Low Speed Timing Belt Break... Need advice

2005 TRD double cab with 280,000 that just completed a flawless 8k mile journey from Maine to the Pacific Northwest and back in July. I bought the truck with 220k miles on her and previous owner did all his own maintenance and said the timing belt was done at 200k. I had no reason to doubt this as the truck was obviously well maintained with many suspension components replaced over time and visually the timing belt looked very good.

Yesterday I was driving through one of our small towns here in Maine accelerating from a stop sign when I noticed my throttle response went to zero. I was probably going no more than 20 mph. I looked down and sure enough the dash was lit and the engine off. As I was rolling I put it in neutral and tried to restart but no response. I pulled her off to the side of the road and just did a visual inspection of everything but nothing seemed amiss. My initial thoughts were issues with the fuel pump or relay. I did try to crank it a few more times but she wouldn't turn over. Decided to put my Geico roadside assistance to use and had the truck towed back to the house. Once in the driveway I checked some fuses/relays then decided to give her one more crank. That's when I heard a faint pop and the smell of rubber... and then the timing belt realization came over me. The irony was that I had been calling around to get timing belt quotes just last week.

After reading about catastrophic engine damage being hit or miss at low speeds I think my best course of action is to slap a belt on her and see what happens. I typically do all of my own maintenance and have done timing belts in the past on Volvos but it's been probably 10 years. But I must admit I am a bit intimidated because every timing belt job I've done the old belt was still functional. In thirty years of owning countless vehicles this is the only time I've ever had a timing belt or chain give out on me. All the videos I've watched on the 4.7 keep referring to making sure the position of the old belt is all good before proceeding with the new one. So my question is what are the additional precautions or things I should be aware of knowing that most likely my timing skipped before the belt actually broke? Will I be able to get the timing right? I am not worried about the teardown or putting everything back together but I would love some input on being able to get the timing right with a broken belt. In case you are wondering upon visual inspection this time- the belt was not in good shape and I am fortunate this did not happen on our cross country trip. Any thoughts, feedback or advice much appreciated!

 

@Ruggybuggy

 

Should be fine at those speeds and no subsequent driving/loads. You can definitely do the job and there are 1000 videos online and you can always post pics and videos to this thread if you need help/want people to visually inspect your work.

Just make sure to by an OEM Aisin timing belt/water pump kit from a reputable dealer.

 

That makes me feel better about the job for sure. I did talk to a local guy who specializes in Toyotas that's typically so busy he's booked out four weeks- I talked him through my situation and he was convinced there would be damage in the top end so that left me a bit deflated. But it also sounded like he wasn't interested in the job due to being so busy.

 

I would rotate the cams so the valves close and then do a leak down test for each cylinder. That should tell you if the valves are bent or if they're seating. If you get good and consistent results I'd put a new belt on and send it.

If a cylinder(s) aren't sealing well, then you'll have to pull the head to fix the valves at a minimum.

You could also put a bore scope in to look at the pistons, but really the leak down is what you need to know. If a piston is a little scratched it doesn't matter, the valves sealing is really what you care about.

 

Start by getting a shop manual. Get the Toyota OE timing belt. It has timing paint marks on it and the manual will show you haw to install. Might as well do the water pump as well. My felling is that your going to have some bent valves. I watched a tech do a belt and he was off on his marks and one quick crank bent the valves.

 

Potential for engine damage due to the broken belt still exists. Many members have had theirs snap and gotten lucky, hoping for you.

 

Echoing @KNABORES and @snivilous here. Not that anyone else's comments are invalid, those two just cover what I was going to say.

It sounds like you'd be comfortable doing the work? If yes, the monetary investment is low (just don't buy on scAmazon), and the time investment is under one day's work. We can link you to videos online that'll walk you through the process. At worst you're out $200 and a day's work. At best, you prove the engine is a boat anchor, and it's time to sell or put in a new VVTi engine.

The biggest thing will be getting the truck timing set correctly. And FYI, there's a service manual for your truck linked in this thread about 5 lines in.

 

Thanks so much for the link to the service manual- extremely helpful. I'm comfortable doing the work- I do all of my own maintenance and haven't been to a mechanic in probably twenty years. But I don't have any experience at all with engine tear downs and rebuilds so the fact that this belt broke on me is new territory.

 

Thanks for the response. Never done a leak down test before. Since the belt is broken I'm guessing I'll need to buy the tool that will allow me to turn the pulley? Do any of the position markers tell me when the valves are closed? Or do I have to do that by feel through the cylinder? Sorry I have done most things on my vehicles over the years- I don't have any experience with engine teardowns or rebuilds.

