I recently took my 2000 Toyota Tundra 4.7 L V8 to the dealer for 90,000 mile service which included replacing the timing belt. A few days later the engine made a horrible noise and had to be towed to the shop. The dealer determined that the timing belt had not been properly tensioned. After fixing the belt they confirmed that the engine was running properly. According to the dealer this is a non-zero clearance or non-interference engine, meaning that a broken timing belt will not cause engine damage. According to the references I can find on the internet, this is an interference design engine. Can anybody confirm one way or the other? I’m concerned about engine damage due to their negligence and the possibility of future problems. The dealer states that they will take care of any problems that might occur, however they are not specific about the length of their warranty.
The timing belt maker, Gates, shows it as being an interference fit engine: http://www.gates.com/part_locator/index.cfm?location_id=3598 Hopefully, the timing belt didn’t slip far enough to allow the pistons and valves to “get together”.
If the engine is, now, running smoothly, there is no problem.
It IS a interference engine…but if it’s running good after they fixed the belt then all is good. If there was damage it would be noticed immidiatly.
The good part about using the dealer in this case is you have a 1yr/12,000 warranty on the work done at any Toyota dealer. The damage would have shown up today but you still have a year or less to see.
The good part about using the dealer in this case is you have a 1yr/12,000 warranty on the work done at any Toyota dealer.
My local independent mechanic has a 1yr/12,000 warranty on the work they do.