Is there a timing belt inspection port on V6? And......

[longhaul]

I am looking at buying a 94 V6 Warrior, 88k miles. No record or decal on radiator of timing belt ever having been done. I am concerned about driving it home 4 hours (seems from looking on here it Not an interference engine), still don't want it to snap on the way home.

**Is there an inspection port on the side or such of the timing belt cover that a good mechanic can remove and get a good read on it??**         there is a mechanic up by the seller who will do this if its doable.

Also, anybody ever had one of these motorhomes towed? thinking about getting AAAplus as backup in case it snaps on way home. To tall for a flat bed probably, have to remove drive shaft to front tow.... will tow company do this....??

Also, is it worth getting a compression test done on it? if seems to run sorta smooth and no obvious smoke.... 

I'll probably do the timing belt and more once i get it home to a mechanic i know....

Thanks

[jdfrost64]

chances are slim  timing belt will break. I have got problem over million miles on Toyotas .never had a chain nor a belt ever break. I just changed the belt in my tacoma  witch had 210000 miles on it only because water pump went out and the timing belt runs the water pump to so I changed both .

[Back East Don]

32 minutes ago, longhaul said:

To tall for a flat bed probably, have to remove drive shaft to front tow.... will tow company do this....??

Can't help you on the belt but at 88k, I wouldn't sweat a 4 hour trip. 

I've been shopping around for a Sunrader and for me, I thought the best way to get it home would be to put it on a car trailer and haul it home.  Of course I had to look into a variety of issue including height.  A tractor trailer can be up to 14' tall.  So if the motorhome is appox 10' then the flat bed can be up to 4' tall.  For a Uhaul trailer my 19' Itasca is right at the limit of width, length and weight but makes it (Uhaul width limit is 79" and length is 133").  Getting it on however has some challenges like clearance getting up the ramps with the low underside.  I've dealt with this before on short clearance vehicles by positioning the trailer on a downhill so the ramps and trailer have a less acute angle.  The other option is jack and block the back of the tow vehicle frame up in the air to accomplish the same thing along with raising and extending the ramps by using 2 or 3 staggered length 2x10's.  This last Sunrader I looked at a friend suggested a tow dolly as it was a stick shift but not that big a deal to unbolt the drive shaft and strap it up.  I decided to go trailer and reserved the the day before the deal fell through.   I just told Uhaul that I am picking up a Toyota long wheel base pickup.

On a ramp truck, you'd have to avoid low overpasses and such.  Please note, I've not had the chance to execute this plan much to my frustration but I have looked into it twice and measured against the Toyota RV I have.  I have however rescued a few dead vehicles this way. 

[longhaul]

Back East Don -- by a uhaul trailer you are meaning a sort of low bed/flat bed trailer that the motorhome totally sits on, the toyota would have no contact with the road, vs a dolly where rear wheels would still be turning, hence diconnect driveshaft. Right?     guess i didnt think would fit on a full trailer, sounds like you have looked into it and it will, nice option, thanks.

course if i dont sweat the drive back (an hour of it thru the minneapolis/st paul big city traffic) because of timing belt, then the next issue is Tires -- i'm trying to get the buyer to send me date codes tomorrow, though they say they are 'pretty old' and cracked up by the tread, not so much/at all on sidewalls....

thinking about ordering 2 new tires and take em with if/when i buy have 2 new put on front at least then i wont loose steering....

[Jaunt]

there is no port but you can remove the 10mm bolts on the upper cover and pull it back a bit and look in there, shine a light and inspect for cracks/wear.

if you don't have the tools to turn it over by hand just bump the engine over a couple times with the key and see if the belt has any markings on it, on mine you could see the labeling on the belt was pretty new.

[longhaul]

8 minutes ago, Jaunt said:

there is no port but you can remove the 10mm bolts on the upper cover and pull it back a bit and look in there, shine a light and inspect for cracks/wear.

if you don't have the tools to turn it over by hand just bump the engine over a couple times with the key and see if the belt has any markings on it, on mine you could see the labeling on the belt was pretty new.

is that a pretty easy job? sounds like it. Thanks, think i will have the mechanic up there do that!

[Jaunt]

2 minutes ago, longhaul said:

is that a pretty easy job? sounds like it. Thanks, think i will have the mechanic up there do that!

yeah very easy.

[Back East Don]

5 hours ago, longhaul said:

by a uhaul trailer you are meaning a sort of low bed/flat bed trailer that the motorhome totally sits on, the toyota would have no contact with the road, vs a dolly where rear wheels would still be turning, hence diconnect driveshaft. Right?

Yup, although on the smallish side, the Uhaul car trailer seems to just make it.  I've had to rent them to rescue my kids a couple times..  Just wish I had thought about trying to load my Itasca as a test.  Then I would feel more confident about it in general.  I did measure the front and back width along with the wheel base.  Both make it within the 79.5" maximum Uhaul has.  Mine also makes it within the weight limit too. The wheel base length is a tad long by a couple inches but there seems to be enough margin.  Also the RV is going to over hang at the back of the trailer by a lot.  Height would not be an issue unless you hit an underpass of less than 12 feet.  The biggest issue is loading it without bottoming out.  I used 2x10's to extend the ramp to load my son's Camry to keep from doing just that.  On the RV I also worry about the back end scraping bottom so raising the ramps up is even more important.  Still looking for a larger trailer I can rent.  Might look at the construction equipment rental houses like Sun Rentals.