 

Start here:



Then this:

 

Do not turn the cams with belt off. If they are not bent now they will be if you do that. The cams will spring forward and contact the piston that at TDC. Just put the new belt on and you can crank it over and do a compression test but you will hear if it sound wrong when the valves bend.

 

It's crazy how many guys lie about the timing belt being replaced when selling a vehicle.

As Reagan would say: trust, but verify.

 

Those stickers saying the timing belt cost $1-2. Timing belt overdue will cost you $500-1500 on your sale price if the buyer thinks to ask. Solution? Spend $1-2 on a sticker, slap it in the engine bay indicating it was done 3 years and 20k miles ago, and "I don't keep receipts, sorry".

 

That's some "shifty" behaviour, gang!

This is why I think all those "maintenance history" records are worthless when someone can put one together with different inks Saturday morning.

And if you have dealer performed maintenance records, well let's hope they really did perform them.

We can see first hand, dealer services are trustworthy! https://www.tundras.com/threads/10k-mile-service-done-very-badly.130895/#post-3332423

To be murky clear, there ARE honest dealers out there sometimes.

 

I guess to turn the cams you already need the front torn down to access the hex on the front. At that point may as well hook up the timing belt since you're already there, then do a compression and/or leak down.

I don't follow the above comments about the cams "springing forward" I've never experienced that on a valvetrain thats fully assembled but maybe I'm missing something.

 

As someone who just did this job himself I can definitely say it is doable with the right tools and patience. I followed those videos that were posted above and combined that with questions to this group as I found stuff of concern. Everytime I took bolts or screws off, they went into a little zip lock bag with the name of what they came off of written on it. Every tube, line, connection I disconnected, I wrapped a piece of blue masking tape on it so I wouldn't overlook it and write where it was connected to. It took me a few days but that's only because it's my second vehicle and I could afford to go slow. I just started the truck last night and it's running beautifully.

 

Thanks to everyone who took some time out to comment and provide some input. We've got a beautiful week of weather coming up here in Southern Maine. I will probably start the tear down tomorrow and then continue to pick away at it after work this week. Hopefully she'll be purring again for some adventures next weekend. Fingers crossed- I love this truck and planned on keeping it forever. I'm sure I'll be checking back at points with questions. Worst case scenario... not ready to think about that just yet.

 

The cam can sit on the downside of cam lobe and it will propel the cam forward. Best to use a wrench and not a ratchet as you move the cam into the proper timing position.

 

Please keep us updated on progress. I wonder if the belt broke or the tensioner let go?

I used to live in Maine.
How’s the rust situation on the tundra?

 

I’m also in southern Maine, do my own maintenance, and am a recovering Volvo nut. (Had two turbo red blocks)
I haven’t had to do a timing belt on a Toyota but I don’t think it requires any special tool.

If at some point you need to replace rear axle bearings, hit me up. I have the special tools for that.

 

Sad to see so many

Appreciate the offer man! We currently have both Toyotas and Volvos in the stable.

 

UPDATE! Made some good progress today. Got everything torn down up to the crank pulley. I need to order that removal tool, timing belt kit, etc. Let me know if there is anything else not mentioned in typical timing belt posts that you would recommend ordering.

Here are a few pictures of the cams. Not sure if there is any info that can be gleaned at this point. As you can see the belt shredded and was in poor shape prior to the break. It was pretty wooly under the passenger side cam cover. Any thoughts are again appreciated.

 

That’s an old belt. Not sure the previous owner was telling the truth about swapping it.

 

Definitely do the water pump, thermostat, and thermostat gasket if you don't know when the last time it was done. Here are the other things I ordered:

• AISIN FBT002 (
  $117 FBT-002 Fan Pulley Bracket - Compatible with Select Lexus GX470, LS400, LX470 Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra
  FBT-002) Radiator Fan Clutch Bearing Bracket
• GATES 38488 Belt Tensioner
• Serp belt

Did you order the AISIN kits from Summit? That had most of the essentials. Toyota FIPG is a need and the loctite 242 was something I learned for certain bolts.

 

Yeah I tend to agree with you. If he was lying then this belt likely had 282,000 miles on it.

To answer your previous question about rust- its sad how many Toyotas suffer an early death up here in Maine due to the salt. But this one spent the majority of its life in Montana so its in great shape overall for a New England specimen.

 

He was absolutely NOT telling the truth.

People suck.

 

and some are dicks, so I read somewhere

 

Yeah not cool. But I should have done my own due diligence- I know better than that.

 

I'm thankful my shop puts a timing belt sticker under the hood. It's like an oil change sticker. Kind of dope.