How's this timing belt look to you?
02-24-11, 02:45 PM
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How's this timing belt look to you?
I've got this spare 1uz with 118k as told by the previous owner that pulled it from an SC400 he bought, but wasn't allowed to title because of some lame law in AL, so he parted it out. He didn't know the maintenance history but the engine looks clean, except for some dirt here and there. No oil leakage on the side of the block from the valve cover gaskets, the lower intake manifold gaskets were Fel Pro so the engine has been serviced at some point, perhaps the starter has already been changed to a newer one, and the timing belt looks great, at least to my untrained eyes. You guys that have worked on them before, tell me what you think. My original plan was to replace the water pump/timing belt/cam seals/front engine seal and do the valve cover gaskets, etc...stuff that'd be nearly impossible to do with the engine installed. But this belt looks to be fine, who knows...here are the pics:
Passenger side of the motor:
Driver side of the motor:
Just curious about one thing, is the water pump supposed to be nearly impossible to spin? I was tryin to spin the pulley over, at least I assume it's the water pump (pulley just above and slightly to the right of the crank pulley) and it's not budging.
Anyways, with it supposedly having 118k, and the belts only being 90k, I'd have to say it's been changed somewhat recently if you can still see the Toyota logo clearly on the timing belt and there are no cracks/splits in the rubber, but then again, I don't know since I've never done a timing belt job.
Passenger side of the motor:
Driver side of the motor:
Just curious about one thing, is the water pump supposed to be nearly impossible to spin? I was tryin to spin the pulley over, at least I assume it's the water pump (pulley just above and slightly to the right of the crank pulley) and it's not budging.
Anyways, with it supposedly having 118k, and the belts only being 90k, I'd have to say it's been changed somewhat recently if you can still see the Toyota logo clearly on the timing belt and there are no cracks/splits in the rubber, but then again, I don't know since I've never done a timing belt job.
02-24-11, 03:27 PM
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I think it looks pretty good. The belt looks new and I don't see any cracking which is what you are looking for. You can't use the printing on the belt as a measure of wear. The back side of the belt rolls the water pump. So anything printed on the belt is going to disappear over time.
02-24-11, 03:34 PM
#7
It looks good to me. Belts nowadays are much better than the ones from decades ago. They're usually made from saturated nitrile rubber that are much more resistant to heat and aging compared to the old school rubber. However that's just one part of the story. We don't know the condition of the water pump or the tensioner (which is usually neglected). If you have to replace these parts, might as well replace the belt also.
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02-24-11, 08:26 PM
#11
if you see cracks on the outside...belt is totally toast, what you going to be looking for is cracks in the inside. If there is any the only way you can tell is pull the belt of and twist it face out and small cracks that eye cant catch would appear more clear. Well if you take it off replace it anyway. W/P and T/B arent few hundred more like 100 bucks if that.
02-24-11, 09:02 PM
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^^ agreed.
From the parts of the belt that you show in your photos, it looks ok, but the real test then is looking at the underside. Use a mirror if need be and look for cracking there. If you don't see any, I'd say run it until you do.
From the parts of the belt that you show in your photos, it looks ok, but the real test then is looking at the underside. Use a mirror if need be and look for cracking there. If you don't see any, I'd say run it until you do.
02-24-11, 11:19 PM
#15
That belt is totally fine. That year 1uz is non interference anyway. Your motor will be fine if the belt does break.
In my experience, the belt won't snap, the teeth will shear off first or skip a few teeth on the cam gear.
Save yourself the $300 and dont waste your time.
In my experience, the belt won't snap, the teeth will shear off first or skip a few teeth on the cam gear.
Save yourself the $300 and dont waste your time.
Last edited by UpInTheLex; 02-24-11 at 11:22 PM.