Timing Belt for Dummies writeup (1 Viewer)

[Patron100LC]

Great thread!

Collecting parts for my 05 timing belt job..

Thanks for the tips, mostly about certain tools like the pulley holder that will make this job a bit easier.

Now, I did get a few things that I might not use, also seals and hoses for the oil cooler since I’m gonna be there anyway, and the serpentine belt and tensioner in case they’re not 100%.
But I didn’t get an alternator.

How many of you replace an alternator while in there?

Mine is great, no issues, charges fine, but I have absolutely no records on it being replaced in the past.
I own this LC 5 years, I put 30k miles on it, it has 280k today. So I’m pretty sure it has been replaced based on the miles it has, but no records on the Carfax..

How many people replaced the alternator as preventative maintenance?

What if the one I get craps out because it’s some rebuilt done on a Friday afternoon and I end up worse than now?
Am I overthinking here?

To OP and all those that contributed, thanks! Maybe I’ll add something in it after mine is done.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Great thread!

Collecting parts for my 05 timing belt job..

View attachment 3304091
View attachment 3304093

Thanks for the tips, mostly about certain tools like the pulley holder that will make this job a bit easier.

Now, I did get a few things that I might not use, also seals and hoses for the oil cooler since I’m gonna be there anyway, and the serpentine belt and tensioner in case they’re not 100%.
But I didn’t get an alternator.

How many of you replace an alternator while in there?

Mine is great, no issues, charges fine, but I have absolutely no records on it being replaced in the past.
I own this LC 5 years, I put 30k miles on it, it has 280k today. So I’m pretty sure it has been replaced based on the miles it has, but no records on the Carfax..

How many people replaced the alternator as preventative maintenance?

What if the one I get craps out because it’s some rebuilt done on a Friday afternoon and I end up worse than now?
Am I overthinking here?

To OP and all those that contributed, thanks! Maybe I’ll add something in it after mine is done.

If you have a local alternator shop, it might be worth having them bench test it. Where I live here in Dayton, OH there is a really good alternator and starter shop who will bench test it for free.

 

[GVegasG]

TB WP job completed. Thanks everyone for your input. Special thanks to @2001LC for his tips and tricks as it helped a lot.
I ended up using T marks since they were really close to 50 degree rotation mentioned in FSM and Aisin kit instructions. It did not move at all after belt was removed.
Have not driven much but coolant leak seems to be gone and it seems like it was from the o ring as @2001LC suggested. It did not seem damaged or defective but it is hard to tell. Belt nor water pump seemed old. Maybe it was changed recently but was not done a good job or fake parts were used.
I am glad I removed the radiator to do this job as it not only made it easier but I realized that radiator top side bolts were not installed correctly.

 

[Jram100]

@2001LC

Would you strongly advise against ultra grey on the water pump gasket?

 

[2001LC]

@2001LC

Would you strongly advise against ultra grey on the water pump gasket?

Do not use any FIPG (ultra gray or any) on WP gasket, nor either small or large O-rings. I use only 1282B FIPG on water inlet where FSM calls for it.

That said I do use FIPG to make Band-Aids, on block where WP gasket seals.

 

[Jram100]

About to pull the pin on this Tundra am I good?

 

[2001LC]

About to pull the pin on this Tundra am I good?

View attachment 3395191

View attachment 3395193

View attachment 3395212

Hard marks look good!
But is that a used belt and or did you already turn crank with belt on?
I see what may be faint marks for crank on belt. Which indicated belt not in position. RH belt & cam advanced 1/2 tooth, which should be dead on once pin pulled. LH cam on mark, but I can't see belt. Crank sprocket on hard marks, but belt/sprocket marks not in picture.

 

[Jram100]

Hard marks look good!
But is that a used belt and or did you already turn crank with belt on?
I see what may be faint marks for crank on belt. Which indicated belt not in position. RH belt & cam advanced 1/2 tooth, which should be dead on once pin pulled. LH cam on mark, but I can't see belt. Crank sprocket on hard marks, but belt/sprocket marks not in picture.

