392k, haven't replaced the timing belt or water pump yet

I have 392,000 miles on my 2000 4.7 motor never replacing the timing belt or water pump. Never had any problems at all, the block has never even been cracked. Just been reading about interference engines, am I in trouble?

Advise encouraged
Byron R

 

You're past due. Get it done.

 

Welcome.

Yes, you're living on borrowed time, borrowed time that's been loaned and re-loaned several layers deep. I wouldn't even drive it to the store to buy parts. If a shop is doing it, I wouldn't drive it to the shop for replacement, I'd tow. You've definitely gotten your money's worth out of the engine, but it's not even at half-life.

10mm to loosen a timing cover and inspect the belt doesn't take much effort. If you see cracks throughout the belt, stop driving on it. Crack can become a rip in no time. This is one of the worst ones I've seen, and at only 140k miles: https://www.tundras.com/threads/clicking-noise-from-engine-or-belts.102057/#post-2619704

Lots of questions and answers about these trucks over here.

 

Yea, open the timing cover and show us what it looks like. 400k is pretty impressive for a rubber belt. My buells drive belt broke at 30k and didnt have any visible cracks.

 

Ooh, here's another good one at about 160k miles (270,000km): https://www.tundras.com/threads/head-gasket-failure-or-loose-bolt.64132/#post-1674035

There was one other guy on here who swore he had like 260k on his original belt, and it looked better than the two I just linked. I was skeptical, but ...

 

Oooh, @BYRON R here's another good pic of how little you need to pull back the timing cover. This belt was also not in the shape you want to see: https://www.tundras.com/threads/crackhead-resurrection.94083/page-7#post-2385438

 

Welcome from the Rust belt. First thing i would do is take her in and get the TB and WP changed pronto. Like they said above you're living on borrowed time.

 

And to that point, here's the Toyota/Aisin kit you'll want to order: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3290529

Don't buy on scAmazon, fleaBay, WallyMart, you're liable to get counterfeits. RockAuto is a great source. Summit Racing also.

 

Welcome from NY.

Change that belt ASAP.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Ditto!

 

The replacement belt will not last as long as the original belt.

 

Welcome. Are you the original owner? A lot of miles. What is the driving environment?

 

Yes the original owner, southern California.

 

Could be the reason why the belt has lasted so long, mild climate.

But we've seen other California members with as few as 180k-200k miles snap the original belt. @thefish712 is one of them, over here, @ 218k miles on his belt: https://www.tundras.com/threads/potentially-snapped-timing-belt.90981/

Engine was a boat anchor afterward.

 

Perhaps not experiencing the extremes has saved you. Get it done quickly before you regret it.

 

@BYRON R we all want to see pictures of that belt!

 

I always wonder how important the time interval is as compared to the mileage in the real world. I replaced the belt and all the related components, along with the water pump at about 72K miles, but now at 100K miles, it's now been 8 years and coming up on the time limit interval. It sure seems overkill to do another belt with so little miles on it. The original looked great BTW, I could hardly tell it from new.

 

OP's belt.

 

Meh..... it's lasted this long, probably will never fail...

 

Yea… I’d replace that.. soon. The Kit is cheap from Aisin. I’m More impressed the water pump isn’t leaking like a waterfall.. the pumps rarely last as long as the belt without leaking


But yes interference. Belt snaps? That trucks going to need an engine.

 

I was told when I bought mine at 207k it was changed recently. I’m pretty sure it was original when I did mine at 275k.

 

That's exactly how mine looked when I replaced it. The truck had 175K on it and the previous owner told me he had it replaced around 130K.... The water pump had a date stamp from 2000, so I'm pretty sure he was fibbin...

 

I dunno, the sheen on that rubber suggests it's not horribly old. Maybe they just used a crappy quality belt, and did the belt only? A lot of people have that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, won't do the water pump, tensioners. This one linked earlier was at 160k original miles, OEM belt.

 

Wow, 392000 on original belt. Probably you have highest mileage on original timing ever. If I have 392000 miles on original belt , I will drive until it breaks to see how long and how many miles will it last. You already had all of your money back at this mileage. Your belt maybe already hold the world record. Cheer!

 

This is out of curiosity and for science: what does the rest of your maintenance schedule look like? Based on your TB/WP schedule the truck seems to be on a reactive maintenance v. a preventive maintenance schedule. Not that one is right and the other is wrong, there are plenty of arguments that say that cost and down time of preventive maintenance is not worth the benefit. So, did you change the oil every 5K miles. Just add oil if it was low?

You have science to contribute to the collective First Gen knowledge base.

 

I mean it’s not just a rubber belt, it’s got all sorts for nylony Kevlar looking stuff in it. Mine was cracked to $hit at 270k, but it still looked strong.

It’s a massive belt as well. No idea why they would fail at anything less than 200k.

 

jimf909, From day one ran Castrol synthetic oil every 5,000 to 6,000 miles, installed K&N cold air intake system about 50,000 miles. Replaced plugs every 50,000 miles. Replace the radiator at 320,000 miles, replace the serpentine belt at 360,000 miles (it broke) tranny and rear end fluid 1 time. 340,000.

 

You are the epitome of "don't fix it if it ain't broke". Truly amazing honestly.

Have you ever touched the other fluids? Transmission, Transfer case(if 4x4), power steering?

 

Cool. Your truck has served you extremely well and your cost-per-mile is probably about as low as possible for a full-size pickup.

The radiator replacement may be a great example of reactive maintenance v. preventive maintenance. You don't mention coolant flushes so maybe you're running oem coolant. Would flushing the coolant every two years have extended the life of the radiator? Probably if it was replaced due to becoming clogged. Would the cost of 11 coolant flushes be more than the rad replacement? I'm guessing yes. So, just run the oem coolant until the rad fails may be reasonable.

Although, as mentioned, it's surprising the water pump hasn't failed. Even more so if the coolant was flushed regularly.

 

I think the serpentine belt snapping is an ominous sign. Heed its warning. Toyotas are tough. As evidenced by yours, but they are not invincible. Ask whistlindiesel.