Dealership wants $750 to replace idler pulleys and belt

Has your taco been in some deep water ? If so the belt probably has been glazed. Swap out the belt first. Im not sure if Goodyear still makes the Gatorback. If not, Continential makes a great belt also. Get a good belt if you're gonna go through the trouble tearing up your knuckles swapping it out. If that doesn't work, all I can think of , is part out time .

 

Got my first two oil changes and tire rotations out of the way from the dealer. Now I will never return unless there's a recall or a warranty repair to be done.

 

Fug da Dealer

 

I think it cost me less than $150 to replace the serpentine belt, and tensioner on my 2001 tundra doing the job myself, using genuine toyota parts. Granted this was 15 years ago, speak about inflation.

 

There's a TSB for chirping belts which involves a revised belt part #. TSB can be found on this forum. look at that before dropping that amount of cash.

 

+1 new belt only and go from there. They're taking you for a ride with saying the pulleys are bad. If you can't do it yourself or don't want to, use a local mom and pop shop, they're in business because they do good work as mechanics. If they didn't, they wouldn't be in business long.

 

+1 Be sure to purchase the updated belt P/N in the TSB if going OEM:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10182963-9999.pdf

OP is past warranty so it will be out of pocket.

 

There's a TSB on the belt. You may be able to get a free one.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-accessory-belt-tsb.697144/

 

You can use some common sense figuring it out...the v side of the belt always goes in the v side of a pulley, and the belts flat outer side of the belt usually rides against the tensioner. If you've ever replaced belts on a riding mower/lawn tractor, its very similar.

 

750 for this is ridiculous for this job imo unless pulleys ate actually shot which I highly doubt.. if they are shot though it’s probably a fair price tbh. A lot depends on price of the parts. Probably 3 hour job to replace it all if I had to guess.
that said I was pretty reluctant to do this on my own and my belt only went bad at 140k. Pulleys were fine but a long handled 3/8 drive ratchet iirc and an allen head don’t remember size loosens the tensioner to get the belt off then just get it over one blade of the fan and turn the fan by hand it’ll come right off onto the ground.. It’s a tight fit for bigger arms but it’s very doable. Toook me an hour max to do it and I’d never done a belt before this. Diagrams are alll over the internet. I’d recommend using a short step ladder or something to stand and lean over with.

 

Diagram

 

You expect people to work for free?? Shit costs money. If you can’t or won’t do it yourself, pay da man. Or of course there’s the intermediate step of whining about it on the internet lol

 

I understand grooved vs smooth but look at the diagram. I've changed belts on snowmobiles, atvs, lawnmowers all types of cars and trucks and having the diagram always makes it easier when its more than 2 pulleys/clutches.

 

Spray oil on a belt? Really?

 

"Real mechanic" dick measuring contests - gotta love em. Not everyone has a lifetime of wrenching, a lot of people don't even get to be "enthusiasts" until later in life when they can afford it, and some maybe just didn't care about doing their own work until now. Hell for some people, this may be their first vehicle or first vehicle worth caring about - Tacoma's have a pretty wide owner base. Before Youtube, it was Haynes/Chiltons/etc repair manuals, and I'm sure there was "real car guys" that hated on that too. At the end of the day, if something helps you A) Learn/Be more informed. B) Avoid getting ripped off. C) Save Money - then ignore the internet barking.

Don't spray belts with anything, that seems silly, and belts are cheap. Just get the OEM belt from a dealer (no risk of fakes or old stock), watch videos or read instructions as many times as needed until *YOU* feel comfortable doing it since it's your vehicle, print or draw out the belt route diagram if it helps, then knock it out. Easy as pie.

 

OP is past the 3-year warranty period, so it will be out of pocket.

 

I tried winging it in my 4Runner and got it wrong, had to download the belt routing diagram onto my phone. Videos only helped in showing where the grenade pin goes on the tensioner arm.

 

Might take you awhile but you really can't put it on wrong it won't fit. (unless it's turn inside out)

 

i said wd 40 not oil

 

a shot of wd40 dont cost as much as a belt

too keep it from squealing