Help! I have 2 different opinions on when to change the timing chain on my 2001 Rav4 with 130,000 miles.
A good friend suggested that I have it replaced soon. He was told by his mechanic it?s a wise idea to do it at that mileage instead of waiting for it to go bad and causing further damage.
When I asked the Toyota dealership they said to wait and if it gives you trouble, then have it replaced.
What should I do?
Do You Have The 2.4L engine ? Yes ? . . . Then The Dealer Is Correct.
2.0L Engine ? Yes ? . . . Then Your Friend Is Half Right And You Need To Replace The Timing Belt.
CSA
Your friend is confusing a timing chain and a timing belt. Your car has a chain - not a belt.
It is only timing belts that get changed as a matter of routine preventative maintenance.
As the dealership said, you only mess with the timing chain if it gives you trouble. (You would probably first notice trouble as noise). It probably won’t give you any trouble.
If you do have a chain, the Factory Service Manual (FSM) has a max degree of slack allowable as read at the crank. On my pushrod jeep engine, I’m allowed 12? of slack where the crank moves and the cam/distributor does not.
…but Rock Auto only lists a 2.0 and a 1.8 for the Rav4 in 2001. The 2.0, as was stated, doesn’t have a timing chain.
According to the Gates guide the last RAV4 with a timing belt was 2000.
Everything after that is on a chain.
Study Your Owner’s Manual.
CSA