I looked into using a car dolly but the Uhaul one's weight limit is too small for the RV.  It lists a maximum of 3900lbs.  Penske is 4500lbs.  Tow Master does make one that is 4700lbs which would work with mine empty.  I've read mention of one that handles 6000lbs but no luck finding one.

 

[jjrbus]

Not only would I be concerned with the timing belt, overheating, bad brakes, rotten gas or brake lines, although the 3Vze engine is non interference. Still no fun on the side of the road.   I would also be concerned about the tires, you do not mention their age,  not how much thread they have but how old they are.  When I bought my Toy the tires were 14 years old, so I bought Emergency Road Service before I went to get it, I was 10 miles from home when I had a blow out.

Unless you are a tire expert do not drive on tires over 7 years old.  

http://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your-tires

When I was looking for a Vixen (insane) I found one out of state with engine damage and looked into shipping it home. Traditional towing companys were prohibitive as were renting a vehicle and trailer to tow it with.

Searching around I remembered something on TV    https://www.uship.com/     They will provide a bid for you.  I do not remember the exact $ amount but it was lots cheaper than renting and gas. The uship is kind of hit and miss, you may get high bids because it is out of the way or low bids because it is on someones route. I got a low bid from someone that wanted to come to FL to visit family.   Definitely worth a try.   HTH  Jim

[Back East Don]

28 minutes ago, jjrbus said:

I was 10 miles from home when I had a blow out.

That sounds about like your luck.

[jjrbus]

1 hour ago, Back East Don said:

That sounds about like your luck.

No luck involved, I poked down side roads as I knew the tires were in bad shape. I had solicited friends to borrow spare tires as I did not expect one spare to be enough! Unfortunately they have 5 lug's. You have to take into consideration these tires actually looked good with only minor checking.  In hindsight it was very stupid, if doing it again I would have taken the Toy right to a tire store and had new ones installed. When the tire blew I was on my way to the side of the road so it only did minor damage to the wheel well, but damage non the less.   If I had been on an interstate doing 65 it could have made a real mess as that tire shredded.   

So if any luck was involved it was getting that far with only 1 blowout.

See the glass is half full                                      Jim

Edited August 1, 2016 by jjrbus

[Back East Don]

14 minutes ago, jjrbus said:

No luck involved

Kind of my point.  I worked with a guy like you once.  It was said he took out a nuclear sub once just by being near it.  Equipment just died in his wake.  As it was my job to fix stuff, I viewed having him around as job security.

[jjrbus]

6 hours ago, Back East Don said:

Kind of my point.  I worked with a guy like you once.  It was said he took out a nuclear sub once just by being near it.  Equipment just died in his wake.  As it was my job to fix stuff, I viewed having him around as job security.

I would enjoy coming over and helping you work on your Toy.    Jim

[Back East Don]

10 minutes ago, jjrbus said:

I would enjoy coming over and helping you work on your Toy.    Jim

As I say to my son often. "You know why I give you crap?....... Because I can."  He's the one who's going to put me in a home someday.

[Totem]

on my way home this past trip i had major rain storms in TN hit the rig, and all when i had lost the gas cap and the windshield wipers both broke.. i made the wife pull over at an auto parts place that was 4 miles off the route.. even though it had quit raining a bit... this was to play god and control the weather. As anticipated once the gas cap and wipers were good to go, not a drop of rain started up again. I also have never had a flat after spending on getting 6 lug all around but had i not and only had a 5 lug spare i guarantee i would have had a blow out in the back.

[WME]

13 minutes ago, Totem said:

. I also have never had a flat after spending on getting 6 lug all around but had i not and only had a 5 lug spare i guarantee i would have had a blow out in the back.

Yep and double yep. Had the blow out, 95 deg, 100mi on 3 tires. Got the 6 lug set up and never another flat

[longhaul]

update in case anybody cares: seller took it to a mechanic for me, he checked the timing belt, said it looked fine even kinda shiny. though the tires are 12 years old. I'll be buying 6 tires and taking them up with me, have them mounted up there if/when i buy the warrior.

**? is it good to have the rear bearings repacked/..... when the tires are off? or anything else.....?**

[Back East Don]

25 minutes ago, longhaul said:

update in case anybody cares: seller took it to a mechanic for me, he checked the timing belt, said it looked fine even kinda shiny. though the tires are 12 years old. I'll be buying 6 tires and taking them up with me, have them mounted up there if/when i buy the warrior.

Of course we care.  Just not sure about what. 

Have you identified a shop to mount them yet?  One likely issue is the valve stems.  Not a typical off the shelf part.  Others have had issues with getting them replaced.  When I got my tires replaced, the shop insisted they had them in stock.  Nope.  I had them at least replace the gasket and internal valve in the stem as a compromise of sorts.  So find a shop and give them a heads up that these have a metric stem and have them look it up before just showing up.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Back East Don

[longhaul]

What exactly do i need for a whole new valve stems? Just tell them they are metric, and there is ~only one size/....?

