276k on original Timing Belt?!?

[WP2LC]

I recently bought a very clean, one owner, bone stock 2000 LC with 276k from an acquaintance. He is a doctor who drove it back and forth to work everyday and took it in for service whenever it needed.
I asked him about the timing belt and he had no clue what I was talking about. I assumed worse case it was a little over due.
Today I went to the shop who has serviced it for the last 8 years and got all service records and they never replaced it. I looked on Toyota.com at their records and I couldn't find any record of it being done at the dealer either.

Is there any way it's never been done?

Should I replace it immediately?

 

[nissanh]

Possible.
Yes, better to get it replaced ASAP. Before you purchase, check the belt. You can open the timing belt cover on the driver side and inspect. A cracked chipped belt is old.
If you plan to replace it, get the kit including the water pump etc. Stay with OEM or AISIN. Also best to get cam and crank seals (OEM TOYOTA only)

 

[D21FJ60]

Also replace the heater hose T's on the engine as well.

 

[bls72bmw]

Good to hear you've a documented belt with that high of mileage and still a working belt.
I just bought a 5th hand LC100 1998, 283k now on it. And positively NO idea if the belt has been changed or not. Got the CarFax and saw service history, called all the shops in the history, and none can confirm a belt change. I haven't opened it up yet to inspect the belt.

Please ask the shop to save the old belt and let us have a look at it!

From what I understand it is not so much the belt that snaps, but the water pump or a pulley bearing that finally freezes, causing the belt to snap from friction.

In searching all the forums I can only find a few cases of the timing belt giving up....
Keep us posted, this is really interesting.

 

[FxFormat]

My coworker has a V8 4Runner which has the same engine, he never changed the belt until his water pump started leaking. Belt looked new when we opened it up too. 246K Miles, I plan on doing mine at 150K interval

 

[joseywales]

And to think I was starting to plan doing mine now that it is closing in on 120,000. Back burner firing up!







Well, maybe I'll do it soon anyway. I have the parts already...

 

[Spike555]

Timing belts and serpentine belts last forever, it is the things that run off of them and tensioners going bad that ruin them.
But the belt itself will last as long as you let it.

 

[D21FJ60]

This information is interesting, I was under the impression that the belts would snap due to age and wear, not the components freezing causing the belts to snap. The more you know!

 

[WP2LC]

This is my weekend car so I'm probably only putting 2-3k miles per year on it.

If I don't replace the water pump and T-belt am I going to cause more damage when it finally fails? Or is it just the inconvenience of breaking down on the side of the road?

 

[FxFormat]

It all depends on who you ask, some will tell you when the belt breaks, the truck will just stall out and won't run again until you put a new belt in (non interference motor). Some will tell you when the belt breaks, the valves will slap the pistons and then you need a rebuild/new engine (interference motor). I just haven't heard of a documented case where each scenario is played out.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Co worker of mine has a 2000 with over 250K, had never heard of timing belt change until I mentioned it last year. They still haven't replaced.

 

[fooldall1]

Mine had a similar story.. got it with 217k miles, and the belt was never changed. The belt condition was surprisingly intact, though the cracks were completely running across the width of the belt. Make no mistake, the OEM belt is tough as nails but you should DEFINITELY change it, along with the water pump ASAP. The Aisin kit is avail cheap on Amazon and same day delivery. You should also consider changing the FAN BRACKET, FAN clutch, serp tensioner, Alternator, and any other parts you can replace "while you're in there" if you suspect any of them are bad.

Hell, I'd replace as much as I could afford at one time since so much has to come off the front of the motor. I replaced some of these during the job, and the fan bracket replacement made the the biggest improvement on the quietness of the motor.

If you can't DIY, a service I used in the past is yourmechanic.com for the labor- just be sure you check the "i have my own parts" option. The come right to your driveway and are all ASE Cert mechanics. I lucked out and got a Toyota mechanic on my old Sequoia and he had the job done in about three hours.

 

[Landpimp]

doctors tend to fall in to 2 categories(not much in-between)..........either they take very good care of their stuff or they run it till it breaks(and often run it when broken). I notice this with both cars and homes. Alot of doc's like Land Cruisers for this reason.

 

[Oakleyguy]

This information is interesting, I was under the impression that the belts would snap due to age and wear, not the components freezing causing the belts to snap. The more you know!

Toyota OEM timing belts are indeed strong, but I strongly believe you should always replace them at 90k mile intervals.

 

[batcon]

I just did the timing belt, water pump, ect, ect on a 2000 lx470 with just shy of 234,000 miles. Got it from the 2nd owner who claimed he never had the belt replaced. Carfax said he acquired it with around 60,000 miles and no mention of the belt being done. pretty confident it wasn't done by all the cracks in it.

 

[lhommec13]

Is there any way it's never been done?

Should I replace it immediately?

Simply put, YES and YES.

 

[tacoduck]

the guy that did my belt on my 07 said he has a buddy that is a lexus tech. neither have ever heard or seen a belt snap in all their years working on toyotas. These belts are stout.

 

[FxFormat]

I think a member on here had his belt snapped, but that's because he changed the belt with a Dayco i believe, but there was no damage to his engine.

 

[Spike555]

This is my weekend car so I'm probably only putting 2-3k miles per year on it.

If I don't replace the water pump and T-belt am I going to cause more damage when it finally fails? Or is it just the inconvenience of breaking down on the side of the road?

You will not do any more or less damage if you wait to change it IF it fails. Whatever damage may be done will be done. Nothing changes except the age of everything.
Personally if thats all you're using it for I wouldn't worry about it. Unless it's the family vacation cross country car and thats all it's used for because you don't want to be in the middle of no where stuck on the side of the road.

 

[Spike555]

doctors tend to fall in to 2 categories(not much in-between)..........either they take very good care of their stuff or they run it till it breaks(and often run it when broken). I notice this with both cars and homes. Alot of doc's like Land Cruisers for this reason.

Dude this is 10000% true!! My brother in-law is a veterinarian. He's constantly running out of gas, goes 20,000 miles on a oil change, bald tires, grinding brakes...all because his head is to full of medical info to worry about those kinds of things.
He drives a Chevy pickup.