100 Series Timing Belt and Water Pump Replacement
I am new to this forum, but many posts on this site have really helped me in repairing my 2000 Land Cruiser. I recently changed the timing belt and water pump. My son and I were first-timers at this task, and I we found that there were several problems encountered that were not discussed on earlier posts. Also, I made a crankshaft pulley holder out of wood, and I had not seen this described before. It’s hard for most of us to fabricate steel, but wood is easy. Here are my notes:
1. I didn’t take off the radiator. We put cardboard over the inside fins and taped it with duct tape. This worked fine.
2. The fan and fan housing removal were not difficult. However, the 4 bolts holding the fan clutch, which has to be removed, were remarkably soft. I stripped one immediately with a small wrench. It’s important that you have a holder tool for the fan clutch bolts. I had to use a vise grip to get the stripped one off. Later I replaced the 4 nuts with new ones from a hardware store.
3. The fan bracket was difficult because it has 2 infernal bolts holding it from the side that you wouldn’t expect. One comes in from the top of the a/c compressor and the other from beneath it. The lower bolt is hidden under there like King Tut’s tomb. One can see it with a flashlight looking down the drive axle. I was able to put my head against the left front wheel and get the bolt out with an 18 inch extension. Removing the oil filter makes things easier.
4. I piled all of my nuts and bolts in one container as I went along. I paid dearly for this later. I didn’t realize that these bolts and studs in the front of the engine often hold more than one part. It was very time consuming later to figure out which bolt went where. I would strongly suggest that you label each group of fasteners that you take off; it will save much time when you reassemble.
5. My timing belt looked good at 110,000 miles. I’d say it would go another 40,000 at least. It was shiny on the ridges, but that was about it. The water pump had some dried red seep out of the weep hole, but otherwise it was tight and very functional. We replaced the timing belt idlers, but the old ones seemed fine.
6. We removed the crankshaft pulley bolt using the starter trick. The bar was put on the floor on the driver’s side. A 22mm socket held the bolt handle. The battery was reconnected and the starter was touched for a second. That did the trick. To re-torque the bolt, a wooden holder was made, described below.
7. The water pump cannot be removed without first taking off the thermostat housing above it. I had no idea how that pipe going into the front of the engine was fastened in. Even with the two bolts removed, the housing seemed absolutely fixed in place. I groaned to think it was fastened in from the inside, under the intake manifold. After some study, I noted that inside the pipe was an O-ring. So I started tapping on the part with a rubber mallet and it quickly loosened up. After wiggling it for a few moments, the pipe pulled easily out of the hole.
8. As for setting the timing belt itself, I had read various posts stating that one should set everything at 50° past TDC. The FSM says to set them at top dead center. Before removing the belt and crankshaft pulley for good, mark the crank sprocket at TDC, then at the “T” of the cams and also at 50° past. I believe 50 past is the dot on the lower timing belt cover, and I recall that the cams will be just past the “T” mark at 50 past. Note or mark the same with the cam pulleys. I found that it was easier to set them at the “T” due to the spring tension. If each of the three is at TDC or the “T” or the 50° past TDC when you set the belt, it should work fine. Good pictures of how the belt should look are found at other posts on this forum.
9. The timing belt tensioner is nothing to fear. We pressed the rod back into place with a vise, cranking it slowly. A tiny hex wrench held it in place. It is important not to install the tensioner when you are setting the timing belt, as it pushes the pulley out some by just being bolted in. This uses up precious slack. Use clamps to hold the belt in place, and then when you think you’ve got it, install the tensioner and pull the pin.
10. Here’s how you can test if you have installed the belt correctly: Pull the tensioner pin; the belt will slip otherwise. Put the timing belt guide back over the crankshaft sprocket and then put on the lower timing belt cover with the degree marks on it. Then put the crankshaft pulley on and the bolt. (a little grease on the inside of the pulley helped it slide on). Turn the bolt clockwise about two revolutions. The crankshaft pulley should be at TDC, and the camshaft pulleys should also both be right at TDC. The marks on the timing belt will not be where you first installed them, so forget about the belt marks. What counts are the pulley marks.
11. If the belt is not on correctly, you can take off the partially tightened pulley bolt with an air gun, as it won’t move the engine counter-clockwise. You’ll have to take off the tensioner again and reset it.