Getting the nexen tires.

maybe with getting the extended/curved stems for the inner 2 of the duallies for easier filling.

Also does it seem like 40 psi front, 45 rear, even if tire can take more, i read on here this is debated.....

Thanks a bunch for your help Don,

[Maineah]

Belts tend to break on a restart (a body at rest--) They are hefty belts and would probably go 150K but. Me I'm positive so I would drive it.

[Back East Don]

2 minutes ago, longhaul said:

What exactly do i need for a whole new valve stems?

There were a few threads on valve stems.  jdemaris had a link in one post for a place he found them.  Just go to the end of that post as I read it quickly and found the first link to the wrong ones and ordered those.  So I ended up ordering twice from the company.  Perhaps he'll see this and post the correct ones.  I'd have to dig for it.  I'll look for the post later if he doesn't chime in and you don't find it.

[jjrbus]

1 hour ago, longhaul said:

What exactly do i need for a whole new valve stems? Just tell them they are metric, and there is ~only one size/....?

Getting the nexen tires.

maybe with getting the extended/curved stems for the inner 2 of the duallies for easier filling.

Also does it seem like 40 psi front, 45 rear, even if tire can take more, i read on here this is debated.....

Thanks a bunch for your help Don,

I had a motor home with the wrong valve steams and I can say it is a PIA.  To compensate I bought extensions, one leaked and almost cost me a $400 tire.  On my trip home with the Toy I don't know if the valve stem broke and caused the blowout or the blow out broke the valve stem.

http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/8600-tires-stems-please-explain/#comment-75490    ONe of the threads.

Had JD posted about the generic TR544s earlier, I would have purchased those instead, I have no issues bending them, some might not care for that.     If you can find the TR544's they are much cheaper but require bending.

The ones that belong on the duallys
http://www.ebay.com/itm/9094205026-VALVE-STEM-TIRE-Toyota-1-Ton-Truck-V6-/171788548628?vxp=mtr&hash=item27ff653a14

Many on forums will say use this or that, most auto parts stores have no idea what they are talking about, if they say you can use this or that, don't listen   Buy the right stems and avoid some grief.   Not all auto parts stores and clerks are useless, I have no qualms about going to the local NAPA.    

The downside to the "right" stems you will need a chuck/foot that will reach the stems.

ONe like this, and all those service station air machines will not reach the inner dual and maybe not the outer?      HTH  Jim

 

 

 

[vtchris]

I had my 1991 V6 Itasca towed on a dolly 50 miles.  The only tricky part was not ripping off the holding tanks getting it on the dolly, but the driver knew what he was doing in my case anyway.  About the timing belt, the last V6 I bought had the head gasket recall done at 52K so that was when the timing belt was replaced.  I bought the rig at 54K so I am good until 112K.  Find out when your (or if) the head gasket recall was done on yours.

[jjrbus]

14 hours ago, vtchris said:

I had my 1991 V6 Itasca towed on a dolly 50 miles.  The only tricky part was not ripping off the holding tanks getting it on the dolly, but the driver knew what he was doing in my case anyway.  About the timing belt, the last V6 I bought had the head gasket recall done at 52K so that was when the timing belt was replaced.  I bought the rig at 54K so I am good until 112K.  Find out when your (or if) the head gasket recall was done on yours.

When I bought my Toy I had no idea at how many miles or years the timing belt had been in.  The best/worst I could figure was the belt was 14 years old.   Now some are very comfortable with 14 year old rubber, not me.  

I replaced the belt and water pump and pulleys and such. My reasoning is it is much cheaper and more convenient to do in the driveway than after being towed to Bubba's garage and bail bonds 100's of miles from home.

[Totem]

I used to dread having to do the belts on my wifes old VW ALH TDI beetle. skipping it and having a belt break on the ALH was almost certain destruction of the motor or pricey at worst to repair.

I much prefer chain timing.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Totem

[zero]

3 hours ago, Totem said:

I used to dread having to do the belts on my wifes old VW ALH TDI beetle. skipping it and having a belt break on the ALH was almost certain destruction of the motor or pricey at worst to repair.

I much prefer chain timing.

You might change your mind if you had a 3.6 GM. It is a timing-chain nightmare with lots of problems and three chains. I am lucky enough to own one since I thought it was a Suzuki when I got it.  But yes, generally speaking, I much prefer timing chains also.  I also prefer pushrod engines over overhead-cam.     When overhead-cams and timing belts first came into use with US cars, they had miserable problems. E.g. in Chevettes, Vegas, Pintos - some had belt and the aluminum cog gears wear out in 40K miles.   At least now, longevity is better.  One of the first over-head cam US engines I ever worked on was a 1962 Jeep Tornado Six and it DID  use a timing-chain that had a very short life. It came as the standard engine in the once famous Jeep Wagoneer.  Pontiac followed with their overhead came six in 1966 and that DID have a cam-belt.  First belt-drive cam I ever saw on a US engine.   Maybe one of the first US engines to have one?