A VERY SAD DAY TODAY ,FOR US

keldaw · October 30, 2018, 06:53:10 PM

we bought a brand new Toyota Camry in 2000 for dawn , when we retired from work , lovely car , and still is , but we had to say good by to it today , because we had it in town last Friday when we were shopping ,on the way back home we heard a bad rattle in the motor ,so I pulled up at a garage and the mechanic came out and had a listen to the noise , he said it was either the alternator or the air con , or the timing belt , and he could not fix it Friday afternoon but booked it in for today Tuesday to be fixed , this morning Tuesday I had to take it back into him , I got up at 6 am ,but the car would not start , so I rang the racq , they came out and he could not start it so he rang for a tow truck , and I told him to take it to my mechanic , I then rang the mac and told him it was on the way in on the truck because it would not start , he said if if wont start then he don't want it at his workshop , because he has to have it running to he can test the noise again , he said it had to go to an auto mac and he told me of one just up the road , so I rang the racq again to tell them to take it there instead , the auto mac found the fault and said it was the timing belt had worn out and jumped two teeth in the gears and it had to go to the mac to be fixed, but how do I get it to the mechanic to fix , so I walked down to him and told him the trouble , he said he can fix it but it would cost over $ 2000.00 + to fix and the market value on that model was about $ 1000.00 , and if I pay him $ 2000 then something goes wrong like the brakes or gear box than it could cost me a lot more and he said it was not worth fixing it , the tow truck then wanted to charge me about $ 200 .00 to bring it back home but I said no I will get it home myself . and the auto elec guy charged me $ 151.00 just for time to find the fault . I then went and hired a car trailer to bring it back home , cost me $ 70.00 for 3 hours to get my car back home , now it is sitting in my yard , and now I just don't know what to do about it . I must add it is still a very well kept car , and still looks too good to throw away . ,, kel ,,[attachment=3792][attachment=3791][attachment=3790]

humpybong · October 30, 2018, 08:51:59 PM

RIP Toyota Camry.

Unicorn · October 30, 2018, 09:13:39 PM

Gee I wish you were closer in location. $2000 for a timing belt is BS. Just the belt would be around $70, the labour sure would be quite a bit, but not $1900. I'd get a second opinion if I were you. My only concern is if you throw a belt, it can result in bent valves, which means a new head etc. In that instance perhaps the $2k becomes more realistic. I wish you all the best with it as you have enough on your plate at the moment.

runway · October 30, 2018, 09:55:28 PM

That mechanic is a wanker mate

keldaw · October 31, 2018, 10:14:58 AM

I must add that that did not happen with it uni , the belt is about 1 inch wide when new , but this one had still got about 1/4 inch still working and was a bit loose because it was not as wide as should be ,, the rest had gone to fibre under the cover , I would say that is why it jumped a couple of teeth but not enough to do any damage .

thanks unicorn .

gabby · October 31, 2018, 01:20:16 PM

It's like us mate - wearing out in old age

Fulvio · October 31, 2018, 09:58:43 PM

Check changeover prices. Repco, https://www.enginesplus.com.au/ etc

Basil · November 01, 2018, 09:15:23 AM

Sorry to hear that Kel,if the car has reasonable K's,less than 200,000,its worth fixing as they are a great model that gave little trouble.
Might be worth getting onto one of the Oz.Toyota Forums and see if one of the guys in your area are prepared to replace it for you,its a easy job just time consuming.

fred lever · November 02, 2018, 12:50:27 PM

Hi Kel, just a couple of view points,
1/ the commercial value of a 2000 Camry may be not much but to you its worth the dollar value equivalent to what you need to spend to replace it! So spending the money to give the old girl a full engine/transmission big service may not be wasted.
2/ the cam belt is a critical service item and must be replaced at reasonable intervals I used to let my belts go to 60/80,000 km but checked them carefully for any sign of cracking or tooth wear in between. Any sign of fatigue and out it came! Yes I know some belts never get replaced in the life of a motor, but now you know what happens if you skip replacing them.
3/ Basil is right, to just replace the belt is a straightforward day job for a DIY mechanic, you really just unbolt everything in the way (lots of swearing with frozen bolts) like the cooling system/alternator/ pulleys/ covers get in there, clean out the mess, set the crank and cam to the timing marks, slide in a fresh belt, pray the tensioner still works and put every thing back together. Away she goes! Tools required are outlined in a handbook but really you only need the normal stuff and a puller for any pulleys that wont slide off.
4/ If there has been a valve /piston clash Houston we have a problem................................
5/ If you had a DIY Toyota enthusiast near you I would tend to cross my fingers, slide in another belt, and start her up. If it then rattles and misfires badly............................................scrap.
6/ Your local mechanic was bit negative, must be doing so well to not want to help, maybe seen too many broken cam belts!
7/ Oh, shoving another belt in will get it going, but really the whole kit should be used with the seals and tensioner parts and the cog wheels checked carefully for stone damage that may chew a new belt up.........................

JeffH · November 02, 2018, 03:21:26 PM

Quotethe cam belt is a critical service item and must be replaced at reasonable intervals

Yes, most important. Most manufacturers specify replacement at around 100,000km intervals and, if not done, common for belt to fail not long after.
Do you have service records for the car Kel? if the belt has not been replaced in accordance with manufacturer's specification you might have a case for a claim against the service company.

If it is only just two teeth jump then valve/piston clash is unlikely. But if it is just that it is likely it would still start but run very poorly -I suspect the problem may be more than you were told.
If you want to keep the car for several more years then a reconditioned, changeover motor could be worthwhile. Sure it will be fairly costly but, as Fred said, a lot cheaper than buying another car.

Triggersmob · November 03, 2018, 02:45:35 PM

Kel, as Jeff said if the belt is not broken, then further damage is unlikely.
If you need any parts, remember you have a mate in the business (Me),
let me know what you need and I will look after you.

keldaw · November 03, 2018, 07:15:53 PM

a big thanks to you for that offer Steve .
I wont know any more until I go over to Bribie island
on Monday or Tuesday morning where the car is .
the guy over there is going to look at it and let me know if it can be fixed or not .

Triggersmob · November 03, 2018, 08:16:43 PM

Quote from: 'keldaw' pid='117311' dateline='1541234753'a big thanks to you for that offer Steve .
I wont know any more until I go over to Bribie island
on Monday or Tuesday morning where the car is .
the guy over there is going to look at it and let me know if it can be fixed or not .

Well, if can be of help, just let me know.

fred lever · November 26, 2018, 01:23:46 PM

Hi Kel, is Camry out of the dead car park and back on the track?
Just want to know how it panned out.
Fred.

keldaw · November 26, 2018, 06:43:46 PM

Yes Fred , the guy at bribe island got it going again , and with a service all up cost 1870 dollars but now going ok , but dawn has lost a lot of conferdence in it now . .