re: Old Toyota Tundra/sequoia, timing belt.

Did my gf's GX 470 at 116k when we bought it. It had actually been done before, but there wasn't a sticker, and I couldn't tell that it had been done from a quick inspection

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I'm not a mechanic, but this goes against everything I've ever seen and makes 0 sense. Most manuals say to inspect for visual signs of wear, replace when needed

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You can't get to the timing belt without taking the entire front of the engine off. Well, I guess you can make it so far as to take the three cover plates off, but you won't be able to see the inside of the belt, and you'll already be 1/2 of the way done the teardown by then. There is no way to properly inspect the belt and tensioner without taking everything completely apart.

I've done a four, and they've all looked good. IMHO, the tensioner would be the problem. Loose tensioner, and you get slack in the belt that causes it to jump and pop. Leaking water pump is also a good opportunity to change it out.

This isn't an external belt like the one you can see. This is internal, and controls the camshafts. By reading reports, they pop without notice when someone gets on the gas, and then lets off of it abruptly. Manufacturers use belts because they are more quiet than chains