Automotive Forums  Where Car Enthusiasts Go to Discuss Cars Online

1998 Toyota Camry
4-cyl, 2.2 Engine

I just had my mechanic replace my timing belt with kit and water pump.  It makes a noise now when you press on the gas initially and when you speed up from a steady slower speed on the road.  The noise is like a bit of a roar or sounds like it is suped up a bit.  Mechanic says this will be normal for the first 400-500 miles so the belt can stretch out to perfection.

Is my mechanic right?  This is the first time I have used this mechanic.  Please help and let me know.

Please do not comment on timing belts on other cars as this could be a camry only issue.  Thanks.  

is it a whirring noise?????  where the timing belt adjuster might have been levered more than the spring will pull as designed... causing the belt to make a Whirrrrring noise like the engine has a super charger...   WrrrrrrrRRRrrrrrrr



the longest span of the belt needs to be able to be turned with ones fingers 1/4 turn .. no more.. no less..

there is a Small spring that pulls the tensioner to the proper tightness against the belt when the pivot and the slot adjustment bolts are loose...  tech's sometimes give it a little more tension..

the problem is.. there are NO cam bearings in the head... the iron cam rides directly on a layer of oil in the machined aluminum cylinder head...  if you have the timing belt too tight.. it may pull hard enough to remove that film of oil or squeegee it out.. causing the aluminum to melt and ruin the cam and the head.. if it does not snap the cam..

i won't mention the guys who lived around the block from me with the 36 inch pry bar attempting to get the pinto timing belt really really tight.. and could not understand why the tensioner was failing..

i won't mention the 30 year engine builder who was chasing a pinto motor around the steel topped work bench when he was trying to install the timing belt .. without locking the tensioner back.. i watched him for 2 minutes and had enough of it.. i said.. i can do that in under a minute..  he had never through about locking the tensioner all the way back against its spring.. to allow easy installation of the timing belt.. then just slightly loosen the 2 bolts..  tighten them.. spin the engine and see if it all still lines up...

but i won't mention those...

take it back...  talk to the shop owner....   see if they will go in and check the adjustment..

if not.. find another mechanic...

if its a constant rumbling.. perhaps the water pump.. or the tensioner.. even the idler needed to be changed...

at least its not a alfa 164. that needs a belt ever 22 K or it will break..

or one of the new korean build gm's that need the belt inspected every 30 K..readjusted.. and replaced every 60... for fear of wiping out all the valves...   i just got finished with one of those..  it was over 2500 to repair it..  

Thank you.

No it is not a rrr sound that is constant.  It is only when the gas is initially pressed on.  How else can I explain this?  The sound is like a suped up muscle car kind of. - I hope that helps.

 By chance your not in the North Denver area are you?  I used to use another mechanic that treated me great.  I only used him for a couple of years and then his buisness was shut down with eviction notices on his doors.  I hated that as he always did me right.  I need a good diesant mechanic that doesn't charge you an arm and a leg.  I need a good mechanic that charges about $80/hr.  

nope... LA.,  thats a long drive..

wonder if he moved rather than just closing the doors..

ask at the local part store.. talk to the store manager quietly... where other store personnel cannot hear you ...   the wrong thing said.. or overheard can really crash a guys business...

that happened to a shop i worked in..    somebody in a major parts company took a stock order from a company near us with a very similar name..   their name was the same except for the last word.. ours was sales.. theirs was parts...   they put in a 20K stocking order...  the clerk put it in on our account.. where we bought things a few thousand bucks a month..   the ware house saw the ticket with a DO NOT DELIVER.. thought we were trying to pull a huge scam...   shut off all our accounts..  even thought we were not late on anything..  we could not buy a part from anybody..   it took me 3 months to figure out what happened... we had not a clue their business name was even close to ours..   by that time.. we were in the toilet bowl..  so choose words carefully..   see if the phone got forwarded..  

so you have a decent cell phone or digital cam corder..

where you could take some video with audio recordings of the sound.. post it to you tube and the link here..