[ssanjeev]

Heya Folks,

A couple of quick points on the replacement of timing belts. The key to the extent of damage that can be caused by non replacement of the timing belt is to know if you engine is an interference or non interference engine. Most modern engines fall under the non interference category, simply put even if the timing belt snaps the piston will not make contact with valves. With the interference engines, there will be significant damage to the engines.

The process of replacing the timing belt on your car for the expert DIY person, is relatively simple and can be quite a pleasurable 4 hours of getting to know your car upclose and personal.

I have a camry that has currently 423 000 kms and still running strong, key to keeping your vehicle running is regular preventive maintainance. If anyone is interested in learning more, let me know and i would be happy to put photographs up of the entire process.

Cheers,
Sanjeev

[Raccoon]

Im sure most of us would be more than happy if you can put up such a guide...

[ssanjeev]

Ok, to begin with, this is not a job for the faint hearted, and IMHO this is a job for a person with a fair bit of DIY experience. This job took me about 6 - 7 hours to complete. This is but an overview of the process but would be happy to give folks pointers if need be.

This is a Toyota Camry 2.2L DOHC, and as with most toyota's is a fairly complex and sophisticated engine. This picture shows locations of the critical components involved in this DIY operation.


Coolant and washer tank removed.


Closeup of alternator and the mount for it.


Alternator and supporting bracket have now been removed.


The engine mount is probably the most challenging to remove considering that a DIY person seldom has a lift at home for the car to be raised or hydraulic tools for raising the engine.


Upper engine mount has been removed, but the attachment to the body of the engine is the most difficult, the two bolts in particular.


The mount fully removed, the timing belt case now visible.


Upper half of timing belt case removed and the power steering pump that needs to be disengaged.


Crankshaft Harmonic Balancer - Key point to be noted is to not use a common gear puller but to use a harmonic balancer puller, the pulley comes out with ease. With a gear puller you stand a very high chance of damaging the pulley. Picture shows the harmonic balancer puller by STANLEY.


Crankshaft alignment mark - Needs to be aligned to 0. At this position cylinder 1 is at TDC. Alignment is obtained by turning the crankshaft pulley in the clock wise direction.


The next step is to ensure that the valve alignment is in sync with the crankshaft, simply put when Crankshaft is at 0, valve needs to align with the corresponding mark for its alignment. In this case the alignment mark is visible when looked at hard enough in the mirror.


Old belt replaced with a new one, the old one actually looked relatively new, however be warned that timing belts are notoriously well known for looking great today, but snap tommorrow.


All aligned and seated, closing up.


Job completed.

[Jaggu]

Thats a pretty detailed DIY post, thanks for sharing. How much the engine has done till now?

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Thats a pretty detailed DIY post, thanks for sharing. How much the engine has done till now?

Umm, please don't send mod wrath my way, but, from his earlier post:

Originally Posted by ssanjeev

I have a camry that has currently 423 000 kms and still running strong, key to keeping your vehicle running is regular preventive maintainance. If anyone is interested in learning more, let me know and i would be happy to put photographs up of the entire process.

Cheers,
Sanjeev

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Umm, please don't send mod wrath my way, but, from his earlier post:

Thanks ImmortalZ for pointing out, i somehow missed it.

ps: i will not send the wrath since its the Xmas season Merry Xmas to you.

[aaggoswami]

After watching this, I am equally or rather more interested to know about the tool kits you have at home.
Nice guide.

PS : Please tell me more about the tools. I am serious on this. Any DIY job I pick up, I end up knowing that we dont have tools.

EDIT : Camry has done 4,23,000 kms! I am shocked to say the least. How many major overhauls till now ?
And some modern engines are also interference type. IIRC, Ford Fiesta is one of them.

[Rehaan]

Wow, 4,23,000 kms (That too in indian conditions) !!

Thanks for the great pictoral ssanjeev.

cya
R

[white_vdi]

dude that is one technical DIY!!! you rightly said its not for the faint-hearted. cant do this until you know all the parts well and also the engine bay thoroughly. a huge round of applause for this!

[phamilyman]

to hell with the post - 423000km on a Camry in India?

God level boss. how many years for that much - and your ownership experience?!

[ssanjeev]

Hey guys.. Been busy with boxing day shopping, just to clarify a few points..

• I am actually in Australia, though my home town is Bangalore.
• There has been no overhauling of the engine done till date and this mileage has been covered in about 10 years.
• My tool kit is fairly simple, I have a complete 3/8" socket set
• Black & Decker Power tool kit for the smaller jobs
• The usual set of screwdrivers and pliers etc.
• Special Service Tools consist of Gear Puller, Harmonic Balancer Puller, & a simple Multimeter.

I have a 1.6L Ford Ikon back at home, and I love driving it everytime am back home. It rocks!!!

The Camry is a very hardy car, so far hasnt given me any trouble and is amazingly cheap to maintain. In terms of Fuel Efficiency it averages about 11 - 12 kms to the liter for me.

I was thinking of posting more DIY stuff as i was looking through this site but didnt find too much. Suggestions would be most welcome, if you want me to cover any particular part of the car.

Cheers,
Sanjeev

[ilangop]

[quote=The engine mount is probably the most challenging to remove considering that a DIY person seldom has a lift at home for the car to be raised or hydraulic tools for raising the engine.
Attachment 82167

Great job buddy, but could you please throw some light on how the engine was supported while the top mount was removed? Any improvised technique??

[ssanjeev]

[quote=ilangop;1110933]

Originally Posted by The engine mount is probably the most challenging to remove considering that a DIY person seldom has a lift at home for the car to be raised or hydraulic tools for raising the engine.
[ATTACH

82167[/ATTACH]

Great job buddy, but could you please throw some light on how the engine was supported while the top mount was removed? Any improvised technique??

The upper engine mount is only to aid in stabilizing the engine and does not actually carry any of the engine weight, however to get to those difficult bolts the easiest way is to jack the engine up a wee bit, that by itself lifts the engine by 2 inches or so. Result is that you are able to access and remove those bolts.

Another mechanism is to use a brace by utilizing the hook thats mounted right next to the engine mount. I will post a picture of that if you are interested in seeing that.

Cheers,
Sanjeev

[ilangop]

Thank you Sanjeev. Now I understand how you would have done it

[Doctor j]

Inspired by the thread about timing belt change for 96 Camry, I decided to make similar post about this procedure for 89 Camry in which I would like to share my experience how to set the correct valve timing.
This post is written as a process instruction rather then narrative story and originaly published on Toyota Nation online forum.
Thanks for reading.
Toyota Forums :: Toyota Nation - Timing belt changing write up with some pictures