Question about Toyota timing-belt repair

Hello. I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE. The engine is a 2.2-L, 4-cylinder
engine.


The car is, obviously, about 7 years old. However, the car has only
28000 miles on it.

Recently, a Toyota dealership performed an oil change. As part of the
oil change, the dealership performed a routine inspection of the car.
The mechanics at the dealership said that they examined the car's
timing belt and that the timing belt was cracked. The mechanics said
that the timing belt needs to be replaced. The mechanics will charge a
little over $300 for the job.

The mechanics said that the belt is cracked because the car is aging.

I am very skeptical about all of this. From what I have read, people
replace a timing belt every 60000 miles.



Also, the mechanics said that my car has an oil-pan leak. The fix for
that will also be a little over $300.



I will probably get a second opinion from another shop. However, I
would like some input from the people in this newsgroup. Is it common
to have a cracked timing belt on a car that is 7 years old and that has
only 28000 miles on it? Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car
that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it?


Thanks for any information.

Regards,

Alex K.

Most recommend replacing the timing belt at 60k miles (100k km) unless
there is some obvious damage beforehand. Inspection of the timing belt on
my car (not a Toyota) requires removal of the valve cover and upper timing
belt cover, not something mechanics would normally do during a free
inspection. If you can't inspect the belt for yourself then I'd definitely
get a second opinion before spending $600 on the two repairs. I wouldn't
say anything about the first "inspection".


) writes:
> Hello. I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE. The engine is a 2.2-L, 4-cylinder
> engine.
>
>
> The car is, obviously, about 7 years old. However, the car has only
> 28000 miles on it.
>
> Recently, a Toyota dealership performed an oil change. As part of the
> oil change, the dealership performed a routine inspection of the car.
> The mechanics at the dealership said that they examined the car's
> timing belt and that the timing belt was cracked. The mechanics said
> that the timing belt needs to be replaced. The mechanics will charge a
> little over $300 for the job.
>
> The mechanics said that the belt is cracked because the car is aging.
>
> I am very skeptical about all of this. From what I have read, people
> replace a timing belt every 60000 miles.
>
>
>
> Also, the mechanics said that my car has an oil-pan leak. The fix for
> that will also be a little over $300.
>
>
>
> I will probably get a second opinion from another shop. However, I
> would like some input from the people in this newsgroup. Is it common
> to have a cracked timing belt on a car that is 7 years old and that has
> only 28000 miles on it? Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car
> that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it?
>
>
> Thanks for any information.
>
> Regards,
>
> Alex K.
>


--
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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
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wrote:
>
> Hello. I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE. The engine is a 2.2-L, 4-cylinder
> engine.
>
> The car is, obviously, about 7 years old. However, the car has only
> 28000 miles on it.
>
> Recently, a Toyota dealership performed an oil change. As part of the
> oil change, the dealership performed a routine inspection of the car.
> The mechanics at the dealership said that they examined the car's
> timing belt and that the timing belt was cracked. The mechanics said
> that the timing belt needs to be replaced. The mechanics will charge a
> little over $300 for the job.
>
> The mechanics said that the belt is cracked because the car is aging.
>
> I am very skeptical about all of this. From what I have read, people
> replace a timing belt every 60000 miles.
>
> Also, the mechanics said that my car has an oil-pan leak. The fix for
> that will also be a little over $300.
>
> I will probably get a second opinion from another shop. However, I
> would like some input from the people in this newsgroup. Is it common
> to have a cracked timing belt on a car that is 7 years old and that has
> only 28000 miles on it? Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car
> that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it?
>
> Thanks for any information.
>
> Regards,
>
> Alex K.

Alex,

................
The timing belt 'issue' mite be "true" ...
if you're 'able' , check it yourself ... 'loose' the cover enuf to
look&peep , have a knowlegeable friend help if needed.

The 'belts' do have a shelf_life( age ) as well as a wear_life

Kinda 'hard' to give a 'remote' opinion on the belt .


................
the oil pan gasket "issue" also mite be true ...
DIY ... check it yourself ... take a look&peep.

The 'gaskets' do have a shelf_life as well as a wear_life

You 'mite' try a 1/8th turn on the bolts that hold the pan "up" ...
=NO= more than a 1/8th turn .
Hopefully you have a metric socket set . :-)

Me?
I have a `94 going on to 200k miles ... tite as a drum( knock wood ),
quiet as a mouse, and get 31.5 mpg.

If you were located in western NE, I mite have been of more help.

..............
Try 'these' for additional advisory ...

==> alt.autos.toyota.camry

==> http://www.camryman.org/forum/

==> http://us.toyotaownersclub.com/index.php


Ed

0_Qed wrote:

> ...............
> The timing belt 'issue' mite be "true" ...
> if you're 'able' , check it yourself ... 'loose' the cover enuf to
> look&peep , have a knowlegeable friend help if needed.
>
> The 'belts' do have a shelf_life( age ) as well as a wear_life

I wouldn't know if they age all that much on the shelf, but
they supposedly "age" once put in service - undergoing starts
and stops, getting heated and cooled, etc.

