# 1998 Toyota Camry/ Timimg belt

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** camry\
**Created:** [October 16, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686 "2014-10-16T16:12:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![badbearing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/badbearing/32/10683_2.png) [@badbearing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/badbearing)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686/1 "2014-10-16T16:12:31Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686/2 "2014-10-16T17:43:07Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686/3 "2014-10-17T04:26:54Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:22am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686/4 "2014-10-17T05:22:34Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![SteveC76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SteveC76](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveC76)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-camry-timimg-belt/87686/5 "2014-10-17T05:39:49Z")

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90k 7 years is what we usually reccomend. Has the belt been done before? If it is the original I would replace it.