I havent turned it yet. Belt is new, but the marks are different from the one I installed on my 100. Both mitsuboshi. It seems like this one has marks a little further from the single crank mark for the keyway instead of the hole. I appreciate your input.

Also this was RH before removing belt

 

[Jram100]

Timing is good! The heater wasnt blowing hot through most of the cooling system bleeding, but eventually I rev’d the engine a few times and that solved it immediately.

 

[Patron100LC]

Well, finally I got the time to do the timing belt job on my 05’.
I also did the steering rack since it was leaking for years and the bushings were completely shot, and in my mind it made sense to do both at the same time.

I removed the radiator, replaced the original alternator, I think it is original.. I’m keeping it as a spare. New fan bracket, new tensioner (with smaller pulley, no problems yet), replaced 1 of my cam seals that was weeping, the other one was fine.

I’m not gonna go into more detail on the job, many videos and excellent threads here to do it, and the FSM is here somewhere too. I’m just gonna include a couple of things worth mentioning as a personal experience.

The only issue I had was the crank seal I got from partsouq. They sent me a supposedly OEM seal that looked a bit different, but tried installing anyway.
Well, no go.. had to run to my local dealer and luckily they had it in stock. Here’s the part number bag next to the original removed using a screw:

Here’s the garbage partsouq sent me:

It’s the first time they send me a non oem part (that I know of..), ordered from them Many things over the last 5 years..

Do yourself a favor and get the crank seal from your dealership, it was $18.50 for a peace of mind.

The cam seals were oem. Don’t be intimidated by the cam seals, easiest part of the whole job. Just get yourself the crank and cam holders and go for it. I used a screw instead of the seal remover ottram shows in his videos, it came out in 2 seconds.

Crank and cam holders used:

I spent an hour trying to disconnect some of the electrical connectors. I have big hands and a couple of them fought me a lot. The AC connector was a PAIN! Not sure if it supposed to be this way. I had a shop replace my ac compressor a couple years back and I think they installed it facing in a different direction. Also the crank position sensor, my steering rack leaked all over the bottom of the engine for years and it was a gooey mess. Many cans of degreaser and brake cleaner were needed to find a way to disconnect.

Without the radiator and hoses in the way I had enough space to put my big melon between the condenser and engine to look at what I’m doing, definitely recommended to remove, even if not mandatory. Started working at night on Saturday, was done by Monday at 4pm, the steering rack was easier than described, I guess I had more room. 2 hours were spent cleaning the grime off, and many hours were spent watching Ottram’s videos.

The beast started in the 1st try, ticked happily and NO CEL! Yeah!

Thanks for all those who contributed in this and other threads, and if anyone has any questions please shoot while I still have it fresh in my head, would love to get some of it back to this community.

 

[GVegasG]

Interesting. I have the exact same seal but did not install it since it was not leaking. Was it a wrong size?

 

[Patron100LC]

Interesting. I have the exact same seal but did not install it since it was not leaking. Was it a wrong size?

View attachment 3469711

It looks exactly the same size and shape, but the material on the inside lip is much softer, so when you try to make it go over the crank it just go out of shape. By the 2nd try it did that I knew it’s gonna leak.
The oem went in on the 1st try, much more rigid material.

 

[medtro]

I find it is easier to remove the AC compressor top bolt from below with 3/8" flex ratchet.

 

[BullElk]

I just replaced my fan pulley bracket. I easily accessed the top bolt by reaching down from the top with regualar ratchet and socket. The bottom bolt is easy peezy to access by removing the oil filter, loosing only a tiny amount of oil, going behind the pipe with a short extension and socket. Very easy to do.

 

[Patron100LC]

I just replaced my fan pulley bracket. I easily accessed the top bolt by reaching down from the top with regualar ratchet and socket. The bottom bolt is easy peezy to access by removing the oil filter, loosing only a tiny amount of oil, going behind the pipe with a short extension and socket. Very easy to do.

View attachment 3477808

Great pics!
I didn't even found the rear AC compressor bolt, luckily the bracket came off without loosing it. I ended up finding it on assembly. I just made sure it was tight.

