Road trip - timing belt look ok?

[Kurtatron]

i just bought this Lexus rx330. Timing belt changed about 90k miles ago. I want to change it, believe me I do, but I’m in an apartment for a few months.

Does this look ok to take on a roadtrip? Or should I leave it? It’s an interference engine, I know.

I’d rather take the Lexus because it is more comfortable.

 

[supton]

90k, so it's about due... but how old?

While it looks ok, it's the other side that matters more.

IMO I'd rather not take a "new to me" and thus unknown vehicle out and about, not until it's had a bit of a chance to prove itself. Toss in this and it'd be a hard no.

 

[eljefino]

The belt is fine, but like Supton writes, how much other faith do you have in this car? Do you have 1000 miles of experience with it yet? If so, I'd go.

 

[JavierH19]

It's probably fine especially if it's a good brand of belt and if it isn't old. Did the car come with a receipt of the work so you can check when it was done and hopefully what belt they used? Many take timing belts to 150k. I'd trust it enough to be gingerly not driving it hard on that roadtrip.

 

[jhs914]

What are all of those frayed wires in the right of the picture?

 

[RooflessVW]

What are all of those frayed wires in the right of the picture?

Wire loom sheathing.

 

[hemitom]

I would not pass judgement by looking at that photo.!
tells nothing about the condition of the belt .
Roll the dice could last 1 mile or 50000 ?

 

[TCL]

Looks good from here!

 

[GR_CoB]

I know for a fact that an OEM belt on 3MZ can go for at least 229k miles...and even then it didn't break, but got replaced due to time/mileage. But honestly the owner just got lucky in this case of 3.3L Solara. YMMV

 

[The Critic]

Just replaced the original timing belt on a 2006 ES330 with 46K. Belt was in perfect condition, but the water pump was leaking.

 

[kschachn]

I’ve changed many timing belts and I’ve never seen one that looks as if it is ready to fail. However, in my experience what does fail are the pulley and tensioner bearings.

Oh and what @The Critic notes above.

 

[The Critic]

I’ve changed many timing belts and I’ve never seen one that looks as if it is ready to fail. However, in my experience what does fail are the pulley and tensioner bearings.

Oh and what @The Critic notes above.

I have seen leaking tensioners and water pumps, but never seen failed tensioner pulleys. In fact, I rarely replace them.

 

[dishdude]

I would not pass judgement by looking at that photo.!
tells nothing about the condition of the belt .
Roll the dice could last 1 mile or 50000 ?

This, you need to see the other side of the belt to check for cracking where the teeth meet the belt.

 

[kschachn]

I have seen leaking tensioners and water pumps, but never seen failed tensioner pulleys. In fact, I rarely replace them.

The first time I replaced the timing belt on my old Sienna I did not replace the tensioner and idler pulley bearings. The idler bearing started to fail about 35,000 miles later and was making a knocking sound at a certain RPM.

I’ve actually never seen a leaking hydraulic tensioner.

 

[Bill7]

90k, so it's about due... but how old?

While it looks ok, it's the other side that matters more.

IMO I'd rather not take a "new to me" and thus unknown vehicle out and about, not until it's had a bit of a chance to prove itself. Toss in this and it'd be a hard no.

For what it's worth, I have three 2006-2007 Honda Odysseys. One of them had the original 16 year old timing belt and 125k miles. 2 years ago, I had the timing belt / tensioner / water pump replaced. I asked the mechanic to give me the old timing belt back after he did the timing belt replacement. The old belt still looked strong and normal looking.

For those vehicles that still have timing belts, it's nice to change it only once at 125k miles, and then when it hits 250k miles, to consider selling the car, so you end up only having to do 1 timing belt replacement for the life of the car.

 

[The Critic]

For what it's worth, I have three 2006-2007 Honda Odysseys. One of them had the original 16 year old timing belt and 125k miles. 2 years ago, I had the timing belt / tensioner / water pump replaced. I asked the mechanic to give me the old timing belt back after he did the timing belt replacement. The old belt still looked strong and normal looking.

For those vehicles that still have timing belts, it's nice to change it only once at 125k miles, and then when it hits 250k miles, to consider selling the car, so you end up only having to do 1 timing belt replacement for the life of the car.

On Honda's the hydraulic tensioner is the biggest issue -- they're always leaking long before the belt is even due.

 

[Bill7]

On Honda's the hydraulic tensioner is the biggest issue -- they're always leaking long before the belt is even due.

Thanks for that info. I always get the timing belt and tensioner replaced at the same time. So far, I've been lucky.

I really like the Honda J35 V-6's because they are so smooth and powerful. As a mechanic, do you ever see any 2005 to 2007 Honda Odysseys reaching 300k miles?

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for that info. I always get the timing belt and tensioner replaced at the same time. So far, I've been lucky.

I really like the Honda J35 V-6's because they are so smooth and powerful. As a mechanic, do you ever see any 2005 to 2007 Honda Odysseys reaching 300k miles?

It can get there, but how much money do you want to spend?

 

[vavavroom]

The image is too out-of-focus to evaluate the belt. Twist it with your fingers and see if you can see tiny cracks, and also try to get a good look at the reverse (toothed) side and look for wear. Is the tensioner still good? 90k miles is not crazy high but as already mentioned, age matters. If the belt is older than 6 or 7 years I'd replace it along with the tensioner, idle roller, and probably the water pump.

 

[Marcozi]

Is the engine a non-inference engine? That is, if the belt goes will one or more pistons crunch one or more valves? If it is an interference engine change it and the associated pulleys for peace of mind.