Gates T298 Timing Belt (3 Viewers)

[Landman2000]

Hey guys,

About 4 months ago I purchased my 2000 LC with 285K miles. The PO said the timing belt, water pump, fan clutch and AC condenser were replaced around 275K miles. I asked him if his mechanic used the AISIN timing belt kit and he said yes. I believed him because all the other work he did (hubs, CV axles, belt) he used OEM parts. Today I pulled back the timing belt cover and noticed its a Gates T298 belt. It looks fine but of course I now have my concerns.

My question is, would you guys continue to ride this belt/water pump out to 350K or so or should I bite the bullet and order the AISIN kit and do the work myself?

She runs like a top and almost everything else (plugs, all coils, radiator, hoses, valve cover gaskets, vacuum lines, PCV valve, transmission cooler lines, power steering lines/reservoir) have all been replaced by me with OEM since purchasing.

I’ve tried looking into the Gates T298 belt but of course everything that comes up is about the AISIN kit being the gold standard.

Convince me one way or the other!

Brandon

 

[bigredmachine]

i would have no problem running that belt, gates is a good aftermarket alternative. aisin is preferred because they are the oe supplier

 

[Landman2000]

i would have no problem running that belt, gates is a good aftermarket alternative. aisin is preferred because they are the oe supplier

Thank you. I know Gates is reputable but AISIN is all I read about. I think I’ll leave good enough alone.

 

[bigredmachine]

Thank you. I know Gates is reputable but AISIN is all I read about. I think I’ll leave good enough alone.

aisin is talked about a lot but thats because its oe supplier and you can get the t-belt kit from rockauto for way less than getting the parts from the dealership. for some drive belts gates is an oe supplier for toyota

 

[Landman2000]

aisin is talked about a lot but thats because its oe supplier and you can get the t-belt kit from rockauto for way less than getting the parts from the dealership. for some drive belts gates is an oe supplier for toyota

Good to know. Thanks again.

 

[97 AZ LC]

Gates belts are pretty bad. Just get a Mitsuboshi or OE belt only and throw it on there sometime before about 50k.

 

[Landman2000]

Gates belts are pretty bad. Just get a Mitsuboshi or OE belt only and throw it on there sometime before about 50k.

If I’m going to do that I’d just buy the complete ASIN kit sooner than later. Not sure what brand water pump they used either.

 

[nissanh]

Gates are good for 50K miles. I had one put on my corolla and saw cracks at 50K miles. slightly open the timing belt cover and inspect time to time.

I am going to do the T-belt on my 4runner and planning to get an OEM toyota belt. Those can run easy 15 years or 100K miles. Mitsuboshi about 10 years 100K miles.

OEM water pump can go easy 200K miles, Aisin can do 100K miles. Gates.. possibly 50K.

 

[Landman2000]

Gates are good for 50K miles. I had one put on my corolla and saw cracks at 50K miles. slightly open the timing belt cover and inspect time to time.

I am going to do the T-belt on my 4runner and planning to get an OEM toyota belt. Those can run easy 15 years or 100K miles. Mitsuboshi about 10 years 100K miles.

OEM water pump can go easy 200K miles, Aisin can do 100K miles. Gates.. possibly 50K.

Thanks for the info. I think I’ll just keep an eye on it in the water pump for the next 25,000 miles or so and do it all with ASIN parts then.

 

[LJE]

I've had to replace leaking Gates water pumps on two separate 2UZ engines. That's a small data point, but just a FYSA.

 

[Landman2000]

I've had to replace leaking Gates water pumps on two separate 2UZ engines. That's a small data point, but just a FYSA.

I’ll probably bite the bullet and replace both in the next few months. It will be good experience and will give me peace of mind.

 

[jsloden]

Gates are good for 50K miles. I had one put on my corolla and saw cracks at 50K miles. slightly open the timing belt cover and inspect time to time.

I am going to do the T-belt on my 4runner and planning to get an OEM toyota belt. Those can run easy 15 years or 100K miles. Mitsuboshi about 10 years 100K miles.

OEM water pump can go easy 200K miles, Aisin can do 100K miles. Gates.. possibly 50K.

Mitsuboshi and aisin are the oe suppliers of timing belts and water pumps to toyota. If you get a timing belt from toyota it will more than likely say mitsuboshi on it. It you get the asain water pump from rockauto it will have the toyota logo ground off of it. It you get it from toyota it will still have the logo on it. That's the only difference.