Also removing the filter will make it a lot easier to access, I actually was ready to remove the filter's mount, I got all the seals to clean and refresh, but for the life of me, I couldn't open the 30mm bolt, and didn't wanna go gorilla on it in case I break something.

If you remove the filter it'll be leaking all the time, specially when you start moving the crank around. Kind of annoying, but it was worth it for me since I have sausage fingers. And I was doing the steering rack at the same time.

 

[2001LC]

Many ways to skin this cat.

Torque it.

 

[fussychicken]

The only issue I had was the crank seal I got from partsouq. They sent me a supposedly OEM seal that looked a bit different, but tried installing anyway.
Well, no go.. had to run to my local dealer and luckily they had it in stock. Here’s the part number bag next to the original removed using a screw:

So wait, am I reading this right? The old seal that was in there was black? And the seal that Partsouq sent you was brown? What did the seal from your local Toyota dealer look like?

You post has now made me a little nervous as I had challenges installing a Partsouq main seal myself, but the one they sent me was black. And in contrast to you, it was very stiff. And the old one I had was brown. lol


My old one I took out:

The new Partsouq "OEM" seal that I put in:

 

[fussychicken]

Did this job over the course of a few days and replaced pretty much everything I could while in there. I went very slow and changed a bunch of parts, but the good news is everything worked out and it cranked up first time and has been running great. Just wanted to share some notes for those looking to do the same.

The Rig
2001 LX470 with 250k miles. Service history of 2 TB before, but they never changed WP or pulleys. Last TB was 10 years ago at 147k.


What I did

• Aisin TB Kit (I got the “good” water pump. Not sure how much of a problem this is)
• New OEM Rad (Ordered the cheaper non-US spec and it seems more than fine. Old one was pretty brown on the top)
• As many coolant hoses as I could
• Fan Clutch and Bracket
• Front Main Seal (Skipped the cam seals)
• Alternator Brushes
• Serpentine Bearings
• Heater Ts (Since coolant was drained)

Banana Level
This is so conditional based on your previous experience and if you have done this specific job before. And I’d also say so much of this depends on how much research you have done ahead of time. I lol-ed at one poster saying he felt like was studying for the bar exam. I totally get it. If this is your first time, study like crazy ahead of time. Also have an old phone or ipad handy and just have OTRAMM video running side by side. Take your time and you can do it all in 12-18 hours depending on how many things you are “baselining” This starts off intimidating, but gets better as you go along.


Where things went well:

• Alternator Bolt: I got lucky, came out easy, didn’t snap.
• Crank pulley: I got lucky, came out easy, no puller needed (Even though I had a puller at the ready) I used a battery impact to loosen the bolt, maybe that shakes it loose?
• AC Compressor Bolts - Back One: Didn't have to loosen this at all. Not sure what MYs really need this? Was so nice to not have to worry about this.
• Adjusting Cam Gears When Installing Belt: OTRAMM used the huge wrench, which you will probably need if you are going to change out the cam seals. But if you aren’t going to do that, you can just carefully use a 17mm on the bolt. Worked fine.
• Water Pump Mating Surface: I know 2001LC talks about pitting, but mine looked just fine? Maybe I’m lucky and have gotten a rig that has had a good number of coolant changes?

Some Challenges:

• AC Compressor Bolts - Front Bottom: Man this was a PIA - In the end I did like a few others have mentioned, just pull the filter and do an oil change at the same time.
• Engine Main Seal: I know that 2001LC says just leave it alone if it isn’t leaking, but I couldn’t help myself. Back in my Toyota Mr2 days I had a front main seal make a mess in my driveway so I have PTSD here. That being said, this was intimidating. In Otramm’s video he just slid his in? Even with mine greased, it didn’t just slide in. I ended up having to rig up a “press” and this of course made me nervous I wasn’t going to get it in flush and then 2001LC would have been correct here. Haha Thankfully I think I got it, even though I ended up going a few millimeters past flush. Seems to be doing fine so far. I hope I didn’t screw this up.

Other Things I Should have Baselined?

• So Many Hoses: Seems like there are many more that need replacement. I did the rad hoses and some of the coolant hoses, around the TB and oil cooler but there are more….
• Oil Cooler: Only after I started the job did I find posts talking about resealing the oil cooler at this time. Guess this is going to have to wait until next time.

