Water pump belt continues to become loose. (1 Viewer)

[fjgdk]

Does it look anything like this?

View attachment 1880429

I believe mine was similar, but a bit different. Mine was rounded (not hexagonal) on the exterior if I remember correctly.

 

[fjgdk]

I believe mine was similar, but a bit different. Mine was rounded (not hexagonal) on the exterior if I remember correctly.

Let me go outside and see if I can take a pic. It is freezing.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Personally I've had no problem with Mitsubishi,Gates or any other name brand of belt on any of out Cruisers. All belts loosen and the manuals recommend retightning after a few minutes of run time. Any fluids like power steering leaking on the belts causes problems. Look for leaking fluids on the belts. Check adjustment bolts carefully for stripped threads. Mike

 

[cps432]

When I did the replacement, here is what I replaced them with:

AC Compressor belt - New
Alternator X PS Pump belt - New
Air pump x Water pump - New

I tensioned them all to the "new belt tension" spec per the FSM with the OTC gauge.

I haven't had any problems with the other belts.

Pardon my stupidity, I have very little knowledge of engines - but do inline engines have harmonic balancers ? I thought those were only for V-configuration engines. Again pardon my lack of understanding.

Harmonic balancer is actually a misnomer, even in v8 engines, I believe. It’s a vibration dampener and the 2f engine has one. The Toyota FSM calls it the crank pulley I believe. There is a rubber core in the crank pulley that is suppose to absorb the vibrations inherent in any engine to prevent the vibrations from rattling bearings and such out of place. The rubber on those old things is usually shot by now. You can tell if yours is in need of attention by looking at it while it’s running. It should be smooth with no movement. You can also look on the back side of it and see if the rubber is intact. It’s the big pulley that all 3 belts ride in at the bottom of the engine block where your timing cover lives. Mine was in bad shape and needed replacing, but it wasn’t bad enough to throw belts. Doesn’t seem like it is what’s causing your problems, but it’s worth paying attention to. You don’t want bad vibes running through your engine.

My bet is still on the tensioner/hold down bolts. The long tensioner bolt is not enough to keep the smog pump in place. You must have the locking hold down bolt tightened after you’ve achieved tension. It’s the same for the alternator/ac pump.

 

[cps432]

Make sure this bolt is tightened down and not stripped. I had to re-tap mine cuz I screwed it up.

 

[fjgdk]

Its too cold without a lot of light outside. I am going to push bak on taking pictures until tomorrow.

 

[cps432]

Its too cold without a lot of light outside. I am going to push bak on taking pictures until tomorrow.

Yeah, I’d like to see a photo of what you have going on as it stands. It’s peobably a “duh I should’a had a v8” moment.

 

[fjgdk]

Its too cold without a lot of light outside. I am going to push bak on taking pictures until tomorrow.

Well I took some pictures from the top of the air pump. Looks like everything is there. I was mistaken in saying the “bar” I have was not hexagonal - it is.

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Well it looks like you have everything in place!
I’d say go with a different belt.
And double check your WP that the shaft is not broken or something else.
I know you said you replaced the WP.
But you never know!
I would start with changing out the belt to a better quality one.

 

[fjgdk]

Well it looks like you have everything in place!
I’d say go with a different belt.
And double check your WP that the shaft is not broken or something else.
I know you said you replaced the WP.
But you never know!
I would start with changing out the belt to a better quality one.

Well I actually did NOT change the water pump. I think I will simply try to re-tension the existing belt and see if the water pump rotates in a bad way.
You are correct that I didnt get the best belts, I cant even remember the brand but I know I purposely spent less on them than oem because I wasnt sure of a greater “problem”.

Michael Hanson - I am looking in both the FSM, 1980 2F manual and the 1983 Maintainences procedures manual to find a reference to Toyota mentioning to re-tighten the belts after 1000k or so. I cant find it. The only thing I can find is, in the maintainence procedures book to “check belts and tighten if necessary” every 15k, 30k etc.
Mine have come loose twice within 4000 miles total; I really want to believe a re-tightening is all that is necessary but I want to see what you said in Toyota literature first before I assume what I am going through is expected. Please do show me in a manual if you can - I want this to be the answer hahah !

