a bearing getting ready to fail. It seemed to be most noticeable at
> startup. I couldn't or didn't hear it when I drove the vehicle. I
> stopped at a garage and the mechanic also thought it was the a/c
> compressor and didn't think it would hurt to drive the car. Engine
> performance did not seem to be affected in anyway. Yesterday, I got in
> the Camry, cranked it, then it ran for about ten seconds and died. I
> turned the ignition and let the engine turn over a few times, enough to
> know it won't start. I bought the car in May 05 with approx 88k miles
> on it and maintenance records ffrom the previous owner indicated the
> timing belt and water pump had been changed at 66k miles. The car now
> has 105k miles on it, another reason I didn't believe the timing belt
> was about to give out. Since yesterday, I have been trying to educate
> myself and have learned that my 2.2 liter four cylinder engine is
> non-interference, reducing the likelihood of serious engine damage.
> However, I'm now most concerned about the rattling I heard before the
> timing belt failure and what was causing the rattling. Isn't the belt
> itself a metal/rubber composition and could the noise have been the
> metal separating from the rubber and could that have damaged the
> engine? Before I sink money into a black hole, I wanted to determine
> whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
> timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
> if the engine runs, you're ok. If not, you got big problems. Can
> anyone shed some light on my situation. Thanks.
>[/color]

The advice posted so far from everyone is good. When you were cranking the
engine, did it turn over unusually fast? If so, that is an indication that
the timing belt is broken.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray,

yes, the engine did turn over unusually fast. I'm virtually certain
the timing belt is broken. Just got to line up the repair now. The
responses to my post are very helpful and very much appreciated.

David

On Oct 23, 11:48 am, "Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote:[color=blue]
> "David Mc" <bosco4...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:1161601306.394821.83390@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>[color=green]
> > Over the past few weeks I had noticed a rattling sound that seemed to
> > be coming from the area of the a/c compressor which I thought might be
> > a bearing getting ready to fail. It seemed to be most noticeable at
> > startup. I couldn't or didn't hear it when I drove the vehicle. I
> > stopped at a garage and the mechanic also thought it was the a/c
> > compressor and didn't think it would hurt to drive the car. Engine
> > performance did not seem to be affected in anyway. Yesterday, I got in
> > the Camry, cranked it, then it ran for about ten seconds and died. I
> > turned the ignition and let the engine turn over a few times, enough to
> > know it won't start. I bought the car in May 05 with approx 88k miles
> > on it and maintenance records ffrom the previous owner indicated the
> > timing belt and water pump had been changed at 66k miles. The car now
> > has 105k miles on it, another reason I didn't believe the timing belt
> > was about to give out. Since yesterday, I have been trying to educate
> > myself and have learned that my 2.2 liter four cylinder engine is
> > non-interference, reducing the likelihood of serious engine damage.
> > However, I'm now most concerned about the rattling I heard before the
> > timing belt failure and what was causing the rattling. Isn't the belt
> > itself a metal/rubber composition and could the noise have been the
> > metal separating from the rubber and could that have damaged the
> > engine? Before I sink money into a black hole, I wanted to determine
> > whether a mechanic can detect any engine damage before replacing the
> > timing belt? My brother in law says usually they install a belt. Then
> > if the engine runs, you're ok. If not, you got big problems. Can
> > anyone shed some light on my situation. Thanks.The advice posted so far from everyone is good. When you were cranking the[/color]
> engine, did it turn over unusually fast? If so, that is an indication that
> the timing belt is broken.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]