First Timing Belt Change - 01 LX470 (1 Viewer)

[scottm]

In the video, the arrow marks on the belt are pointing toward the front of the car. I thought they were supposed to point toward the block. Anyone know?

I wasn't sure, but I counted the teeth and they were exactly symmetric, so the belt works either way.

 

[LostAfrican]

Is this the "Friday MUD Brain Teaser"?

Doing some mental gymnastics here; if you flipped the belt around so the arrows pointed towards the engine, then you would reverse Right and Left from p.o.v of the driver (and FSM) - because there's only teeth one side. If the belt marks are symmetric around the CR mark (seems like they should be), this would be fine.

To get the right arrow pointing towards the block, and on the RH cam (driver's p.o.v), then the Left arrow would be somewhere down by the crank. Assuming there are equal teeth between the marks for Right, Left and Crank, you could then put the CR marks on the LH cam (driver's p.o.v.).

but why?

 

[hkeller]

This is one of those situations that makes eye witness testimony questionable. I could swear I saw a FSM page showing the marks pointing towards the block. Obviously, I am mentally deficient.

 

[LostAfrican]

I can personally assure you that you are in good company....

 

[ponytl]

I am in the midst of timing belt and water pump change on our LX and thought I'd share my progress and get your input. Its my first time changing a timing belt and I am enjoying digging in and getting to know the truck.

2001 LX 470 104k miles. First TB change. First Water pump. AZ Mall cruiser - until me.

Disassembly has been pretty straight forward so far, but I am not done yet. I am going slow. I am also putting as many of the bolts and nuts back in their original locations as I can, rather than bag them. Works better for me than bagging and trying to remember where everything goes.

- Drained coolant with the drain valve on the bottom of the radiator.
- Removed air box and duct, no issues there. Next I went to the radiator hoses (upper and lower).
- Removed upper and lower radiator hoses. On the outlet side (DS or Toyota LH) I found some pitting and corrosion where the radiator hose clamps to the outlet port. I think this is what happens when you don't change your engine coolant every 30K like Toyota recommends. Comments?

The hoses were Napa with screw clamps, not Toyota. Also the radiator has been replaced with non-OEM at 90k miles. I am going to keep it for now. On a recent trip to MX, Ultragauge showed me a some periods where the coolant temp got to 199F when the car got up to 75+ mph. This prompted me to do the TB and Water pump now rather than later. Generally I never see the temp much above 190F. I noticed some splatter of coolant on the air intake manifold - probably from this coolant outlet interface. I don't plan to replace this outlet tube at this point unless it leaks when I reassemble.
View attachment 893345



- Heater T's next - since the engine was drained. Sure enough the "hot side" or outlet T (I assume so anyway) broke and crumbled during removal. This is an 01 with 104k miles on it. AZ vehicle. In removing the broken side (on the engine side) I was very worried about fragments falling back into the engine. I don't want those little pieces percolating through the system. I thought about it over night and decided to to use my shop vac to suck as much coolant as I could out through that port. I got a lot of red coolant out and I hope any of those fragments out with it. Replaced with a new T and put the clamps with the ears facing up for next time.

- Fan shroud was just a pain. Broke one of the ears for the DS shroud clamp bolt (like scottm). Will use JB Weld and a washer to fix it once the shroud is back in. These AZ trucks don't have the rust, but they get brittle too with the dry heat. Several of the wire and hose plastic clamps are pretty delicate after 13 years.

- Fan and Fan clutch. I discovered when removing the radiator cooling fan assembly that one of the nuts was a 13 mm non-OEM item. So I added the correct nut to my parts list. Always disconcerting to find non-OEM parts.

- Thermostat housing and inlet pipe assembly. Two bolts and gently pried it out of its O-ring. Turned it over and discovered more corrosion. This is concerning. View attachment 893347 Its not terrible, but I worry about additional corrosion in areas where I can't see, that may weaken the manifold and result in a blow out type leak one day. I am contemplating changing the cross over tubes when I do the starter - in about 50K miles I expect. I am hopeful that replacing with new coolant and changing it regularly will avoid further corrosion. Also I think the corrosion only happens when there's air/steam, so it should only happen at the high points/air pockets in the system?