I've even seen some owner's manuals that recommend shorter
(than "typical") timing belt replacement intervals in desert
climates.

> Kinda 'hard' to give a 'remote' opinion on the belt .

7 years is probably too long.

William R. Watt wrote:
> Most recommend replacing the timing belt at 60k miles (100k km)
unless
> there is some obvious damage beforehand. Inspection of the timing
belt on
> my car (not a Toyota) requires removal of the valve cover and upper
timing
> belt cover, not something mechanics would normally do during a free
> inspection. If you can't inspect the belt for yourself then I'd
definitely
> get a second opinion before spending $600 on the two repairs. I
wouldn't
> say anything about the first "inspection".
>
>


I called a different repair shop and asked about inspecting the timing
belt. The guy told me that inspecting the timing belt would take three
hours. Since I knew that the original shop did not have my car for
three hours, I wondered how much the original shop had actually
examined my car.

So, I called the original shop. It turns out that the mechanics had
loosened the timing cover and had ONLY taken a peek inside using a
flashlight. The mechanics were not actually able to see any cracks.
However, they saw my car's drive belt and saw that the drive belt was
cracked. Since the drive belt and the timing belt are the same age, the
mechanics assumed that the timing belt was also cracked.

So, is this assumption reasonable? If the drive belt is cracked, does
it necessarily mean that the timing belt is cracked as well?


Regards,

Alex K.

Yes, the number of miles driven is a big contributor to wear of drive
belts. But time also takes a toll, as does the stress of just
starting...overcoming intertia. The car is low milage, but I'll bet it
has been started numerous times on short drives. Each start uses that
belt to rapidly yank the valve train into motion.

Short answer is I would replace the drive and serpentine belts ASAP.
On some cars when a belt separates, valves and pistons collide causing
serious internal hemmoraging. I would also seriously consider
replacing every coolant and heater hose.

Here is what typically happens to a 5S-FE engine over time.

The timing belt stretches alittle, usually not too much at 28k miles.
If it stretches enough, it starts slapping against the inside of the
timing covers, causing a growling noise esp. at idle. This can only be
alleviated by retensioning the belt (replacing it would be another way,
but at 28K you don't need to). If you let it get REALLY bad, it will
eventually jump a tooth or strip teeth on cold startup.

5S-FE oil pans rarely leak even at high mileage. Oil filter change
messes and the resulting oil runoff are most likely to blame at your
low mileage. The oil blows backward from forced air and drips down
from gravity and follows the oilpan flanges -- this looks like an
oilpan leak to the uninitiated.

If your Tbelt begins making that growling noise I would suggest you
find a shop who's willing to retension the Tbelt for aprox. 1 to 1.5
hours labor -- a lot of people won't for whatever reason.

I would suggest you go to a DIY carwash and pressurewash the front
block / oil filter area and the entire oilpan area underneath (perhaps
bring a vehicle jack along to make it easier). Then check out the
underside in a few thousand miles BEFORE doing your next oil change. I
bet it will be dry. If there's fresh oil underneath then I would look
at the valve cover gasket and the round cam plug in the head behind the
coil packs. They are much more likely to leak, and they will run oil
down the back side of the trans case and block to the point where some
people think there's a leaking rear main seal (expensive) or oil pan
(kind of expensive).

Toyota MDT in MO


wrote:
> Hello. I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LE. The engine is a 2.2-L,
4-cylinder
> engine.
>
>
> The car is, obviously, about 7 years old. However, the car has only
> 28000 miles on it.
>
> Recently, a Toyota dealership performed an oil change. As part of the
> oil change, the dealership performed a routine inspection of the car.
> The mechanics at the dealership said that they examined the car's
> timing belt and that the timing belt was cracked. The mechanics said
> that the timing belt needs to be replaced. The mechanics will charge
a
> little over $300 for the job.
>
> The mechanics said that the belt is cracked because the car is aging.
>
> I am very skeptical about all of this. From what I have read, people
> replace a timing belt every 60000 miles.
>
>
>
> Also, the mechanics said that my car has an oil-pan leak. The fix for
> that will also be a little over $300.
>
>
>
> I will probably get a second opinion from another shop. However, I
> would like some input from the people in this newsgroup. Is it common
> to have a cracked timing belt on a car that is 7 years old and that
has
> only 28000 miles on it? Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car
> that is 7 years old and that has only 28000 miles on it?
>
>
> Thanks for any information.
>
> Regards,
>
> Alex K.

I agree with John S.

miles or no miles the belt is 7 years old. I'd get a second opinion though.

Considering what is at risk vs the repair cost, I would have it done.

> wrote

> If the drive belt is cracked, does it necessarily
> mean that the timing belt is cracked as well?

No.

Japanese cars usually recommend a replacement after six years. Since Toyotas are
usually non-interference and if you're not driving on hazardous road areas then it's
up to you to continue to drive it. In fact, many Toyota owners I know only change
their timing after visual signs of wear. Honda, on the other hand, isn't as forgiving.

> Is it common to have an oil-pan leak on a car [28K miles on it]

Not really. My 16-year old Honda (nearly 300K-miles) has no such leaks.