2008 V8 AWD

I bought this car new in July, 2008 my birthday present Today I still have it and it has about 260,000 miles. Some maintenance was done: shocks, battery, brakes, tires (KO2s).

Still runs very well though it does need a new timing belt (can't afford it now) and has a slow leak in the transfer case low range actuator module. I just had my mechanic add 8 oz of something called "SealLube" bought at Amazon has good ratings but too soon to tell if mine has stopped leaking. I was down a minimal amount when I had this stuff added. They had to drain some out to get 8 oz in. So it's not that serious. Timing belt is way overdue i think it was done around 130,000 miles

I'm curious how long anyone has managed to get the same timing belt to last. Or if anyone's timing belt failed and ay what miles?

 

I believe the 4.7L V8’s have a timing chain FYI. If you’re referring to the serpentine belt, I still wouldn’t want to take a chance on delaying its replacement.

 

No it’s a toothed belt

 

No, they are a timing belt engine.

At 160k, they have some serious cracks...

 

It's a belt.

 

The belt in my '03 wasn't changed until well over 200K (I want to say 238K). But, I do NOT recommend pushing it this long! The belt had cracked at every tooth, and was probably very close to failure.

Here's what it looked like when I removed the cover:





The belt now hangs on my buddy's "Wall of Shame" in his garage.

I was pretty wreckless to push it for so long, especially considering it's an interference motor.

I was also very fortunate that the 5M-GE in my '85 Supra was a non-interference motor, as that belt gave out on I-94 halfway between Milwaukee and Madison. Luckily, we got it towed home, and fixed it. Man, I miss that car!

 

You definitely got your money's worth on that one! And lucky with the Supra, well except the break-down location.....

 

Wow! If I saw that on my vehicle, I'd shut it down and call for a tow.

 

We were in the process of replacing it.

Edit: but, I will say that I got a bit of a shudder when I first looked at it! It was a good thing I didn't wait any longer!

 

The 2UZ-FE is a wonderful engine. I replaced the timing belt in my Land Cruiser at 23 years and 173,000 miles. Still going strong but had some cracks.

 

Just an FYI, as mentioned the V8 is a interference engine, which means if the belt breaks the valves will hit the pistons and the engine is TOAST, so take that in mind on when to get the timing belt replaced, you're already overdue to replace it, when will it break, who knows, if the last belt was a OEM belt it might last a while longer, if it is a aftermarket belt, it could break tomorrow, or not.

 

I thought my belt was done twice but turns out it only had been done once at 117k miles. Just had it changed again at 237k miles so 20k overdue. The shop manager said it ‘looked fine’ but for such an important component I wouldn’t stretch it much longer than the regular interval.