At what mileage should the timing belt be changed on a 1998 Toyota Camry, 4cyl. Auto
Is the engine in 98 Camry the same as 96 4cyl?
If it is a 4 cyl. the engine should be a 5S-FE which I think is the same as the’ 96. The Toyota recommended timing belt replacement for my '99 5S-FE is 90,000 miles.
Your best bet is to phone up a Toyota service department and ask. They deal with this question every day. Why guess when you can ask a Toyota expert for free?
I think what they’ll say is for model years 98 and higher and gasoline engines 2.2 L or smaller, the timing belt service interval is 90K. And there may be a modification to that for severe service conditions. Plus there is a time limit irrespective of mileage probably, usually around 5-7 years.
From what I see, the 96 Camry 2.2 L four banger looks to have the 5S-FE engine. Not sure what engine number the 98 has. You might be able to look at Wikipedia, search for 5S-FE Toyota, you should see an article on all of the Toyota engines, maybe it will say what the 98 Camry 4 banger uses.
There should also be an age requirement, like 90,000 miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. If you will pay someone to do the job, the dealer can be the least expensive option. I had the Honda dealer do mine, and they were almost $100 less than the other 2 quotes I got from Indy garages.
90k 7 years is what we usually reccomend. Has the belt been done before? If it is the original I would replace it.