DIY Timing Belt

[parnoren]

I've been searching, but can't seem to find any posts on the amount of time it should take to do the Timing Belt (including water pump and pulleys) myself. I understand it depends on my abilities and tools, but maybe those of you who have done this can chime in for an estimate. I'm also wondering how many hours it would take the techs at the dealership? Quoted vs. actual hours? Mine is a 2002 LX470.

Thanks

 

[Trunk Monkey]

It took me and a friend (friend is a Toyota Master Tech) 4 hours to do it. That's with me doing the simple stuff like the spark plugs and pretty much just handing him tools otherwise.

 

[SpokaneLX470]

Took my buddy (also certified Toyota Master Tech) about the same. Somewhere between 2-3 hours.

Cost to me: Parts + 1 mini Heineken keg.

I have a heated shop and he does my work free in return for letting him use the shop for his various side work for people.

 

[parnoren]

Thanks!

Mmmm. I see that I need to make new friends since the guys/girls I know have no clue about fixing cars. Has anybody out there ventured to do this without a tech friend? Or is it way to difficult?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

If you've got the FSM and are comfortable turning wrenches, you can do it. It would have taken me 8-10 hours by myself easily, but I go slow so I don't break stuff.

 

[ppressle]

About 10 hours for me. I'm a pretty good for a hack, but had trouble with threads stripping on the fan mount I believe. I prefer to go slowly and clean and inspect everything I can get my hands onto. So I am kind of slow.

It is not too hard if you have reasonable skills. Read the threads on the forum for others experiences. I also posted pictures you can browse. land_cruiser_timing_belt Photo Gallery

Some folks have had it done for impressive prices (<$400 labor) I would be very tempted at those prices if you have someone you trust.

Good luck,
Pete

 

[bckpack]

I did it myself just this past weekend and I'm certainly no mechanic. I took a few extra days off work just in case but had everything stripped down in a day and put back together the next. Probably no more than 16 solid hours working on it. That's with the timing belt/water pump, starter replacement, spark plugs, and fuel filter.

Afterwards I really felt like it was pretty easy, honestly, from a technical perspective. Unbolt stuff, remove parts, replace parts, bolt stuff back up, done. Of course I didn't run into any broken bolts or stripped threads. I think the timing belt/water pump replacement was much easier than swapping out the starter. That really pissed me off but that could have been because I did it last and was pretty tired and sore from leaning over the grill for two days.

I say if you have the right attitude for it, and the tools (pretty limited really) give it a shot.

 

[parnoren]

Thanks for all the info. I will check how much the parts will cost me, and go from there.

 

[BMWSTOY]

I spent about $250 for parts, Timing Belt, H2O pump, spark plugs and the 2 belts - Serp and Timing.
I too was slow and 2 days was my goal - then I had to deal with a sripped bolt and was very careful getting it out so that took some time.

Do not, I repeat, Do not try to replace the tensioner on without compressing it or better yet, get a new one. And go through everything in the manual and get all the nuts and bolts with a Black Diamond indicator - non-reusable.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/128503-120k-service-write-up.html

 

[uHu]

Consider this:
1
You do it yourself, successfully, with no problems.
But the belt has a fault, and after two weeks you have a very expensive repair to carry out.
2
You get the dealer to do it, for a fixed price, but not cheap. Any stripped bolt will be their problem.
The belt has a fault, and after two weeks the dealer will have to rebuild your engine, free of charge for you.


This is a consideration I will do during the next 10 k miles. That's when it's time to change the belt, although it's a diesel, and a straight six.

Someone around here had that problem, but with a non-OEM belt. He got the cost of the belt back.

Is it possible to check the belt thoroughly enough to know it won't fail?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I spent about $250 for parts, Timing Belt, H2O pump, spark plugs and the 2 belts - Serp and Timing.

You got off ridiculous cheap then, I paid close to $400 and that is with a great discount we get for our club from our local dealer. CDan quoted about the same, and he's dirt cheap too. Water pump was around $200, belts were like $40 ea., plugs were $50. I did the fuel filter too, it was around $50.

 

[coryc85]

Mine was over $400 in parts as well, but I also bought all new tensioners and the starter contacts and intake gaskets too.

