GRANYZ400

iTrader: (1)

Bought the car with 113K miles knowing it needed a timing belt job; finally got around to it at 120K miles following a combination of threads from this great forum, YT vids and the FSM off TIS. I turn a decent wrench and I have lots of tools and it took me a leisurely 10hrs (I was in no rush).

This thread is for those of you who might be curious what a timing belt looks like at 120K miles. History on the vehicle is that it was spring/summer driven out of WI by an older lady until I got it. For the past 7K miles I have mainly driven it a mix of city highway. I like to put my foot in it a couple times per trip, but I don't spend a lot of time at high RPMs.

These are pics of the "worst" parts. Some fraying on the side of the belt and a couple places where the stitching started getting exposed.

Trogdor796

Any pics of the inside of it?

ttaylor993

The inside of the belt?! The first two pics ARE of the inside of the belt. The belt is turned inside out. It is smooth on the outside and ribbed on the inside.

GRANYZ400

iTrader: (1)

Assuming Trogdor meant the "other" side (smooth side) there was really nothing notable, or at least worth taking a picture of. The cam and crank markings were long gone; in other words, the backside of the belt was completely smooth and black.

marshun

you shouldnt even see anything really when you change the belt. if you do then youve gotten pretty lucky to not have it fail on you

the only thing really noticable is that the old belt will feel a bit dryer than the new belt

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

this makes me want to get mine done this year...... 120k miles is still pretty low for these cars but i'm guessing age and how the car was driven will affect the wear and tear on this...

repugnante

You should've seen how mine looked after I pulled mine with 147k on the clock. It had never been replaced and the belt looked bad. Some fraying and some teeth were missing. 147k and never changed. I loathe the previous owner...

Trogdor796

Yes, sorry for the poor wording, the "other side" would have been better. So it really was smooth? No cracking in a lot of places? Surprised...

GRANYZ400

iTrader: (1)

Yeah looked good. I was surprised that side looked decent.

czr73

The belt doesn't look that bad !!
How does one know when it's time to change it ?

ttaylor993

Change it on schedule is the safest thing to do. These (2jz) are interference motors; at least the '00 is. That means the pistons and valves occupy the same space at different times during the firing cycle. If the belt breaks the engine will be toast as the pistons will hit the valves and bend and/or break them. I am sure you can find many on this forum that have gone way past the recommended 90k mile change interval with no ill effects. And these engines can take a lot of punishment. However, a broken timing belt is not one of them. It's better to be safe than sorry.

raytseng

You also can plan this out from a more practical perspective, rather then replacing it based on wear.
You decide how long you want to keep the car, and perform the changes appropriately to get use out of the new parts.

It is like how they plan pit stops at car races. They don't just wear the tires down until they're completely shot; and then use new tires just for the final lap.

Decide if you're keeping the car for 90k miles or 180k or see if you have 0,1, or 2 belt changes planned, and then change appropriately to actually get some use