 

[Nardulli]

I've been using Gates belts (all kinds) for 40 years and never, ever had one fail. Same with rad hoses, heater hoses etc. We have a commercial fleet that gets the wheels driven off of it - everything from sedans to pickups to 1 ton diesels. All you would be doing by replacing that Gates belt is spending time and money because you like to do that. (Believe me, I'm the very same way on a lot of things automotive - and yes, I criticize myself from time to time). I bought my first LC 100 (2000) about three months ago and have been rebuilding and replacing just about everything because I like to baseline anything I buy used. But the work done for which the seller provided me receipts I am not re-doing. I inspected the work and it was within spec. The timing belt had not been done (134,000) miles, so I did the job. Kit came from O'Reileys "Import Direct"; serp belt was a Gates Green Fleet version. I have zero concern about the timing belt as I don't have any about yours.

 

[Landman2000]

Awesome. Thank you for the great feedback. I am about to replace the rack & pinion and power steering pump so I was dreading the thought of worrying about the timing belt/water pump right now. I’ll ride it out for another 40K and replace it with the ASIN kit then.

 

[LJE]

Awesome. Thank you for the great feedback. I am about to replace the rack & pinion and power steering pump so I was dreading the thought of worrying about the timing belt/water pump right now. I’ll ride it out for another 40K and replace it with the ASIN kit then.

Just keep an eye on your coolant levels. I know I mentioned it earlier, but thus far 100% of the Gates water pumps I've replaced (now, granted, that's only two of them...) have had to be replaced because the pulley seals failed and they were leaking a non-trivial amount of coolant from the weep hole after 10k miles.
Not enough to leave a puddle when parked, but enough that the drivers had a couple episodes of overheating over the span of a few months (before bringing it to me) as the water pump would only leak while the system was under pressure while driving. The coolant levels in the radiator (but not the reservoir) would drop over time.

I'm not necessarily the biggest 'OEM or bust' chest thumper (Aisin kits work fine IMO), but having had first hand experience (at the expense of other people) that would point to the Gates kits being subpar really turned me off to them.

 

[SteveH]

Gates is/was a belt company (for a LONG time), and I'll bet their water pumps are just re-branded stuff from China/Korea. I would always run a Gates belt (on anything), but would not run anything but an Aisin water pump on a Toyota.

 

[excessive]

Gates used to be a great brand, made in USA. i dont know if that's still the case any longer. you really have to be extremely careful with any aftermarket parts these days, the quality of most has gone completely down the toilet, while the cost of Genuine OEM parts is usually worth it

 

[Landman2000]

Just keep an eye on your coolant levels. I know I mentioned it earlier, but thus far 100% of the Gates water pumps I've replaced (now, granted, that's only two of them...) have had to be replaced because the pulley seals failed and they were leaking a non-trivial amount of coolant from the weep hole after 10k miles.
Not enough to leave a puddle when parked, but enough that the drivers had a couple episodes of overheating over the span of a few months (before bringing it to me) as the water pump would only leak while the system was under pressure while driving. The coolant levels in the radiator (but not the reservoir) would drop over time.

I'm not necessarily the biggest 'OEM or bust' chest thumper (Aisin kits work fine IMO), but having had first hand experience (at the expense of other people) that would point to the Gates kits being subpar really turned me off to them.

Thanks again. I've recently noticed a small bearing whine coming from the engine at idle. I poked around with my stethoscope and think it may actually be the water pump bearing. That is what got me wondering what brand pump/timing belt I had since I know they were both replaced shortly before I purchased the vehicle. I am going to keep a very close eye on the radiator coolant level for the time being. I don't see any coolant leakage but what you said about them only leaking while under pressure while driving concerns me. ASIN parts are cheap enough that its just frustrating someone would cheap out to save a few bucks.

 

[LJE]

Thanks again. I've recently noticed a small bearing whine coming from the engine at idle. I poked around with my stethoscope and think it may actually be the water pump bearing. That is what got me wondering what brand pump/timing belt I had since I know they were both replaced shortly before I purchased the vehicle. I am going to keep a very close eye on the radiator coolant level for the time being. I don't see any coolant leakage but what you said about them only leaking while under pressure while driving concerns me. ASIN parts are cheap enough that its just frustrating someone would cheap out to save a few bucks.

What's especially frustrating is that I'm pretty sure the Aisin kits from Rock Auto are going to be cheaper than a Gates kit from a parts store.

 

[jsloden]

What's especially frustrating is that I'm pretty sure the Aisin kits from Rock Auto are going to be cheaper than a Gates kit from a parts store.

The high end parts from rockauto with be cheaper price wise than ANYTHING you get from a parts store.