I did mine over a 3 day period with no help. I'd say total it was between 10 and 12 hours, I couldn't put in a full day of work so I had to split it up. I went slow, didn't want to break anything. I've done Timing chains/belts on other vehicles, and honestly I'd say this one was just about as easy as any I have ever done.

Good luck, I'm sure you can do it if you can read instructions and turn a wrench.

 

[BMWSTOY]

Perhaps prices have gone up. To clarify:
Water pump: $98.26 16100-59275-83
T-Belt : $42.42 13568-09070
V-Belt serp : $35.60 90916-02586
Gasket : $ 2.25
Plugs M019 : $62.24 90080-91180
Thermostat :$12.52 90916-03100


So it was $256.16. If you add tensioners and the other nuts that are not replaceable and get them from CDAN there is no shipping but the price does go up.
All my tensioners were very smooth and my starter was replaced just before I purchased it. I also picked up some oil filters and gaskets while I was ordering.

 

[Bryanl]

I did mine a few weeks ago. 10 hours I guess, but cleaned stuff up, did the spark plugs, oil change. you can sign up for alldatadiy.com. There is also a toyota info website that you can join to get the info. I used this website and tundrasolutions. Just make sure you get the right year model. First set of instructions I found on tundrasolutions had you taking the belt off at TDC and not rotating 70 degrees I think.
Go ahead and replace the water pump.
All of my stuff was original with 198k. Timing Belt seemed okay but the water pump was ready to go. Could hear the bearing and it was leaking. I replaced the cam and crank seals but I'm betting the dealer don't do them. If they aren't leaking I don't know that I would mess with it. I replaced the tensioners as well, they aren't that expensive and you won't want to go back in there.
Its not terribly difficult but is time consuming the first time. Next time will take half the time. Not really any special tools either. I used the starter trick to get the crank bolt out and then an impact to get it back on. Also used an impact on the cam bolt.
Now I'm ready to hit 300k.

 

[EdsCruisin]

Consider this:
1
You do it yourself, successfully, with no problems.
But the belt has a fault, and after two weeks you have a very expensive repair to carry out.
2
You get the dealer to do it, for a fixed price, but not cheap. Any stripped bolt will be their problem.
The belt has a fault, and after two weeks the dealer will have to rebuild your engine, free of charge for you.


This is a consideration I will do during the next 10 k miles. That's when it's time to change the belt, although it's a diesel, and a straight six.

Someone around here had that problem, but with a non-OEM belt. He got the cost of the belt back.

Is it possible to check the belt thoroughly enough to know it won't fail?

I agree. I've been wrenching my own vehicles for almost 30 years, but, with the precision of these new motors and the time it takes to do the job, this is one that I left to the dealer. I can spend 10 hours on this truck doing something fun and relatively meaningless, like electric mods, on-board air, or start building my sliders. The next immediate project is brakes, bearings and fluids.

 

[maskinut]

Just for fun, I called a San Jose area Toyota Dealer. $2100 -$2400 for TB and WP. $210/hour for labor !

 

[saucebox]

Find the @OTRAMM videos on YouTube (parts 1 and 2) and study them. For a first-timer, it should take you around 8 hours unless you've never been that deep into an engine. But the videos are gold, step by step and include all the little gotchas you'll run into. I went slow and watched the videos as I went along (having never done a timing belt, but I'm comfortable working on cars) and it was done in 5-6 hours.

Stay organized with what you remove and it's easier to put back together.

And the arrows on the belt point towards the front of the car.

You'll need a timing belt pulley tool (or a chain wrench, as outlined in some of the threads here—just something to hold the pulley in place to get that crank bolt loose) and a flex-head ratchet. About $100 in tools if you don't already have them.

Side note: This'll sound weird and all, but sometimes I throw an OTRAMM video in the background while I work at my computer (desk job—pixel pusher). Dude's just got a knack for explaining things without dumbing them down, and it's kind of soothing to hear something be taken apart and put back together so smoothly.

To hell with $210/hr labor. Dang.

Edit: sometimes I hate the "while you're in there" maintenance that just adds tons of cost to a basic project, but it's a good time to give your radiator a good look over, and the alternator as well.