I have a '93 Townace,done 105000km. The light for Timing Belt has come on on the dash,am I right in asuming the timing belt should be replaced? Is it a DIY job for a competent home mechanic,me? Does anyone know how? Anything i should be wary of. All help greatly appreciated.

- (#8102) Randy McLean, 25 Jan 04 14:59

Randy. Yes, at around 65,000 miles, the belt should be replaced. It IS a DIY job for a competent home mechanic but, because of the need to remove the drivers seat, floor etc, more time should be allowed than for an "ordinary" car. Look in Ace Answers where you will find much information and, one or two entries which detail the snags which you might encounter. Apart from the right sockets/spanners etc, the most important tool is the engine manual, available from your Toyota dealer, at modest cost (less than a tenner) and under part number RMO25E.
The belt renewal job also allows for inspection of many items not easily accessed during routine maintenance, ie, other drive belts, hoses, radiator, fan assembly etc, etc.

- (#8102) John Davis, 25 Jan 04 15:44

Hello Randy.
That's good advise from John, and the olny thing I would add is to consider is changing the water pump at the same time. Its not that they are a known problem, just that they run off the back of the timing belt and if they start to leak in the near future, you will have to do the whole thing again.
An ADL replacement pump is less than £40 and you could save 5 hours of labour. If you decide to do that, a new thermostat and thermostat O-ring seal are easily accessible just behind the water pump on the side of the block.

- (#8102) dave Bright, 26 Jan 04 04:04

The odometer reading, say 65,000miles or 100,000 km is not the only thing that should prompt renewing the cambelt. How many years ago the belt was made and fitted, and engine running hours are important too. As has been said before many 'Aces will have spent their first ten years in slow-moving traffic so the odometer reading is perhaps optimistic regarding the wear and tear on the belt.
Suppose I bought a freshly imported 'Ace in 1990 and a new belt was fitted then, at say, 70,000km. When to next change it? After another 100,000km or 5 years, whichever comes sooner? Is 5 years (i.e. next year) too cautious? Is 100,000km too far?
I suspect few of us do 20,000km per year (at under 30mpg) so it's probably the years-installed that will be the guiding factor from now on.

- (#8102) Dave (Sussex), 26 Jan 04 05:31

Hello Dave, personally I would err on the side of caution here.
Its a rubber belt and prone to ageing, and the 2CT engine does get a bit warm at times so its going through many intense heat cycles. Then there is the MOT emissions test to consider, that's quite a lot of stress on the belt as well.
I would look to change it between 3 and 4 years, regardless of the mileage. But then its more likely that overheating will finish the engine before the cam belt does.

- (#8102) dave Bright, 26 Jan 04 06:08

Ooh that's so cruel!

- (#8102) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 26 Jan 04 06:14

My local MoT garage won't test if the belt is over 2 years old. He also won't fit them as they are not worth the time and effort, unless it's part of a rebuild.

- (#8102) Clive (Bristol), 26 Jan 04 08:12

Sympathy to those owners who've suffered overheating, but all the rest of us, especially with modified and alarmed temperature gauges, need to be thinking in terms of the right level of preventative maintenance.
So I'm wondering what else would fit in, at least sometimes, with a 3-yr service pattern in the area of the cambelt.
When you get the fuel pump set up by a specialist do they take it off the car for part of the process, and does that entail removing almost as much as for a cambelt change or can they just slip the cambelt off it and attach their test rig?

- (#8102) Dave (Sussex), 26 Jan 04 09:23

Depends what needs doing, Dave. If the pump is near-as-dammit and hasn't been fiddled with, I'll warrant the most that they'll do is check the timing then set up on- boost correction using the smokemeter.
Now if the sealing wires are broken, and you want it just-so, it'll have to come off and be mounted in their test stand. But that can be done fairly easily. Yes, the front cover, fan etc has to come off, but you don't need to disturb the crank pulley.

- (#8102) david miller, 26 Jan 04 10:39

Even those of us that have suffered overheating need to think preventatively.

Suggestions.
Cooling system;
Change the coolant and radiator cap every two years, and then get a pressure test done.
Change the cam belt, thermostat and O ring every 4 years
Change the water pump every 8 years
Do all of the above and fit a temperature alarm when you first get your Ace.

Fuel system;
In order to ensure that the system is set up to give the maximum power and minimum emissions, it is necessary to use a diesel specialist. This doesn’t come cheap, so I would suggest that it’s a case of JOT (Just Out of Time) maintenance rather than JIT (Just In Time) maintenance.

The fuel pump bolts on to the back of the water pump, and has a pulley on the shaft, so it can't be eased out. Its not good practise to reuse cam belts either. Once they have gone through a few heat cycles, its best to replace them.

- (#8102) dave Bright, 26 Jan 04 13:46

Hello all, I'm sorry to admit it but I have sold my Townace and bought a 4X4 Jeep Cherokee 2.5 TD Ltd SE.
My Townie was only 2 wheel drive,and we were getting difficulty in getting it to reverse up our driveway as it has a bit of a steep clip just at the entrance, plus if you got behind a HGV in this area(Snowdonia) you had to stay there as it just hadn't got the power to overtake on hills or to get you out of trouble in an emergency.
Now my Insurance and Recovery is cheaper and I get many more MPG and it has the power !! Air con etc
I will sorely miss the Townie for it's parking and roominess and homely feel and of course the comeraderie and helpfulness of Townie web sites.
A special thank you to David Miller, Ian Dunse and John Davis and all that have taken time to answer my Emails for all your help and advice.

I'll still be keeping an eye on this Board as I have thoroughly enjoyed all the comments etc; You never know we might still turn up at one of the jamsm !!

Bye for now, all the best

Wyn

- (#8102) J.Wyn Hamer, 26 Jan 04 17:10