Bearing / Parts - Post Mortem
Man, glad I had all these bearing replacements ready! On a scale of 1-10: (10 being REALLY bad)

• Fan bracket - Around a 5 bad
• Serpentine Belt Idler Pulley (16604-50030) - Around a 7 bad
• Serpentine Tensioner Assembly (16620-0W101) - Was good! I changed anyway.
• Timing Belt Idler Sub Assembly #1 (1350550030): Was good! I changed anyway.
• Timing Belt Idler Sub Assembly #2 (1350350011): Around a 4 bad
• Water Pump: Seemed fine? Of course I changed it anyway…
• Timing Belt: This looked pretty good! As others have mentioned, it seems like it is the bearings that kill you, not the belt.
• Alternator Brush: Man this was dramatic. My alt looks original, but still looks halfway decent. The brush was almost shot though! This was a nice thing to address while in there.

Tools
You need all the tools! I don’t think any of these are super exotic or anything, but if you are more of a backyard mechanic, there are probably a few things you are going to need to get. I “splurged” and got the new Dewalt 1/2 drive “mid torque” impact gun and that was a nice thing to have for sure. Also have to say, using a paint scraper worked great to take off the old water pump gasket!

Tool	P/N	Purchase Price Each	Qty Needed
Battery Impact gun - For crank bolt and suspension work (New "mid torque" 1/2 drive that has specs like a "high torque")	Dewalt DCF891B	$185.49	1
Coolant Pan (The spout for this one is small enough to use for milk jugs. Works great! One for oil, one for coolant)	Lisle 17982	$21.00	2
Hose removal pliers (These didn't work so well, got a set of 90 deg needle nose that worked better	JANNO 4PCS Hose Clamp Pliers Set	$23.00	1
Super long 12mm closed end wrench for fan clutch
Pry bar to hold fan clutch	Pittsburgh Bars	$8.00	1
Rubber mallet	Pittsburgh 2lb Orange Hammer	$8.00	1
Crank pulley holder tool to break nut loose		$26.00	1
Crank pulley removal tool		$26.00	1
1/2 Torque Wrench for crank bolt is 180ft-lbs.	Icon 1/2 drive Click	$140.00	1
3/8 Torque Wrench for most other bolts	Pittsburgh 3/8 drive Click	$30.00	1
Coolant beaker that sits on rad to burp the system		$20.00	1
Free All Spray seems to work good for rusty nuts or PB Blaster	PB Blaster	$8.00	1
Lyle Seal Puller if going to replace seals	Lisle 58430	$17.00	1
Flex head ratchet for pita A/C Compressor bolt on the side of the motor	Gear Wrench 120 tooth	$50.00	1
Paint Scraper worked best for me to remove old gasket material		$8.00	1

Thank Yous!

• While there is tons of good info in this post and many of the others I definitely need to say thank you to @2001LC and @OTRAMM! And yes, thanks to all the others that have posted as well.
• Another Great Thread: 2UZ-FE 4.7 Liter V8 Timing Belt Replacement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2uz-fe-4-7-liter-v8-timing-belt-replacement.1251775/
• @abuck99 ‘s post also inspired me to change a bunch of stuff while I was in there, and that was super helpful: The "Complete Parts List" for 180K Service - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/the-complete-parts-list-for-180k-service.1026898/

 

[fussychicken]

A few pictures:

Change those Alt Brushes!

No pitting that I could tell? After scraping old gasket, the surface felt smooth despite some discoloration?

Deep in the beast:

Bye bye old parts!

 

[lesgarten]

Banana Level
This is so conditional based on your previous experience and if you have done this specific job before. And I’d also say so much of this depends on how much research you have done ahead of time. I lol-ed at one poster saying he felt like was studying for the bar exam. I totally get it. If this is your first time, study like crazy ahead of time. Also have an old phone or ipad handy and just have OTRAMM video running side by side. Take your time and you can do it all in 12-18 hours depending on how many things you are “baselining” This starts off intimidating, but gets better as you go along.

Can you describe what you are referring to here?