What do you think?

-Timing belt covers were OK. The PS side was easy and the DS a little harder. I have a hard time getting those electrical connectors to let go sometimes. Watch out for the inside clip on the lower left edge (facing the engine) on the DS cover. The DS one will take some wiggling to get out and back in, past the wires etc. Had to remove the oil filter cooler line for this one - no big deal. The middle cover was ok too.

- Fan bracket. Hardest part was the two nuts down by the AC compressor. The Land Cruiser Service Manual I have (hoping its same as the LX - or close enough) says that I should remove the AC compressor - but I didn't. I removed the two long bolts clamping the fan bracket to the AC comp bracket and followed spresso's advice to just bend the electrical connector bracket out of they way. Much easier. Thanks for that!

- Next up will be moving the Alternator out of the way.

I welcome your thoughts and input. Learning a lot about the truck and whats in there - which is the whole point.

I am in the midst of timing belt and water pump change on our LX and thought I'd share my progress and get your input. Its my first time changing a timing belt and I am enjoying digging in and getting to know the truck.

2001 LX 470 104k miles. First TB change. First Water pump. AZ Mall cruiser - until me.

Disassembly has been pretty straight forward so far, but I am not done yet. I am going slow. I am also putting as many of the bolts and nuts back in their original locations as I can, rather than bag them. Works better for me than bagging and trying to remember where everything goes.

- Drained coolant with the drain valve on the bottom of the radiator.
- Removed air box and duct, no issues there. Next I went to the radiator hoses (upper and lower).
- Removed upper and lower radiator hoses. On the outlet side (DS or Toyota LH) I found some pitting and corrosion where the radiator hose clamps to the outlet port. I think this is what happens when you don't change your engine coolant every 30K like Toyota recommends. Comments?

The hoses were Napa with screw clamps, not Toyota. Also the radiator has been replaced with non-OEM at 90k miles. I am going to keep it for now. On a recent trip to MX, Ultragauge showed me a some periods where the coolant temp got to 199F when the car got up to 75+ mph. This prompted me to do the TB and Water pump now rather than later. Generally I never see the temp much above 190F. I noticed some splatter of coolant on the air intake manifold - probably from this coolant outlet interface. I don't plan to replace this outlet tube at this point unless it leaks when I reassemble.
View attachment 893345



- Heater T's next - since the engine was drained. Sure enough the "hot side" or outlet T (I assume so anyway) broke and crumbled during removal. This is an 01 with 104k miles on it. AZ vehicle. In removing the broken side (on the engine side) I was very worried about fragments falling back into the engine. I don't want those little pieces percolating through the system. I thought about it over night and decided to to use my shop vac to suck as much coolant as I could out through that port. I got a lot of red coolant out and I hope any of those fragments out with it. Replaced with a new T and put the clamps with the ears facing up for next time.

- Fan shroud was just a pain. Broke one of the ears for the DS shroud clamp bolt (like scottm). Will use JB Weld and a washer to fix it once the shroud is back in. These AZ trucks don't have the rust, but they get brittle too with the dry heat. Several of the wire and hose plastic clamps are pretty delicate after 13 years.

- Fan and Fan clutch. I discovered when removing the radiator cooling fan assembly that one of the nuts was a 13 mm non-OEM item. So I added the correct nut to my parts list. Always disconcerting to find non-OEM parts.

- Thermostat housing and inlet pipe assembly. Two bolts and gently pried it out of its O-ring. Turned it over and discovered more corrosion. This is concerning. View attachment 893347 Its not terrible, but I worry about additional corrosion in areas where I can't see, that may weaken the manifold and result in a blow out type leak one day. I am contemplating changing the cross over tubes when I do the starter - in about 50K miles I expect. I am hopeful that replacing with new coolant and changing it regularly will avoid further corrosion. Also I think the corrosion only happens when there's air/steam, so it should only happen at the high points/air pockets in the system?

What do you think?

