This
Changing your belts in 25 minutes (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter IdahoDoug
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
This
I'm going to be honest. I was ready to call BS on this being a 25 minute job........and then I stopped trying to route the alternator belts like a serpentine around the idler pulley.
Super simple, especially if you have flex-head wratcheting wrenchs.
Super simple, especially if you have flex-head wratcheting wrenchs.
3x new belts on this morning. This is a truck I bought last fall with no PO maintenance records, just getting to the belts now. This was actually a warm-up to oil leak maintenance...will be going after valve cover gasket, dist o-ring, oil pump gasket, and drive shaft gasket later this summer (one thing at a time, ok?).
Old belts were aftermarket, toothed, with many teeth missing. Wrongly installed over idler pulley by some prior tech. Did I mention I have a road trip in three days?
The A/C belt came off easily following steps described in orig post. Then moved to the harder part. 14mm upper alternator bolt--piece of cake. Then the lower bolt--the *dreaded* alternator tensioner lock bolt. I tried to be cute with some small tools and started rounding the outside of this 12mm bolt...then I stripped the inside with an appropriate torx bit. Now I was getting worried. I attacked that bolt with every LITTLE wrench I had. Here's the thing friends...go BIG. If that little POS is over-tightened, I believe the best bet is 1.) a healthy dose of penetrating oil and 2.) a STOUT 1/2" drive, 6-sided deep well socket and ratchet. I think the LESS wiggle you can introduce, the easier to break a seized bolt. I did use my left fist smashed against the ratchet end to hold it on the rounded bolt. THAT did the trick. OH by-the-way...you may be saying, "but the belts are in the way of a deep-well socket!" Well cut'em off. Just be thinking about loosening the alternator tensioner bolt so you can install your new belts:
Here's the offending bolt, the penetrating oil, and then the anti-seize I used on the replacement bolt I bought at my neighborhood Ace hardware. I replaced OEM with a 40mm long, 8mm diam, 1.25 thread-width bolt. OEM is 35mm long so I added a lock washer and a flat washer against the alternator lock "block", which actually improves access for the next time.
Happy Father's Day,
brettwilm
Old belts were aftermarket, toothed, with many teeth missing. Wrongly installed over idler pulley by some prior tech. Did I mention I have a road trip in three days?
The A/C belt came off easily following steps described in orig post. Then moved to the harder part. 14mm upper alternator bolt--piece of cake. Then the lower bolt--the *dreaded* alternator tensioner lock bolt. I tried to be cute with some small tools and started rounding the outside of this 12mm bolt...then I stripped the inside with an appropriate torx bit. Now I was getting worried. I attacked that bolt with every LITTLE wrench I had. Here's the thing friends...go BIG. If that little POS is over-tightened, I believe the best bet is 1.) a healthy dose of penetrating oil and 2.) a STOUT 1/2" drive, 6-sided deep well socket and ratchet. I think the LESS wiggle you can introduce, the easier to break a seized bolt. I did use my left fist smashed against the ratchet end to hold it on the rounded bolt. THAT did the trick. OH by-the-way...you may be saying, "but the belts are in the way of a deep-well socket!" Well cut'em off. Just be thinking about loosening the alternator tensioner bolt so you can install your new belts:
Here's the offending bolt, the penetrating oil, and then the anti-seize I used on the replacement bolt I bought at my neighborhood Ace hardware. I replaced OEM with a 40mm long, 8mm diam, 1.25 thread-width bolt. OEM is 35mm long so I added a lock washer and a flat washer against the alternator lock "block", which actually improves access for the next time.
Happy Father's Day,
brettwilm
Last edited:
Ok so I did mine today and you all must have little child hands. How the F&%K are you guys able to get the tensioner bolt done with all that clutter in there with your hands? Im a average sized guy with a little bigger hands that this was painful. took about 1 hour total with new cuts/scrapes shoving my hands in a little space. If you have bigger hands, I would take the time to remove the battery. I will next time. A/C stuff is easy from the bottom after removing the access plate (1 min job at most). Get Toyota belts. Mine are Autozone stuff and they arent completely quiet but much quieter than the original belts (203k miles)! Will go OEM soon.
Dissent
Questioning my life choices...
I just replaced my alternator and removed the battery tray this time. So
much easier but still a PITA. Getting a Torx socket would help to loosen the lock bolt a lot. I had a Torx 30 that was a bit loose. Maybe it's a Torx 35?
much easier but still a PITA. Getting a Torx socket would help to loosen the lock bolt a lot. I had a Torx 30 that was a bit loose. Maybe it's a Torx 35?
I did this last night, like most of us super experienced mechanics it took me 8 minutes, plus 2 hours of trying to figure out what the hell to remove. The first problem, working with my son, was solved by the FSM, the first "bolt" its not a bolt, but a lock nut on the idler (duhh), after that, it was really just less than an hour to do the rest. Great info on this thread.
Now the truck doesn't sound like Doc Brown's time machine with Flux Capacitor running full bore.
Now the truck doesn't sound like Doc Brown's time machine with Flux Capacitor running full bore.
ElPolloBlanco
SILVER Star
Am I the only one that relieves the tension at the alternator by going through the wheel well? A few extensions and moving the skirt out of the way and you're in business. It all fits right in between the bolts on top of the steering gearbox.
inkpot
SILVER Star
ElPolloBlanco
SILVER Star
Crap, I should redact that posts to look like the Nixon Oval Office transcripts.
With the battery and battery box removed, the alternator bolt was easy to get to with 1/4" ratchet wrench and 12mm socket. I found plenty of room that way.
inkpot
SILVER Star
As EPB mentioned, it is a straight shot in over the top of the steering box. Really quick and easy!
Popped the hood to refill the washer fluid in the 'rents 80 and noticed a shredded belt. Parts (belts, distributor o-ring, front pads, fan clutch, AC condenser) are literally on my bench at home 250miles away. I've been putting it off but I'll need to work on it next weekend.
Just completed this job on an LX at 111,xxx. Very handy write up.
A video on this job will have a lot of views on youtube.
This video covers a lot more than just removing the belts, but you can try to un-see the parts you don't want to watch.
Good video.
I just changed my belts and installed a new idler pulley. Had previously bought 12mm and 14mm GearWrench ratching wrenches when doing my head gasket and they definitely came in handy here. I removed the splashguard (which is a quick task) to have a better look at everything. I too went through the wheel well to access the alternator tension bolt. With a few extensions, it was easy and there is room to get a power tool on it. Used Toyota belts to replace the aftermarket belts that the PO installed - it is so much quieter now!
A cordless impact driver and 3/8 adapter make it so easy to remove the battery tray that its really not worth it to fight the damn thing. I think it takes me about 3 minutes now to have the battery out, tray out, and ready to move on.
ewillis
SILVER Star