12. To tighten the pulley bolt to the required 185 lbs, I took the pulley while it was off and traced its holes on the end of a 2x6 board. Four holes, slightly bigger than 8mm, were drilled as required outside the center hole. These need to be drilled straight in with a drill press or something similar. I used a hole saw (1-1/2 inches) for the center hole. My board length in total was about 14 inches. I installed it about vertical, with the holes at the bottom. Two of the crankshaft pulley holes have threads and the other two for some reason do not. Using two 8mm bolts, I screwed them in through the appropriate holes to tighten the board against the pulley. I also stuck two ¼ inch smooth steel rods (from the hardware store) into the other two holes just for good measure, but I doubt that I needed them. 8mm bolts won’t fit into the smooth holes. I cut one corner off of the 2x6 to let it clear the oil filter apparatus. Then my son and I held a 2x4 to brace the top of the 2x6 against the side of the car’s frame (cut to fit). This apparatus held solidly and we had no trouble torquing the bolt to185. Other configurations of the 2x6 could be used. Move the lines from below the crank pulley and install the 2x6 hanging down; that should work. For one person, you could add a 2x4 dogleg stoutly bolted to the 2x6 at a 45 angle to the driver’s side floor. This worked well for me for a 1993 4Runner. To rotate the engine and then torque the pulley bolt, we used a 300lb torque wrench from Harbor Freight ($80). Super tool.
13. The water pump of course has to be installed before the timing belt. The Toyota pump that I bought had a steel gasket. On the gasket was a pre-formed little black rubber strip all around it. Was this all that one needed as far as gasket material? I didn’t know and could not find information on it. So we coated the rest of the gasket on both sides with Ultra Blue Permatex RTV sealant and installed it. I just felt better if I could see blue sealant squeezing out after the installation. Maybe the black gasket would have worked fine without anything more, but I didn’t want to chance it. By the way, it later had no leaks with the blue sealant added.
14. I left the thermostat housing off of the water pump until the very end, after the drive belt had been installed. The reason for this is that it leaves an opening into the engine block. I poured over a gallon of antifreeze into that area with a long funnel. Then the housing was installed. Later, after filling the radiator, there was no need to “burp” the engine or refill and suffer while it ran hot for a while. Almost no new fluid needed to be added using this method. Also, I re-used the old O-ring on the pipe, as it seemed to be in good condition.
15. When rotating the engine with the crankshaft bolt, it is easier if the spark plugs are removed, but it is not necessary to do so. If you want to check the position of the number one cylinder, take out the plug. It should be in firing position (up) at TDC. Number one is at the front of the engine on the driver’s side.
The car ran like a champ
Hope this helps someone in the future.
I am new to this forum, but many posts on this site have really helped me in repairing my 2000 Land Cruiser. I recently changed the timing belt and water pump. My son and I were first-timers at this task, and I we found that there were several problems encountered that were not discussed on earlier posts. Also, I made a crankshaft pulley holder out of wood, and I had not seen this described before. It’s hard for most of us to fabricate steel, but wood is easy. Here are my notes:
1. I didn’t take off the radiator. We put cardboard over the inside fins and taped it with duct tape. This worked fine.
2. The fan and fan housing removal were not difficult. However, the 4 bolts holding the fan clutch, which has to be removed, were remarkably soft. I stripped one immediately with a small wrench. It’s important that you have a holder tool for the fan clutch bolts. I had to use a vise grip to get the stripped one off. Later I replaced the 4 nuts with new ones from a hardware store.
3. The fan bracket was difficult because it has 2 infernal bolts holding it from the side that you wouldn’t expect. One comes in from the top of the a/c compressor and the other from beneath it. The lower bolt is hidden under there like King Tut’s tomb. One can see it with a flashlight looking down the drive axle. I was able to put my head against the left front wheel and get the bolt out with an 18 inch extension. Removing the oil filter makes things easier.
4. I piled all of my nuts and bolts in one container as I went along. I paid dearly for this later. I didn’t realize that these bolts and studs in the front of the engine often hold more than one part. It was very time consuming later to figure out which bolt went where. I would strongly suggest that you label each group of fasteners that you take off; it will save much time when you reassemble.
5. My timing belt looked good at 110,000 miles. I’d say it would go another 40,000 at least. It was shiny on the ridges, but that was about it. The water pump had some dried red seep out of the weep hole, but otherwise it was tight and very functional. We replaced the timing belt idlers, but the old ones seemed fine.
6. We removed the crankshaft pulley bolt using the starter trick. The bar was put on the floor on the driver’s side. A 22mm socket held the bolt handle. The battery was reconnected and the starter was touched for a second. That did the trick. To re-torque the bolt, a wooden holder was made, described below.
7. The water pump cannot be removed without first taking off the thermostat housing above it. I had no idea how that pipe going into the front of the engine was fastened in. Even with the two bolts removed, the housing seemed absolutely fixed in place. I groaned to think it was fastened in from the inside, under the intake manifold. After some study, I noted that inside the pipe was an O-ring. So I started tapping on the part with a rubber mallet and it quickly loosened up. After wiggling it for a few moments, the pipe pulled easily out of the hole.
