Timing belt kit question

Just curious what you guys are using for timing belt kits? I dont want to cheap out.

Is the Aisin one the same as the factory Toyota parts, ie belt, water pump and tensioner?

I see there are 2 options, hydraulic and non hydraulic, how do I know if I have without taking it apart?

Thanks for the help.

 

I think I misunderstood the hydraulic tensioner thing. I think the non hydraulic kit is just cheaper. I assume all the 5vz have it.

 

I believe the very first few years had non-hydraulic, but yours certainly will have it.

If you can you'll need to look for it from underneath with the skid off, its between the AC and the crank pulley. You'll see the drop down of the tensioner.



Aisin is best 100%

 

I haven’t seen nor service a non-hydraulic and I service a few t100, 4R, and taco from 95+

There most common is with or without bypass for the WP

 

Don’t know if this is relevant but the 1uz has a similar cam belt set up, when i purchased the Aisin kit it could be bought with or without hydraulic tensioner. Its possible the tensioner is not considered a normal wear item and replaced on condition, I put it in a vise and SLOWLY compressed the plunger and inserted a small drill bit in-the old grenade pin hole to keep it loaded for install. Yes 100% Aisin kit.

 

OP,
The AISIN kit as sold by Rockauto is the starting point of what most gearheads, including myself, consider to be an inexpensive but very high-quality timing belt kit. Don't sweat that at all. The AISIN water pump is the same pump Toyota sells but the AISIN kit pump has had "TOYOTA" ground off the casting. I went with the below 16 pc. "aircabinman" kit off Ebay which contained even more OEM parts including the cam seals/crank seal/OEM 2pc crank bolt. I wanted to replace all the parts that could give me trouble in the future while the engine was torn down. But buying all those parts directly from a Toyota dealership was prohibitively expensive, which is probably part of the reason why Toyota dealerships charge so much for doing this job. 2 years in with the aircabinman kit and it has worked extremely well for me. IMO, it is a top-shelf 3.4L timing belt kit and a bargain for the price. HTH

16 Piece 3.4L TIMING BELT KIT WATER PUMP Genuine & OEM Parts with CRANKBOLT | eBay: These are genuine OEM Toyota or OEM manufacturer parts, not Chinese knock-offs. Virtually all the gearheads on this board highly recommend aircabinman on Ebay for 3.4L timing belt kits.

Aircabinman timing belt kit installed:

 

Would you trust that kit to go 150k to 200k between change intervals
...just being curious is all!
Mine is needing changed and I am pushing that long in the tooth
Mitsuboshi belt I believe they put in there last time I had er done

 

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I was looking at the rockauto Aisin kit and Ive been watching the aircabinman one on ebay for like 5 years. Im trying to be a little budget about it and might not go the aircabin kit this time. Id like to, but Ive been spending too much lately, but saying that I want the best pump, belt and tensioner.

Im not sure whats in mine now. I know the previous owner did it and judging from all the other stuff that was done on the truck I wouldnt be surprised if it was the cheapest possible. I think Im well over 100k on the belt too. Also the tensioner has had a high pitch sound the entire time ive owned the truck. Not to be neglectful but I have pried back the cover and looked at the belt over time and it never looked cracked or worrisome.

Also while Im in there I might try and replace the knock sensors and harness, but then thats going to snow ball into a bunch of other stuff, that mostly why Ive been holding off on the belt.

 

I went with aircabinman on ebay when I changed mine. I also changed my fan pulley with an Aisin from Toyota and changed my fan clutch with the Toyota part.

 

OP,
The 3.4L engine has long been reported to be a non-interference engine. But an '01 3.4L 4Runner recently appeared to have bent at least 1 valve when the timing belt broke at what was called low speed: Timing Belt Woes | Tacoma World. We can't just ASSume that a broken timing belt on a 3.4L will be a minor fix. Probably best not to put your timing belt MTX off too long. Best of luck with your Taco!