Tell Tale Signs Of a Bad Timing Belt?

I was wondering what some signs are of a bad timing belt, I know they should be replaced something like every 90,000 miles. My truck has a weird squeek when im accelerating out of 1900 rpm to 2300 rpm, Also When do I know the water pump needs to be replaced? Asking these questions because I have money from this summer and would like to spend some of it maintaining my Tacoma.

 

The squeek is probably not the timing belt. When the water pump starts failing water will drip out of a weep hole on the bottom of the pump. The timing belt is recommended to be changed every 90k but how long it lasts will vary. A friend of mine just changed his for the first time on his 96 Taco at 215k miles! He said the belt still fit and looked fine. Luckily these are non-interference engines and if the belt breaks they dont mess the engine up.

 

How many miles are on the current one? You probably have a bad idler pulley which requires removing the belt to replace. Might as well do everything (t belt, water pump, t stat, pulleys)

 

I dont know how many miles are currently on it I tried contacting the previous owner and his phone wasn't on. The truck itself has 174,000 miles on it now

 

Check under the hood and on the timing cover for a sticker that says it has been changed....

 

Just do it soon. I did mine for the first time at 156,000 miles and it was baaaad. The water pump had been leaking so bad it had crusted over the entire crank pulley with dried coolant.

 

So should I just have changed the belts water pump and timing belt and tstat? How much would that run me?

 

I looked and couldn't find a sticker.

 

well I just did the water pump, t stat, and the belt because the pulleys were still in good shape. It was a real PITA though and ended up at $163.93 for everything at NAPA. Expect a bit more since you have a bad pulley.

 

Check your coolant daily for about a couple weeks. It's a pain in the butt, but sometimes coolant leaks gradually where there isn't a puddle on your driveway.

 

Damn ya I would have to have the stealership do it because I dont have anyone who can help me. Thanks for all the input so far guys

 

just pop the cover and take a look. ...mine still looks brand new at 100k miles ...and surprisingly enough, the water pump isn't leaking.

 

If you buy the water pump from Toyota that will be $200, Timing belt $45, thermostat $15. You should also replace the top & bottom radiator hoses and the three fan belts. You won't know if the timing belt idlers are bad until you remove the timing belt and check them out. My 4Runner's timing belt idlers were bad at 183,000 miles.

 

How can I tell if the idlers are bad?

 

After the belt is off, spin them with your hand and see if they rotate easily and don't flop around or make any time of grinding noise from the bearings going bad. But, if you have 174K on them I would replace them even if they do seem to be alright. They usually don't replace them at 90K because they are still good. On eBay they sell complete kits for the timing belt job. The kit includes the water pump, timing belt, idlers, and gaskets. You can save a ton of cash by buying one of these kits instead of buying your parts from Toyota like I did. Just buy a good kit that has a quality name brand pump in the kit. Then buy your hoses and belts and thermostat from your local Napa dealer.

 

Toyota coolant leaves a pink crust behind when it dries. Look for that by the weep hole on the pump.
On the squeak, if you can make it happen a in the driveway, put water on the belt, if it goes away, it's the belt. Don't drench it, just spray.
Spray WD-40 on idler and tensioner. If it goes away, you found the culprit.

 

Cool thanks for all the help guys! I think im going to have my uncle help me do it.