8. As for setting the timing belt itself, I had read various posts stating that one should set everything at 50° past TDC. The FSM says to set them at top dead center. Before removing the belt and crankshaft pulley for good, mark the crank sprocket at TDC, then at the “T” of the cams and also at 50° past. I believe 50 past is the dot on the lower timing belt cover, and I recall that the cams will be just past the “T” mark at 50 past. Note or mark the same with the cam pulleys. I found that it was easier to set them at the “T” due to the spring tension. If each of the three is at TDC or the “T” or the 50° past TDC when you set the belt, it should work fine. Good pictures of how the belt should look are found at other posts on this forum.
9. The timing belt tensioner is nothing to fear. We pressed the rod back into place with a vise, cranking it slowly. A tiny hex wrench held it in place. It is important not to install the tensioner when you are setting the timing belt, as it pushes the pulley out some by just being bolted in. This uses up precious slack. Use clamps to hold the belt in place, and then when you think you’ve got it, install the tensioner and pull the pin.
10. Here’s how you can test if you have installed the belt correctly: Pull the tensioner pin; the belt will slip otherwise. Put the timing belt guide back over the crankshaft sprocket and then put on the lower timing belt cover with the degree marks on it. Then put the crankshaft pulley on and the bolt. (a little grease on the inside of the pulley helped it slide on). Turn the bolt clockwise about two revolutions. The crankshaft pulley should be at TDC, and the camshaft pulleys should also both be right at TDC. The marks on the timing belt will not be where you first installed them, so forget about the belt marks. What counts are the pulley marks.
11. If the belt is not on correctly, you can take off the partially tightened pulley bolt with an air gun, as it won’t move the engine counter-clockwise. You’ll have to take off the tensioner again and reset it.
12. To tighten the pulley bolt to the required 185 lbs, I took the pulley while it was off and traced its holes on the end of a 2x6 board. Four holes, slightly bigger than 8mm, were drilled as required outside the center hole. These need to be drilled straight in with a drill press or something similar. I used a hole saw (1-1/2 inches) for the center hole. My board length in total was about 14 inches. I installed it about vertical, with the holes at the bottom. Two of the crankshaft pulley holes have threads and the other two for some reason do not. Using two 8mm bolts, I screwed them in through the appropriate holes to tighten the board against the pulley. I also stuck two ¼ inch smooth steel rods (from the hardware store) into the other two holes just for good measure, but I doubt that I needed them. 8mm bolts won’t fit into the smooth holes. I cut one corner off of the 2x6 to let it clear the oil filter apparatus. Then my son and I held a 2x4 to brace the top of the 2x6 against the side of the car’s frame (cut to fit). This apparatus held solidly and we had no trouble torquing the bolt to185. Other configurations of the 2x6 could be used. Move the lines from below the crank pulley and install the 2x6 hanging down; that should work. For one person, you could add a 2x4 dogleg stoutly bolted to the 2x6 at a 45 angle to the driver’s side floor. This worked well for me for a 1993 4Runner. To rotate the engine and then torque the pulley bolt, we used a 300lb torque wrench from Harbor Freight ($80). Super tool.
13. The water pump of course has to be installed before the timing belt. The Toyota pump that I bought had a steel gasket. On the gasket was a pre-formed little black rubber strip all around it. Was this all that one needed as far as gasket material? I didn’t know and could not find information on it. So we coated the rest of the gasket on both sides with Ultra Blue Permatex RTV sealant and installed it. I just felt better if I could see blue sealant squeezing out after the installation. Maybe the black gasket would have worked fine without anything more, but I didn’t want to chance it. By the way, it later had no leaks with the blue sealant added.
14. I left the thermostat housing off of the water pump until the very end, after the drive belt had been installed. The reason for this is that it leaves an opening into the engine block. I poured over a gallon of antifreeze into that area with a long funnel. Then the housing was installed. Later, after filling the radiator, there was no need to “burp” the engine or refill and suffer while it ran hot for a while. Almost no new fluid needed to be added using this method. Also, I re-used the old O-ring on the pipe, as it seemed to be in good condition.
15. When rotating the engine with the crankshaft bolt, it is easier if the spark plugs are removed, but it is not necessary to do so. If you want to check the position of the number one cylinder, take out the plug. It should be in firing position (up) at TDC. Number one is at the front of the engine on the driver’s side.
The car ran like a champ
Hope this helps someone in the future.
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