Which belt kit?

I get the difference, manufacturer & $$, however they each got five star ratings. Any feedback on why not to do the 250.00 kit? & as far as the torque wrench - does anyone know if this is typically an auto parts store loan a tool?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-3-4...elt-Water-Pump-Kit/190521450224?epid=81644032

https://www.ebay.com/itm/15-Piece-3...Manufacture-Parts/180729034728?epid=660147462

 

The Aisin water pump is the same as OE, they’re part of Denso which is partially owned by Toyota. All the belts, are good quality so the $250 kit appears to be quality as long as the idlers aren’t junk.
I know a lot of people say you have to buy Toyota parts from a Toyota dealer, but many of these parts are made by the supplier to Toyota.

 

They both get good ratings because it's about how the eBay transaction went as opposed to the parts themselves. (Not that the parts in the cheaper kit are necessarily bad).

But the price difference is due to quality/brand. You can see in the auctions, exactly what you're getting. At $250, you're getting aftermarket parts. At $298 you're getting Toyota brand for a lot of things.

Personally, I went with the $298 kit when I wrote up my How-To on the timing belt job. I've got the list of parts and tools in here, and it's a great reference to print when you do the job, regardless.

Good luck, it's a fun project!

Step by Step Toyota Tacoma Timing Belt Replacement for 3.4L V6 5VZFE (also 4runner, Tundra, and T100)

​

 

If I recall Air Cabinman sold 2 kits one was the branded Toyota parts The other was the same parts not labeled by Toyota.

Granted parts manufactured for a private label can be held to a tighter tolerance maybe then those same parts most likely will never be sold aftermarket need to be bought through the company who`s label is on .

I bought all the parts through Toyota around $400.00 then my second kit I bought the Toyota branded kit from Aircabinman for like $250.00 side by side everything looks the same.

It was a few years back time flies still trying to remember to change the timing belt

 

I just did mine in December, bought the $299 kit and worked out great. Comes with all OE supplier or Toyota OEM parts which is why I got that one. The kit does not come with a new Crank Pulley Bolt and the Manual says to use a new one since I had the old style bolt. I used this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHC46ypHxWc along with my Service Manual. Went ahead and bought a Crank Pulley Removal tool and also Universal Pulley Holder which made my life much easier:

$81 OTC 4754 Universal Pulley Holder Wrench with Interchangeable pins, black

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4754-Uni...ocphy=9033342&hvtargid=pla-433998706056&psc=1

As far as torque wrench.. I went out and bought one. I think the only ones I could find for rent went to only 200ft lbs.

 

I ordered the 250.00 kit. & thanks for the advice on what else I'll need. Got'a admit I'm a bit intimidated by this one. I think this is cuz it doesn't seem as though you can "wing it" too much, if at all....

 

It's not as bad as you may think. Just do you research, keep your work area clean, and label things or take pictures as you take them apart.

I used Timmy's videos and turbodb's write up, which I had printed out, and checked off each step as I performed it. Took a solid 8 hrs for me.

 

Its easier than changing your valve cover gaskets IMO. The hardest part is trying to change out the hydraulic tensioner which I would recommend a 1/4' ratchet with some extensions and swivels.
Also the main crank bolt is a pain in the ass.

Do yourself a favor and change out some of the small hoses which connect to the oil cooler heat exchanger and if your budget allows the fan mount.

 

So I checked around & it looks like I can get most? all? of what I need through the loaner tool thingy from autozone. They also have both the torque wrenches in/lb & the 250. I suppose I could put a deposit on one of everything they have. I'd be covered & the "autozone specialists" at my local store would not be phased, still having that pre-first cup of morning coffee look I have experienced 4 out of 5 times I have been there. I typically go to O'reilly's. They have a little more pep in their step.... Less fog.... But their loaner program is only for 48 hours. Autozone's is 90 days, or as the woman told me when I asked how many days, "as many as you want, heh, heh...." Figured I better just look it up....
Anywho, advice on which of these to get? Also a little confused on the "fan clutch holding tool" - looks similar to, & the description in the specs seems similar to, the universal pulley tool @Krogers128 posted, yes?

https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...owerbuilt-harmonic-balancer-puller/536905_0_0
https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...wrench/oem-fan-clutch-holding-tool/409637_0_0
https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too.../oem-industrial-timing-gear-pulley/555508_0_0
https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...ment/cta-4-25-in-bearing-separator/470444_0_0
https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...ment/cta-4-25-in-bearing-separator/470444_0_0

 

I just did this about 6 months ago (at 180K miles). I did the engine seals at the same time using Timmy the Toyotaman's video. I only use OEM parts and I purchased one of those Ebay kits as they are OEM (and the price beat my usual Toyota online parts supplier). The whole key to this huge project is having the right tools. There is a picture in a post above of what you will need. Note, I used a piece of PVC tubing to tap in the new seals. We probably spent two weekends on this. A lot of that time was spent cleaning. I also replaced the oil cooler hoses and all the other hoses and every pulley, bearing, etc.

 

Here's another member that uses PVC with a coupling for installing seals. I just take the seal to Lowe's and find some PVC with the exact fit.

 

Honestly, I've never had good luck with loaner tools. They are rarely the "right" tool for the job, and they are generally lower quality tools.

The way I looked at it was that having the right tools to do the job was a good investment, and buying them plus the parts still came out to be cheaper than having the job done at the dealer (by quite a bit).

Additionally - this is a long enough and tedious enough job as it is - no need to make it longer (or more tedious) because you've got a tool that might work sometimes.

From that perspective, I'd recommend the following special tools (these are all in the Step by Step Toyota Tacoma Timing Belt Replacement for 3.4L V6 5VZFE (also 4runner, Tundra, and T100 above and are proven to work by many people, many times). There are several here that aren't in your "loaner" list as well:

1. OTC 6673 Universal Belt Tension Gauge
2. Lisle 58430 Shaft Type Seal Puller
3. Schley Products SP 64400 Harmonic Damper Pulley Holding Tool
4. OTC 4518 Stinger 5-ton Bar-Type Puller/Bearing Separator Set
   1. (2) M8 Metric Bolts with a 1.25 Pitch, 100mm long with 4 washers - these are the bolts we used in conjunction with the OTC 4518 puller or other puller you have to remove the crankshaft pulley.
5. PRIVATE BRAND TOOLS PBT70960 Crankshaft and Camshaft Seal Tool Kit
6. Lisle 24680 Spill-Free Funnel
7. Performance Tool W89208 Cam Pulley Holder
8. TEKTON 24320 1/4-Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (20-200 in.-lb./2.26-22.6 Nm)

 

+1. Also, I cannot even image using a loaner torque wrench. I am sure the calibration is way off. I am not saying you need to find a SnapOn truck and pay those kind of prices, but there has to be a medium priced torque wrench you can buy that you will use over an over for years and have confidence it is calibrated. One other thing, it took a lot of pressure off the job knowing I owned the tools and there was no rush because the tools had to be returned by a certain time.

 

Thanks everyone, so far so good.... we’re way happier. I will confess in hopes that it helps someone else prepare for this job is that I should have watched the video more than once to fully appreciate the necessity of certain tools I did not purchase or assumed that because the rental stated it would do the same job, that it would.
So no “told you so’s” necessary cuz I have done them for you.
& @turbodb , your step by step was a huge help. Way easier to use that than start & stop the video or back it up or whatever while doing the job. & if a visual was needed I could revert back to the video.