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Also, with the “engine off”
If you can try to move the air pump back and forth or side to side see if it moves.
That it is on there solid.

 

[fjgdk]

Well it looks like you have everything in place!
I’d say go with a different belt.
And double check your WP that the shaft is not broken or something else.
I know you said you replaced the WP.
But you never know!
I would start with changing out the belt to a better quality one.

Also, I found the first belt that came loose after about 3k miles. It was Toyota OEM and a tooth/rib had worn off !

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Wow!
Have you checked your pulleys?
See if there is any obstruction where the belt rides?

 

[cps432]

Wow!
Have you checked your pulleys?
See if there is any obstruction where the belt rides?

Interesting development! Check this out... I found this when I had everything apart this summer. Never got to the bottom of it... maybe something similar is going on here?
Water pump pulley... weights???

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Interesting development! Check this out... I found this when I had everything apart this summer. Never got to the bottom of it... maybe something similar is going on here?
Water pump pulley... weights???

Yeah
I remember that thread.
Could be something he should look into.

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

@fjgdk you may want to check all your pulleys!
Your WP,air pump, and your crank pully. Check it while it is running also. See if it balanced . Check the crank pully nut!
Eliminate anything and everything.

 

[fjgdk]

Well I bit the bullet and tightened up the current setup last night. The weather wasnt looking good for the future and Injust wanted to get it such that Incould drove the truck a short distance if I have to.

It was a horrible job - just as I remembered it. That rear nut on the bottom pivot bolt being the focal point of my ire.

I did NOT remove the fan, shroud or fan clutch this time. As a result, I could NOT get the tension gauge on the belt. I did this by eye and feel.

I put the gauge on the alternator belt since that is incredibly accessible and has the same tension specs as the water pump belt. This belt was slighly off-spec as well as the spec is 100+- 20 ft lbs and the belt was at about 65-70. Therefore, I tightened the alternator belt to spec (100 ft lbs), noted how it felt and tried to get the same affect with the water pump belt.

All the belt driven accesories seemed to turn without problem when I started it and let it run a bit.

I will be ordering new Gates belts and will install them via removing the fan/clutch assy and shroud to get the gauge on every belt.

 

[cps432]

I was able to get the gauge on the belts from below. Also, the coolant overflow reservoir can be lifted straight off the bracket without dumping the fluid. That’ll help get to that bolt on the smog pump.

 

[fjgdk]

I was able to get the gauge on the belts from below. Also, the coolant overflow reservoir can be lifted straight off the bracket without dumping the fluid. That’ll help get to that bolt on the smog pump.

Yeah I see the only way to get the gauge on the air pump belt with the fan etc still on is from below targeting the the “passenger side” of the “belt triangle”, if that makes any sense. The problem I always have is the gauge is very difficult to push open and slide on the belt in the position underneath the truck. That is why I want to do it with the fan off.

I took the coolantl overflow can off as well as some of the air pipes in that corner of the truck. That simply allowed me access to the “easier to reach” bolts on the air pump belt tensioning system. Still couldnt effectively reach the back bolt. It doesnt help that one of the air pump mounting bracket bolts is very close, preventing a socket from slipping straight on. I purchased a specially-small-sized 12mm box end just for that da** bolt.

Any other tips on what you guys have used to work on that rear air pump bolt is much appreciated !

 

[fjgdk]

I was able to get the gauge on the belts from below. Also, the coolant overflow reservoir can be lifted straight off the bracket without dumping the fluid. That’ll help get to that bolt on the smog pump.

Yeah I see the only way to get the gauge on the air pump belt with the fan etc still on is from below targeting the the “passenger side” of the “belt triangle”, if that makes any sense. The problem I always have is the gauge is very difficult to push open and slide on the belt in the position underneath the truck. That is why I want to do it with the fan off.

I took the coolantl overflow can off as well as some of the air pipes in that corner of the truck. That simply allowed me access to the “easier to reach” bolts on the air pump belt tensioning system. Still couldnt effectively reach the back bolt. It doesnt help that one of the air pump mounting bracket bolts is very close, preventing a socket from slipping straight on. I purchased a specially-small-sized 12mm box end just for that da** bolt.

Any other tips on what you guys have used to work on that re