Water Pump and Timing Belt

[Zuffen]

There are two drain plugs on the block to let the green stuff out. Red is better according to Toyota.

The plugs are about the middle of the block on each side.

 

[SC & RX]

My car is a 1994 SC400 with only 19,000 miles on it. Do I need to replace the timing belt because of its age?

 

[Muzza_NZ]

it's cheap insurance, those belts don't last forever

 

[stevechumo]

My car is a 1994 SC400 with only 19,000 miles on it. Do I need to replace the timing belt because of its age?

You should replace the timing belt and the serpentine belt on that low mileage but with a long time sitting SC. The rubber belts could get hardened and cracked if they sit too long and not moving. Also, check all other rubber bushings on the suspension before you decide to run the car hard. Other than the rubber things, you're having a very new car.

 

[-Nemesis-]

There are two drain plugs on the block to let the green stuff out. Red is better according to Toyota.

The plugs are about the middle of the block on each side.

.

I thought they might be, though I took the passenger side out and nothing happened, so I thought it was something else.....

 

[WDoherty]

You got a very helpful instruction there on timing belt. However, we don't have to do more than necessary as the link show. I got help from a friend who is a Toyota mechanic for 20 years and so he did an amazing job. We didn't have to disconnect the alternator, but just remove the bolt and put it aside. Also, removing the radiator and its fan is not necessary since there's plenty of room to work on. I only needed to disconnect the hydraulic fan oil hose. It took me and my friend only 2.5 hours to complete the timing belt, replacing the front crank seal, 2 cam seals, sparkplug seals, sparkplug wires (Don't ever use Bosch wire again, they're not in the correct length, they're a pain in the ass), valve cover gaskets, timing tensioner bearing, idler bearing, water pump, distributor caps & rotors, drive belt, and thermostat. My friend also amazed me by not marking or aligning the timing before removal. Basically, he only aligned the timing when he put it on. After all, my '95 SC 400 ran just as smooth as before.

When I asked him how much the dealer would charge for replacing just the timing belt, he said it would be around $700 sharp. So I recommend anyone replacing the timing belt should also replace several things under the timing belt at at time. It costs now but it'll save your money in the future when things break down.

stevechumo, did you have to lay the a/c compressor to the side?