-Timing belt covers were OK. The PS side was easy and the DS a little harder. I have a hard time getting those electrical connectors to let go sometimes. Watch out for the inside clip on the lower left edge (facing the engine) on the DS cover. The DS one will take some wiggling to get out and back in, past the wires etc. Had to remove the oil filter cooler line for this one - no big deal. The middle cover was ok too.

- Fan bracket. Hardest part was the two nuts down by the AC compressor. The Land Cruiser Service Manual I have (hoping its same as the LX - or close enough) says that I should remove the AC compressor - but I didn't. I removed the two long bolts clamping the fan bracket to the AC comp bracket and followed spresso's advice to just bend the electrical connector bracket out of they way. Much easier. Thanks for that!

- Next up will be moving the Alternator out of the way.

I welcome your thoughts and input. Learning a lot about the truck and whats in there - which is the whole point.

 

[ponytl]

GOOD JOB I just did this during an engine replacement in the same as yours 2001 lx470, I can tell you it is a very easy job with the engine out of the truck, The one tip I did use was a small spring clamp to hold the new TB to the cam gears while doing the install, I also used a 3/4" drive electric impact on the crank pulley that made it a non issue... at 176k in the engine I removed the original timing belt looked fine... ( had a major radiator failure and believe I blew a head gasket so I just replaced the engine with one with half the miles) I know I'm stupid but I purchased the TB kit with water pump off ebay for $83 complete with seals and pulleys was shocked that it was name brand parts... the engine had 82k so I did not replace the tensioner ... with a couple caps and plugs ready to seal off the trans lines I would always pull the radiator for this job... just gives you so much more room and replacing it last, makes getting the fan and shroud back on that much easier (for me anyway)...
I always feel better when I know I did the work and replaced what I knew needed to be...

 

[bmann1986]

I'm preparing to do this on an 03. did you use all toyota parts or OEM? Anyone have thoughts on toyota vs OEM? Did you need a puller to remove the pulley from the crank to do the seal? did you use silicone on the water pump gasket? ..thanks in advance!

 

[bmann1986]

What was i thinking when i typed this.. My question is did you use all OEM or some aftermarket parts? i have a few things to do on mine and i'm debating what to use up against the cost.

 

[ponytl]

I used the $83 kit off ebay... belt seals pulleys water pump... I know... seems stupid to use cheap parts when so much time & labor is involved and it may come back to bite me... But the parts i received looked to be of good quality, and I'm about to do it again and i'm sure i'll buy the cheap stuff again... I did NOT need any type puller once the crank bolt was out I was able to remove it by hand.

 

[cumminsBase]

Two questions:
Why rotate the engine 50 degrees, as per the FSM instructions?
If crank and cams are held in-position, a timing belt out/in would leave everything as before.

Or am I missing something?


------
Second question: anybody got a photo or more descriptions for removing the crank and cam seals with a wood-screw?
I'm having a hard time visualizing it.


Thank you

 

[flintknapper]

Second question: anybody got a photo or more descriptions for removing the crank and cam seals with a wood-screw?
I'm having a hard time visualizing it.
Thank you

IF you are careful....you can remove many flush mounted seals without the aid of a seal puller. In this case...CAREFULLY drill a hole(s) in the metal face of the seal to be removed. DO NOT damage the component underneath the seal (camshaft, crankshaft. etc).

Carefully thread a woodscrew into the hole(s) you drilled (just enough for it take a good bite) and then use a pair of pliers/other to pry the seal out using the woodscrew as a handle of sorts.

Below is an example: This is an upper crank seal I removed recently on a small 4 stroke engine...but the technique is exactly the same.

 

[cumminsBase]

IF you are careful....you can remove many flush mounted seals without the aid of a seal puller. In this case...CAREFULLY drill a hole(s) in the metal face of the seal to be removed. DO NOT damage the component underneath the seal (camshaft, crankshaft. etc).

Carefully thread a woodscrew into the hole(s) you drilled (just enough for it take a good bite) and then use a pair of pliers/other to pry the seal out using the woodscrew as a handle of sorts.

Below is an example: This is an upper crank seal I removed recently on a small 4 stroke engine...but the technique is exactly the same.

View attachment 1993148

View attachment 1993149

Thank you very much!!
Much more clear now.