[geoff5093]

Hey everyone, im new to this forum so im not sure what type of info you may need.

First off, I have a 1994 Camry XLE V6 Auto.

Heres a quick background on what happened. I was getting on the onramp to the highway, i was going around 65mph accelerating fairly fast (not flooring it), and all of a sudden it stopped accelerating and the RPM's started to drop. It sounded as though my car was just coasting, but all my electronics and stereo were on. I slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder, meanwhile as my speed decreased, so did my RPM's, and once they hit around 2-300, all the engine lights came on and it came to a stop.

Now I had it towed to the Toyota dealer, and they said that it needed a new timing belt, drive belt, and water pump. The price they gave me was high, so I bought it to a local garage. They also said that the timing belt was the issue, and that it had wrapt around the crankshaft.

Now I've been asking people on another forum, and they said that if the timing belt caused the problem, then the valvetrain could very well have gotten messed up as well. They also said that if my car has an interference engine, then it most likely is damaged.

So does anyone know if this engine does have an interference engine, or what you think the problem is exactly?

 

[Aussie_Camry]

^

Not sure what engine you have, but both the 3VZ and 1MZ are non-intereference, so I dont think there would be any internal damage. Just get the timing belt changed and while they have everything apart, the water pump as well.

 

[acitydweller]

Timing belt for our cars usually runs around $500 ish for all the parts you mentioned.

 

[toyomoho]

You timing belt broke and the engine died. Have someone install a new belt. And whilst the front end is apart anything else that might need changing such as waterpump. Otherwise you will end up paying twice for labor if those other parts fail.

The engine should be OK.

 

[geoff5093]

Thank you all for your reply. The garage said that the waterpump should be replaced anyways, because its one of those things where once you get in, you might as well replace it. And that it was about to quit pretty soon anyways.

I'm glad to hear that its a non-interference engine, because i'd be pretty upset if the valvetrain was damaged, and had to get a new engine, lol.

Toyota priced all the parts and labor at $587, although the other garage I brought it to said everything would run around $400 through them, so thats what I did. And I believe it's the 1MZ engine.

 

[carlo]

I paid a little over $600 for the belts, water pump, and the upper and lower radiator hoses. The hoses were getting squishy at 90K.

When did you last get your TB done? Most suggest 60K (w/ non-OEM belt) to 90K (w/ OEM belt) mileage intervals.

 

[geoff5093]

I have no idea, I bought the car used back in August.

 

[Hajoca]

Timing belts change interval is around 60,000 to 100,000 mi. depending on belt type (HSNBR is the 100k ) Water pump usually is changed at 150k intervals

 

[geoff5093]

I got everything replaced and the total was $543

I have 131K on my car, so I guess it was past due for a timing belt, and almost due for a water pump.

And the squeal stopped after the replacement, so that may have been a sign?

 

[ASG14]

Ok, I just had mine done, and parts and labor was around $650.

Things to do, and DO NOT skimp! Spend a few extra dollars, and DO IT RIGHT!

1: Belt (TOYOTA BRAND ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
2: Water Pump
3: The 3 Crank Seals/Gasket
4: 2 Drive Belts

 

[marc780]

Why Not Just Do the Timing Belt Yourself.

All of you are mentioning the price, they do charge you dear for this service dont they! You can do it yourself and best of all you can do it the right way, and you know for certain that no corners will be cut.

I did my V6 and i made sure to change the water pump and idlers too. These parts will cost you about $200. Here is a DIY post with pictures for the V6. The 4 cylinder is even easier, and other people have a post on this engine too.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t160972.html

 

[geoff5093]

All of you are mentioning the price, they do charge you dear for this service dont they! You can do it yourself and best of all you can do it the right way, and you know for certain that no corners will be cut.

I did my V6 and i made sure to change the water pump and idlers too. These parts will cost you about $200. Here is a DIY post with pictures for the V6. The 4 cylinder is even easier, and other people have a post on this engine too.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t160972.html

But you also need to buy special tools. I'm not an expert at engine components, so I leave it up to the dealer. It took him about 6 hours to do everything.

 

[DarkMastyr]

Doing a timing belt/water pump/etc change is NOT that easy. It's probably one of the toughest jobs you can do on any car, short of tearing an engine apart. $500 is a perfectly reasonable price to charge for a full job, especially if you don't have the time or space to do it, or if you don't have another car on hand to help you run get tools or if you can't finish the job in one day.

 

[96CamrySport]

if you have a decent set of tools, shop equipment, knowledge, and courage, you can change timing belts with no problem. if you have reservations on it or you lack any tools to do it right, it's best to leave it to a shop and pay it. cars are expensive, and it's good to keep that in mind. I'm pretty sure you need NO special service tools to perform a timing belt service on most vehicles, but it sure is scary the first time!! just remember, this is coming from a new-ish shop tech who has done less than 10 t-belts to date. I already think they're easy, but I've dealt with euro cars and anything japanese is ok by me now!

 

[DarkMastyr]

You may need a special service tool to pop the crankshaft pulley off, unless you want to destroy it using a cheapo gear puller. See the following thread regarding this issue.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t109966.html

 

[96CamrySport]

really, you should use a proper bolt-in puller, but I know the standard 4-way harmonic balancer puller should work fine, just need bolts to fit in pulley. forgot about that, alcohol makes me dumb at night. being a tech means my normal tools are everyone else's special tools. snap on=normal now.

 

[ASG14]

For those of you basically telling him to just do it himself, you may also want to read where he is from, NH. so unless he has a heated space to do it in as well, I would not recommend doing it in 20F temps unless you know what your doing. Hell, I know about cars, and STILL took it to my mechanic.

 

[geoff5093]

For those of you basically telling him to just do it himself, you may also want to read where he is from, NH. so unless he has a heated space to do it in as well, I would not recommend doing it in 20F temps unless you know what your doing. Hell, I know about cars, and STILL took it to my mechanic.

lol, thank you.

I was freezing when I just went out to clean my air filter, and within like 10 minutes my hands were numb. If we had a heated garage I may think of doing it myself, but for this kind of work I still dont think I'm educated enough, so I'll just bring it to a garage.

 

[iratoyota]

hello from your neighbor in the north ... i saw your reply. I paid for some preventive maintainence while i was in for a water pump job. he did the timing belt(gates) also the cam seals,oil pump gasket,2 serpentine belts,thermostat,...i had an oil leak from the rear valve come gasket so he had to take the intake plenum off to do it so i had all 6 spark plugs replaced(NKG Laser platinum) and he did the front valve cover gasket as well. oh. he also did a flush of my coolant. it was a big job and i am happy it is finished. anything else i should have done?

 

[new echo owner]

Depending on what year your car is, plug wires, dist cap and rotor.

N.E.O.