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It didn't break, but the belt on our 1990 V6 Camry reached 124,050 miles before it "jumped time" and I replaced it. We didn't know when the previous owner had replaced it (turns out they hadn't) and found it to be the original belt, WP, seals (weeping a little), and pulleys (still quiet).

 

i drove 160,000 miles in my red 93 before the belt broke. (was leaking oil on the belt from leaky cam seal and crank seal)..

the 93 is the beater Manual thats about to rot in half

 

Even if you're concerned about cost, I wouldn't run the timing belt and water pump beyond the 6-year/90K mile recommended interval. You maybe able to safely go 7-year/105K miles like Hondas do. But their engines run cooler than the 2000 (Gen 4) Toyota sludge makers.

I don't think you can hear an "old" timing belt unless it's really stretched and hitting the timing cover. Yes, this has happened and Toyota issued a TSB about Gen 4 timing belts really stretching.

You're more likely to hear bearing noises and water pump noise first. Maybe a slight reduction in engine performance because a stretched timing belt retards the timing.

In addition, the 4-cyl does NOT have an automatic tensioner, therefore it's more likely for the belt to jump teeth when they stretch. That's if one tooth from the stretched belt doesn't come against a sprocket cog, causing the belt to snap first.

Otherwise if you do your own work I think 5-year/60K miles is a better interval. You should change out the pulleys, water pump, oil seals, valve cover gasket set, all belts, and maybe the thermostat and radiator hoses while at it.

 

I'm not too worry about the timing belt on my camry even thou it's about 9 years old. Like JohnGD said, there's not much signs of a failing timing belt other than when it breaks.

On our 5S-FE, the timing belt drives the oil pump, water pump, one cam pulley that turns two camshafts, rides on one idler pulley and a tensioner. That's a lot of work and pressure for one belt. Not to mention that I drive that little engine hard and high in the rev count.

Knowing it's a non-interference engine, I would still change mine at 90k (and water pump, ect.) so that it can never break while I'm rushing to college for a midterm. That would suck if it did.

 

130k on original timing belt:facepalm:

 

120,000 was the highest but I may go to 150,000 next time

 

I'm really not sure if the p.o. ever did mine.... I'm at 175k miles and don't plan on changing it until it goes.

 

I have a feeling you just jinxed yourself. :ugh3:

 

There's two components to think about when you talk about when to change the timing belt. The first is whether it needs it because of wear and tear, and the answer is usually, it doesn't. Mine both went 100,000 miles between changes and both looked in great shape when I changed them.

The second component is stretch. I didn't pay attention to this the first time around, but the second time I measured the old belt's circumference and compared it to the old one. The old one had stretched 1/2" which equals about 2 teeth on the belt. So the timing would be affected for sure. The longer you wait, the more the belt will stretch and the more your engine will get out of time. I don't know how, or if, the ECU can compensate for this.

And after I had installed the new belt, the car ran much better. All subjective of course, but it seemed snappier and more responsive.

Common sense would tell you that 90,000 miles isn't an absolute. But rather a compromise between, service life of the belt and engine performance due to the belt stretching.



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Haha I hope I didn't. But it may have been done, the p.o. got the car handed down from his father-in-law so there aren't any maintenance records. It could have been done right before it traded hands, but I don't know. It runs good and I push it pretty hard most of the time. Once the belt goes, I'll just tow it to the mechanic I guess. Being a non-interference engine, it's going to cost the same amount whether its already broken or not.

 

Camry 99 V6 SC , Changed last week timing belt with water pump , 97,200 milles

 

I'd have to look in my maintenance log book, but I think it was at around 230k miles on the Camry. And that was only because the water pump started leaking. The belt looked fine.

 

I was told by the tech that if my timing belt break, it'll trash my trans. So I'll replace it ASAP. Over 100K now.

 

lol your tech is mis-informed

 

178k miles on a 5sfe 99. Don't go that long though. It wasn't broken, but it was definitely worn.

 

If your timing belt breaks, nothing bad happens other than the fact that it broke.

I went ~180k on my first camry with the original belt. Then the engine blew up.

 

Literally impossible.

 

Not trying to get off topic but besides the timing belt, does anything else need to be changed around 90K miles? (Besides the typical stuff like brake pads, spark plugs, etc.)

 

Probably seals (oil, camshaft, crankshaft)

 

Are the timing belts, old or new recyclable?

 

Timing belts used to be a 60K mile item, but didn't California make some law cars sold there had to go 90K before any scheduled maintenance? Maybe toyota went back to chains (which cost a little more and make a little more noise) to meet and exceed this requirement? Just a guess.
What's not a guess is:
There is NO (zero) way a failed timing belt can take out the cars transmission.
MAYBE at very high RPMs with valve float you could harm the motor, but the transmission is 100% safe.
I wouldn't do it myself, but a friend has 220K on an 00 mitsu with the factory timing belt. It's mostly highway miles.

 

For my mom's 2000 Camry I4, we had the belt and water pump changed at 98k. At 220k, it was still in good shape and the timing was spot on. I periodically checked it. I told her to drive it till it broke, but that's impossible now since it was wrecked.

 

seems like those belts last around 120k (150k sounds to me like waiting for a disaster to happen) on average granted everything else is good and part is of good quality, give or take depending on the driving style ... and car's age perhaps (it's rubber anyways) ... toyota recommendation must be on the safe side, that's why they want you to do that every 90k miles ...

 

Interference motors bend valves; they can sometimes break valves too and drop into the combustion chamber causing severe damage. Non-interference motors don't.

I had a worst case scenario in my MR2 with the 5SFE at 135k miles. Timing belt broke at 5000rpm. :lol: No damage though. I would've thought the high RPM and carbon deposits on the piston tops would've caused a bit of damage, but there wasn't any damage.

None of the variable valve timing motors are non-interference.

 

Changed the factory installed Timing belt at 120,400 and 12 years since manufacturing.

 

Just a reminder to play nice in here, gentlemen.

 

Just a reminder to play nice in here, gentlemen.

I'm not trying to be rude or mean, just trying to understand what he is getting at

 

well, timing belt breaking while driving is still dangerous, but not for the non-interference engine, it's dangerous for the car driver and other drivers. how?
imagine you are trying to push the car through a busy intersection, e.g. trying to jump through lanes from a stop sign let's say.
so you almost floor it counting on promptly crossing the busy main road you are intersecting with, but then *snap* ... and you get stranded in the middle of a busy road and there is a truck coming fast your way (possible side impact).

or another scenario, you are driving fast on highway and you have a guy who is tailgating you all the time, you trying to drive a little faster than him to keep the distance safe ... and *snap* ... you loose all power and your car suddenly slows down while the tailgating guy was changing CD's in his stereo ... bam, rear ended.

I hope it doesn't sound like Final Destination scenarios, but hey all those situations are possible, so why wait for the belt to snap and get you stranded (or your car ruined) ... but hey your engine will be fine :thumbsup: