Camry Broke Down

Nick1994

Nick1994

$100 site donor 2023
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
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Location
Phoenix, AZ
Well, my trusty old Camry broke down the other week. I've let my brother drive it as a get around car for over a year. He left his house and got about 2 blocks down the road when the Camry died. He says it was like it just simply turned off. I drove over and when we cranked it, it cranked fast but sounded weird. Like no compression. Luckily my brother has a car-hauler trailer with a winch so we pulled it 3 blocks to my mechanic's shop (good friend of mine) with my grandpa's Grand Cherokee. Confirmed broken timing belt, luckily it's a non-interference engine. Just got it back today and it runs like a champ as usual. Had him make sure the radiator was completely drained as it was overdue for a coolant change. The belt wasn't dry rotted at all, it just snapped. According to the sticker under the hood it was last changed with a Gates belt at 140k miles by a previous owner, it's now just shy of 235k (90k mile replacement interval) so it was overdue by 5k. It got an Aisin timing belt kit, the bearings were Koyo and made in Japan. $476 out the door. I haven't spent a penny on this car for repairs in 2-1/2 years. As in, $0.00. It does have a torn CV boot so I'll take the axle out and have my mechanic put the boots on, I've also got new control arms to put on. Just goes to show that a timing belt can look perfectly fine, and can break in an instant.

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A genuine Gates Unitta belt will go 180,000 plus on a 5S-FE, Seen them last up to 300,000 on a 1UZ-FE. You never know how a mechanic handles the belt during install, Never crimp the belt....It can weaken/break the reinforcement cords in the belt! I would almost bet that is what happened to this one. The replacement Mitsuboshi belts seems to be just as good for Toyota applications.....Even the OE replacements are Mitsuboshi with the Toyota logo on the belt.
 
Gotta love a 5S-FE! The joke with those is that the timing belt interval is just "whenever it breaks". Non-interference, no issue. That, and it's just about the world's easiest timing belt to do!
 
You mentioned it lasted 90k miles, but no mention of how long it was in service. Rubber deteriorates. If it has been in service for too long, that could also be the cause of failure. As mentioned by cline, how the belt was handled can have an effect on service life. I saw some ham-fisted handling of T-belts by other so-called mechanics, during my consumer car repair career. The highest mileage I ever saw on an original T-belt, was in a T-100 with the 5VZ-FE, at 360k. The truck was absolutely hammered, every body panel was scratched and dented, It was owned by a contractor, who drove lots of miles, in a fairly short time period. The reason I saw it, is that the water pump FIPG was leaking.
 
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Originally Posted by 14Accent
Gotta love a 5S-FE! The joke with those is that the timing belt interval is just "whenever it breaks". Non-interference, no issue. That, and it's just about the world's easiest timing belt to do!
Seen that happen too....
 
I just logged into the Toyota Owners site to check it's dealer service history. 1/31/12 at 138,459 miles it got it's "drive belts" replaced. Not sure if that means serpentine belts, timing belt, or both. Although it actually had the original timing belt replaced at 67,390 miles at the dealer on 3/21/05.
 
my hybrid Eats belts for dinner serpentine belt was just replace at 80k miles needs a new one as it's all ready worn out at 90k currently has 92k almost you can hear it slipping on start up and only does it on a cold start it's due to the HIGH speed starts (1100 RPM to 2000 rpm) and frequent engine stops/start cycles ' I have a spare belt on hand lucky it only controls the cooling system (everything else is electrical ) which has a back up electrical water pump. anyways
 
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My dad has the same Camry; it was bought as a brand new back in 2000; the car served us well, all stock; the belt was replaced maybe twice; still runs smooth; I think also, it's transmission fluid was changed twice the most; however car shows it's age, that includes leak from engine and there is a CEL on; I tried to put minimal minimal work on it but it got back; currently it has P0440 and P0441 codes; I'm waiting for cooler temperatures to check whether is reasonable to fix it or not; the car needs new registration in January; we haven't decided yet but he may get my Mazda in January as I may be on the look out for something newer… [Linked Image] [Linked Image]
 
While your mechanic is in there, you may wanna replace the other belts. PS, ALT, AC or whatever else is in there. Wouldn't be much more money. thumbsup
 
"Drive belt" service means the outside belts it would not include the timing belt.
 
Glad to hear it is back on the road . :-) We have a Chevy Sonic with a timing belt . it will be coming up on schedule for replacement in another 20,000 - 25,000 mile . Will be my first experience doing a timing belt .
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
While your mechanic is in there, you may wanna replace the other belts. PS, ALT, AC or whatever else is in there. Wouldn't be much more money. thumbsup
thumbsup Yeah I would have had him do it, but I've already replaced them and they looked great
 
About a week or so ago I was going to send a PM to Nick1994 asking how the Camry was running. So thanks for the update. I remember when it took a pretty good hit while parked in the street. Which smashed the driver's side rear corner. Good to hear it's back on the road.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
About a week or so ago I was going to send a PM to Nick1994 asking how the Camry was running. So thanks for the update. I remember when it took a pretty good hit while parked in the street. Which smashed the driver's side rear corner. Good to hear it's back on the road.
It really is unbelievable how well it runs and drives. It has ICE cold A/C. Rear strut mounts squeak over bumps but that's about it. Every time I drive it (not very often) I think to myself "why did I ever stop driving this thing?" And then I get back in the Sonata and go "Oh, yeah that's why" cause it's so comfortable and big inside. I feel bad. I really do. But it gets about 4K miles a year put on it by my brother so that's ok.
 
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