Timing belt on a 93 Toyota Camery

[Steve S]

I had a mechanic do a safety check on a 1993 Toyota Camery that has 70,000 miles on it. It looks great! He said that he recommends I replace the timing belt because they usually go out at 70,000 miles or 7 years.......whichever comes first...

I've never heard anything like this...can someone tell me if this is correct?

[FingeringAm]

i know nothinga bout cars but he sounds like he would make a perfect GC employee

[hartke20g]

Originally Posted by Steve S

70,000 miles or 7 years.......whichever comes first...

that's a near-guarantee that he's just trying to make a sale. when you're telling someone when to replace/"repair" something (that involves a lot of expensive labor), you tell them the symptoms to look out for that tell you to replace/repair the part(s).
my advice would be to find a Camry online forum, join it, and search for threads pertaining to the timing belts.
i don't own and have never owned a Camry, so i don't know the direct answer to your question, but hopefully this helps.

[hey]

Pft, Camrys are built like tanks, that's just some made up BS that guy said.

[m0nst3r]

I'd always thought it was 90k.

+1 on joining a Camry forum though. I joined an Acura forum a while ago, and it's been a big help.

[ulrich]

Timing belts are meant to be replaced every so often. Every 60K miles, on my Mazda truck. If you fail to replace the belt in time, and it breaks, your engine may be destroyed, bent rods, bent valves, dinged pistons. Or not, some engines don't self destruct when the timing belt fails. My quick web search finds that Toyota recommend 60-90k miles depending on conditions.

I don't know about your car, but the timing belt swap was fairly easy on my Mazda B2200. Took about two hours.

[Mike Money]

...


95 and earlier toyotas are tanks. They were still built in japan.


my truck has 242000 miles on it.... original timing belt, head gasket, etc...





i'd say dont worry about it.


run synthetic oil.... flush your tranny every 29ktake care of it... and never worry about it again.

[Dr Stankface]

Just for the sake of it, i'd go ahead and have it done. It'd be better to go ahead and get it done now than later. They may say wait every 60k or 90k but the car is 15 years old regardless.

I'd get it done.

[Trevorus]

Originally Posted by Dr Stankface

Just for the sake of it, i'd go ahead and have it done. It'd be better to go ahead and get it done now than later. They may say wait every 60k or 90k but the car is 15 years old regardless.

I'd get it done.

The mechanic may want some money, but that IS how he makes a living. I would go ahead and replace the timing belt, because it's one of those preventative maintenance things. You don't want to be cruising down the road when that thing breaks.

This is one piece of advice that I really don't think that your mechanic is trying to screw you on. Think about it, it's a rubber belt that has been rolling probably trillions of revolutions over the course of these years, under hot (like 200 degrees) conditions next to the engine block... Would you rather wait until it fails and strands you on the side of the road?

A little research leads me to believe that that engine in your car is what's called a non-interference engine. That means that the valves cannot contact the pistons if the timing belt does break. That is a good thing, but it's still a good idea to replace it before it breaks.

[Mr_Dave]

As mentioned, some engines will self destruct badly if the belt breaks... my 90 camry (australia) has clearance between the valves and pistons so if it goes, it just stops and it doesn't implode. Might want to check that out. I did the belt on time at 200,000kms... around 255,000kms now and still going ok... a few electrical gremlins because of water leaks but they are tough cars...

[MoD_Scotty]

Normally, I wouldn't say that it'd be totally necessary at 70,000....but your car is 15 years old. Go ahead and get it done. Definitely call around to a few places and get other estimates though. Don't just hand it over to the first shop. You should be able to get it done for as little as $250.

Remember though, it's also a good time to replace the water pump, as well as the accessory belts. Might as well have that done while the car is under the knife.

[playinpearls]

yeah, if it were a 2003 i would saw naw, you can wait....but 15 years? do it now and forget about it....

it is a non interference engine.

[Relic]

Do it. Timing belts are one of those things that need to be changed eventually.

It's better to have it done and be proactive about it then waiting until it goes and you're left stranded miles out in some blazing hot dry desert somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a dead cell phone, an old Wham CD that some chick left in your car and nothing to drink except a partially full bottle of warm spring water sitting in your console.

[Horny Toad]

Originally Posted by Relic

Do it. Timing belts are one of those things that need to be changed eventually.

It's better to have it done and be proactive about it then waiting until it goes and you're left stranded miles out in some blazing hot dry desert somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a dead cell phone, an old Wham CD that some chick left in your car and nothing to drink except a partially full bottle of warm spring water sitting in your console.

If the OP had a Wham CD in his car, I'd have absolutely no sympathy for his situation.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by Horny Toad

If the OP had a Wham CD in his car, I'd have absolutely no sympathy for his situation.

He's absolved if some hot chick, all hot 'n bothered, left it in his car though. Otherwise of course it would be a man-card infraction.

[RobTheSkanker]

For the camry forum, check out toyotanation.com thats what I'm on for my '90 AE92.

[RED5]

Originally Posted by Steve S

I had a mechanic do a safety check on a 1993 Toyota Camery that has 70,000 miles on it. It looks great! He said that he recommends I replace the timing belt because they usually go out at 70,000 miles or 7 years.......whichever comes first...

I've never heard anything like this...can someone tell me if this is correct?

Yes. It's near the 90k suggested limit, so I would strongly suggest you have it done. The job shouldn't cost that much in fact, the Toyo shop I worked in used to run specials,check locally. The end result of not doing it and having the belt snap?, is a costly cylinder head job. The Camry engine is what we call a "bender" as in it will bend the valves and render the motor useless. It's called "Preventitive Maintenance" Myself? I try to get vehicles that still use chain drives in the valve timing system, they're getting scarce,but can still be found.

[dave64o]

Yes, Camry's are built very well. My wife owned two of them and they were very little trouble (though not as little as my Honda's and Acura's ).

However, she was not very good about maintenance on her first one, a 1986 Camry and she never did the timing belt when she was supposed to. It broke and wreaked all kinds of havoc on the engine, causing about $1000 in damage.

That was bad enough, but it broke when we were on our way to a Phillies game. Friends of our got seats in the right behind home plate that they couldn't use and they gave them. That was the only time I ever had seats that good and I missed out. That was about 15 years ago and I *still* give her a hard time about it.

If there was any good news in that episode, it was that she had a leaky head gasket that she should have gotten fixed but was putting off because of the cost. Since the engine was already in pieces on their shop floor they only charged us cost for the gasket. So I can say we had the world's most inexpensive head gasket replacement. Whoopee!!

Check your owner's manual and if you're at the point where it should be changed, change it.

[Mike N]

Do it, and change the waterpump while your in there.

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by Trevorus

The mechanic may want some money, but that IS how he makes a living.

If the tech was recommending fluid flushes and crap like that I'd say he's only out for money.

Being he's suggesting a timing belt on a 15 year old car with 70k miles, I'd say the tech is out for the customer's best interest.