ok guys. i want a little help settling an argument that started over a couple of beers last saturday with a friend of mine. i am planning on doing my timing belt this summer, and i told them that i was going to replace the timing belt, tensioners and water pump. in his loudest, most "im the best" voice, my friend started yelling that i dont need to replace the tensioners, just keep them in and dont <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> with 'em. he kept yelling so long that his dad, brother and girlfriend had to take him outside and sit him down just to calm him down. i was just wondering if he was right or not. also, anybody got any tips of things i should watch out for or things i should do while im in there? any help would be appriciated.

Well,

It would depend on what condition they are in. There is not much to them that can go bad, other than the bearings and the dust seals. If you get them out and find that they spin free, the bearings are not notchy, and that the seals look to be in good condition, then you can most likely re-use them.

There are kits that include the belt, idler pulley, and tensioner all together. About $125 for the set. I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but RockAuto has a Gates kit for that price. They even painted the cast iron housing on the idler pulley assembly, made me smile.

What to watch out for:

The tensioner spring on my engine was out of spec. There is a maximum length spec on that spring, mine was elongated. Dealer has them for $5. This sets the initial tension on the belt, seemed important that it have the factory spec tension before tightening the tensioner bolt.

I just posted a reply in regards to the upper idler assembly, you may need to pull the plenum/throttle body to get that idler assembly off the intake manifold.

If you do remove the plenum, DO NOT DISTURB THE KNOCK SENSOR PIGTAIL. That wire is prone to failure if you monkey with it, just leave the harness assembly on the driver's side alone. Don't look at it, say anything bad about it, treat it with respect. Otherwise, you are going back in and yanking the intake manifold.

Other posts on this site have indicated that it is best to use a factory thermostat. I took that advice, no problems with cooling, small insurance policy.

Do not force the crankshaft timing belt gear back onto the crankshaft, if you take it off. Gently align it to the key to ensure you have correct engagement. If you beat it on, then you probably are not properly engaged on the key and are damaging the gear, key, and crank.

Make sure the washer that goes in front of the crankshaft gear is oriented with the "cupped" face pointing out. The FSM shows this clearly.

Again, do not force the balancer back on, engage it with the key carefully to ensure proper alignment.

And, when torqueing the crank bolt make sure you torque to the specified torque (185 ft-lbs?). On YotaTech.com there are a bunch of posts about this bolt coming loose and then the crank getting destroyed. I put locktite on mine and used the factory 185 ft-lb spec. The 5zfe's have a spec of 217 ft-lbs for the same bolt P/N..... Some uncertainty if that applies to the 3VZE. You will need a special wrench to hold the balancer, or just make one out of a piece of 1/4" thick, x 6" wide x 20" long steel. Hole saw a clearance hole for a socket to get to the crank bolt, drill four holes to bolt it to the balancer. Let it rest on the d-side frame rail when torqueing.

Wow, I write too damn much. I had better get back to work. They are not paying me to post on the internet.

well, as best as i know, the dealer said that the previous owner SAID he did the timing belt at about 190,000 to 200,000 miles, and i got the truck at 235,000, and i have 261,000 miles on the truck now. so the tensioners and bearings might be good. idk. i have to pull it all apart to find out. anyways, ya, i know about the pigtail on the knock sensor. the phrase, "been there, done that" comes to mind. i had to pull the manifold last year to replace the pressure dampener, and luckily, the same friend caught that before i screwed with it (guess he is good for something <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />). i dont think i will be pulling the crank pulley, but if i do, thanks for the info. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

You have to pull the crank pulley in order to remove the lower T-belt cover, so you can put the ne T-belt on. You can cut the belt to get it off, but there is no way to get the new one back on unless you pull the crank pulley.

This is similar to the tool OutlawMike described.


If you don't have access to a welder his idea would cost you about $5-10 depending on steel rates in your area. The one I made is about 24" long end to end.

I didn't take off the crank timming pulley. I was able to get the new t-belt on by loosening the bolt on the tensioner pulley and moving it out of the way. Once the belt was on, the spring took up the slack and I tightened the bolt back down. One of the cam pulleys has a small lip on the front, the other cam pulley has the lip on the back. Slide the t-belt on the pulley with the lip on the back.

EDIT: added 'timming' to crank pulley. Thank you <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I think there are two different pulley's in question.

There is the balancer with the multi v-belt grooves in it. Then there is the timing belt gear on the crank snout.

You can do the timing belt without pulling the timing belt gear. You do have to pull the balancer off to get the lower cover off.


That is one nice balancer wrench, makes mine look like something from the stone age. Now I'm having crank balancer wrench envy.

""im the best" voice, my friend started yelling that i dont need to replace the tensioners, just keep them in and dont <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> with 'em. he kept yelling so long that his dad, brother and girlfriend had to take him outside and sit him down just to calm him down."


Sounds like your friend is an <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/butwiggle.gif" alt="" />, or he can't handle a beer. Leave him home when you work on your truck. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I called all over the place, stopped Mac/Snap-on trucks, and searched the internet looking for a a bar and couldn't find any locally. Most of the people I talked to had no idea what I wanted, I finally hunted one down and the place back east wanted $90 for it. The one I made cost me under $3.00. I have used it more for a cheater bar on wrenches than what it was made for. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Tho' this is a 3.0 you're working on, this is also still a good read

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timing_belt/

Has tool fab in there too. Good luck, take your time, take pix if you need something to refer back to.

Keep the beer on ice until yer DONE. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

well, he'd had quite a few more than me. he was so bad that at one point he said, " <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> that! all you have to replace when your <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> in there are the timing pump and the water belt!!! theres no <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> reason to replace anything else!" <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

So pulling the pulleys is required...dang. ok, what did you say were the specifications for the wrench were, and didnt you say that it could be bought from toyota? i think if its a toyota specific tool, my drunken buddy might be able to get it to me.
(P.S.-if you live in the Denver area, dont take your toyota to Stevenson West. Hes a lube tech over their!!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />)

Thanks for the help guys. and yes kewlnyx, ill have plenty of that on hand for the celebration of it being done!