Loose Cambelt???

[cbv8]

Hi All,
After starting to hear a rattle like sound i decided to remove the cambelt cover and was shocked how loose the cambelt seems see footage is this right or am i just getting to that OLD worrying stage in my life

 

[Towpack]

That looks way too loose to me. All the vehicles I’ve owned with timing belts have run way more tension than your belt appears to have. Check the tensioner.

 

[Bob]

The timing belt on these is not under great stress, but that does look a bit too loose. I would change it and get a new tensioner and idler pulley to make sure it can't skip a tooth. Reminds me, mine is due a t-belt change

 

[StarCruiser]

At the very least check the tensioner. T belts don’t stretch so there is most likely a problem with the tensioner. Turn the lower pulley clockwise to make the right hand side of the T belt taught and the tensioner side loose and inspect and adjust the tensioner. If in any doubt as to the age or condition of the belt- change it. It’s cheap compared to a new engine and use genuine Toyota or Gates if you want to go aftermarket.

 

[Alrightchief]

I defiantly too loose that! I wouldn’t run it like that I have seen the tensionors fail before! ntn I think make them for Toyota about £28

 

[cbv8]

I thought it was loose was supposed to have been changed before my purchase

 

[Iwan]

On the timing belt tensioner there should be a 8mm protrusion on the piston. When they wear they have less than 8mm. So it's very good that you've caught it! They say if there's any sign of oil on the seal that surrounds the piston then its scrap. When you take it off turn it upside down and press it down on a hard surface and there shouldn't be any resistance, a knackered one will have some free movement!

 

[cbv8]

On the timing belt tensioner there should be a 8mm protrusion on the piston. When they wear they have less than 8mm. So it's very good that you've caught it! They say if there's any sign of oil on the seal that surrounds the piston then its scrap. When you take it off turn it upside down and press it down on a hard surface and there shouldn't be any resistance, a knackered one will have some free movement!

Thanks for i will test it but i am going to renew the belt tensioner and pulley asap.

 

[Beau]

Get a spanner and spin the engine over a little on the crank bolt to make sure it's under tension. Maybe the engine rocked a little when shutting down backing the belt off slightly. Worth double checking the timing alignment marks too. But like others have said, it could just be a stretched belt! Haven't seen that before though on these motors. Having gone through about 4 timing belt changes, they usually come off looking brand new still.

 

[cbv8]

Hi Beau this is the belt when running which seems really loose to me

 

[StarCruiser]

If I were you I’d sort that before you run it again. Even a jumped tooth can be catastrophic on an interference engine. I don’t know if that one is but it’s best to assume so. That adjuster looks knackered bouncing in and out like that. If the belt WAS changed when noted before you bought it they probably didn’t replace the adjuster.

 

[cbv8]

The cambelt kit is ordered i am not using it until its changed i also thought as you say that the tensioner was not changed as the belt does look in good condition

 

[StarCruiser]

The cambelt kit is ordered i am not using it until its changed i also thought as you say that the tensioner was not changed as the belt does look in good condition

Even after 90,000 km they look in good nick (which I find rather reassuring I must say).

 

[cbv8]

Even after 90,000 km they look in good nick (which I find rather reassuring I must say).

That doesn't help my case though

 

[StarCruiser]

That doesn't help my case though

Very true.

 

[MisterCruiser]

At the very least check the tensioner. T belts don’t stretch so there is most likely a problem with the tensioner. Turn the lower pulley clockwise to make the right hand side of the T belt taught and the tensioner side loose and inspect and adjust the tensioner. If in any doubt as to the age or condition of the belt- change it. It’s cheap compared to a new engine and use genuine Toyota or Gates if you want to go aftermarket.

How can he adjust the tensioner to take uop slack, it's automatically self adjusting isn't it? If the belt is gone too loose he's just going to have to fit a new tensioner isn't he?

I'm in the middle od renewing my timing belt now too, and I bought the upgraded 1 piece water pump with backing plate, am I correct in saying the cam pulley has to be removed in order to get the rear timing cover plate piece off to access the water pump back plate behind it? I didn't realise I had to remove the cam pulley, how do I do this without moving the cam too much from its timing spot? And what torque do I tighten the cam pulley back up to?

 

[StarCruiser]

How can he adjust the tensioner to take uop slack, it's automatically self adjusting isn't it? If the belt is gone too loose he's just going to have to fit a new tensioner isn't he?

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. At the time of posting I was only familiar with the 80 series ones, which are manually adjustable, and have since learned that the later ones are self adjusting, in this case, rather too much. Every day’s a school day.
Clearly with no means to adjust a self adjusting adjuster, the adjuster could not be adjusted.

 

[cbv8]

Fitted the new cambelt kit today and must say the engine sounds better ie a more regular tick over if that makes sense whether this is all in my mind i don't know but there is hardly any slack in the belt now compared to the one i took off. I did have a bit of a faff trying to line all the marks up which i think was down to me more than anything even though i could not see the marker for the cam only three white dots which i eventually fathom was the middle one i needed to use Anyway its all done now and running nice and piece of mind knowing its actually been done i am now onto the remote transmission cooler which in the end i decided to use a matrix type one off a merc 270 ml which fits just nicely