Timing Belt change after 30K or 8 years? Age or Mileage more important?

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watchknut

watchknut

10 Year
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Jul 6, 2012
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I could not find a thread that dealt with my issue and if I missed it, I apologize.

My maintenance log tells me that a dealership replaced the TB and water pump on 10/04 at 60K. Now almost 8 years later the truck is approaching 90k. The log also has a majority of the oil changes, fluids and tune ups. At 83k there was a new transfer case and fluid, Mobil 1 change, 80k service and new air filter.

My question is do I go ahead and do the standard 90K service with a new TB and water pump or since it was done at 60K I can wait? What is more important with a TB, the age or the mileage?

Thanks.
 
First, it seems to me that when they say "90K" that doesn't mean *90K* as in absolute, but rather 90K since the previous replacement, so whether it's 90K total or not now for that particular part probably doesn't matter much.
Anyway, doesn't the maintenance specs mention both time and mileage elapsed? like 90K / 6 yrs or something like that? They usually do that for just about everything. Then you just take the first one that comes up since replacement to be safe. It certainly seems that for a rubber-based device age would be a significant factor though. Of course you can play the odds. Seems like some TBs held fine far longer than the specs imply. But FWIW, we did our TB just about at 90K as I am usually (not always :) ) of the opinion that the Toyota engineers know more about their products than I do...
 
Fwiw I just had my tb changed at 65k and 10 years. The belt looked almost brand new. My vehicle is garaged and could have been a factor.
 
Curious as to why it was replaced at 60k to begin with as opposed to the factory recommended 90k interval. Are you absolutely certain that it was replaced back then? If so, then it's more than likely fine until 150k. Just keep an eye out for weeping from the water pump.
 
TheFuzz said:
Curious as to why it was replaced at 60k to begin with as opposed to the factory recommended 90k interval. Are you absolutely certain that it was replaced back then? If so, then it's more than likely fine until 150k. Just keep an eye out for weeping from the water pump.
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well, if it was PM, more likely than not it's cuz it was 6 years old already. And a dealer would certainly push for that to be done if the manual says to replace it after that period, with dire predictions of doom etc if not done.

I looked it up, on the maintenance guide for my 03 it says clearly to replace the TB after 90K *or 72 months*. Tried to find it for the 98 but it was not as clear, saw something like "90K if commercial use" or something like that. Must be out there.
 
The carfax has very thorough records from a dealer in FLA that stated the TB and water pump were done at 60K. I called the dealer today and their records do not go back to 2004 as the dealership was sold in 2005, and the records only go back to 2009 on the Toyota website, so I have no proof of the change (I checked for the TB sticker). I am going to have my tech go over it when he changes the oil and see what he says about the condition of the TB, water pump, etc. I just did not want to replace it right away if I did not have to. The truck is not going to get a ton of miles, so if I could hold off for 5 or 10K miles more, it would be great.
 
e9999 said:
I looked it up, on the maintenance guide for my 03 it says clearly to replace the TB after 90K *or 72 months*. Tried to find it for the 98 but it was not as clear, saw something like "90K if commercial use" or something like that. Must be out there.
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I guess it would help if I read a little more carefully and noticed the age of the truck, hm? In that case, it makes sense.

watchknut said:
I just did not want to replace it right away if I did not have to. The truck is not going to get a ton of miles, so if I could hold off for 5 or 10K miles more, it would be great.
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If the belt looks good, holding off 10k shouldn't be a big deal at all. I don't recall anyone ever reporting a TB breaking on here, even for those who have skipped the entire 90k service and replaced the factory TB at 180k. The big fear is that since the 2UZ-FE is an interference motor, if the belt breaks then it's likely your engine will be hosed. That being said, they don't just randomly snap at 90,001. ;)

As long as there aren't any signs of cracking/shiny edges/fraying, theoretically you should be fine for quite a while. Have your tech look it over before making that decision though.
 
Thanks for the pics and shared experiences. I will let a tech make the final call, but good to know that if it is in good shape I can wait a bit before replacing.
 
watchknut said:
Thanks for the pics and shared experiences. I will let a tech make the final call, but good to know that if it is in good shape I can wait a bit before replacing.
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Unless you have the rare tech that you trust, you're gonna be replacing the belt, likely needlessly, if you let him make the final call. Just sayin'
 
I am going to get my future father in law to take a look at it in early August, I hope I can trust him! Based on the work that my tech suggested for my Rover and the dealership never picked up, you are right in your assumption. Seeing a worn out timing belt versus a good one is a huge help to me too.
 
Just changed the tb and water pump on my LX. 12 years old with 77k miles. Tb looked good yet with no cracks at all. Idler bearings still smooth as new. Plugs original with the "p" stamped on the tops. Plugs also looked good as well being that old. Only the water pump had slight leakage from the weep hole. Cam and crank seals never leaked a drop.

Toyota quality at its finest.
 
Waited till about 112K at 8yrs old. Replaced water pump, tensioner etc. Belt looked brand new. Took out a magnifying glass and went over it. Couldn't find nary a tear in the belt. YMMV but I wouldn't panic and do the maintenance at your convenience. Good maintenance on the water pump and tensioner and such but I viewed the belt is an insurance change - you dang sure can't afford for it to break but it sure seems to be highly unlikely.
 
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