1st Gen How-To: Change your belts (P/S, A/C, Alternator) 2.4/2.7L

Happy belated Christmas and early New Year fellow TW enthusiasts. I'm enjoying my PTO days and decided to change all 3 belts (power steering, water pump/ac, and alternator belt) just because they were old due to age not mileage. They weren't squeaking or anything, actually perfectly good belts with less than 60k miles on them. I did it purely out of being anal-ness and boredom.

*Disclaimer: Read the instruction carefully and do it at your own risk, I will not be held liable/responsible if you break any parts or cause harm to yourself during the install or after. I try to be as detailed as possible, if you still don't get it, you're just SOL! jk. The following methods that I took were the best and easiest way for me to complete the task. Try to take your time, and don't "force" anything.

Belts were from Autozone - Duralast brand. Here are the parts number:

Power Steering: 440K4 - The 440 means the length of the belt, 44.0"

Water Pump/AC: 342K4 - Same thing, 34.2"

*Alternator: 340K5 - Take a guess...lol

*Note: Alternator belt size must be 34.0". I've read in a couple of threads saying that 34.0" won't fit and you'll need 34.5" or 35.0" belt...they're wrong. Anything higher than 34.0" will have too much play in them and won't have the necessary tension needed.



Just in case anyone decides to stick with OEM, here are the parts number for that as well. I chose Duralast because they were 1/2 price of OEM, and I change the belts often enough that brand doesn't really matter.

Power Steering: 90080-91125 (4PK1110)

Water Pump/AC: 99364-20870 (4PK870)

Alternator: 90916-02337 (5PK865)

Basic tools you'll need:

1. 3/8 rachet
2. 3/8 torque wrench
2. 3" & 6" 3/8 extensions
3. 10mm socket & wrench *racheting wrench is a plus
4. 12mm socket & wrench *racheting wrench is a plus
5. 14mm socket & wrench *btw this wrench helps greatly!
6. Flashlight
7. Common sense & patience



Removing old belts:

Step 1. Remove the front skid plate (4) 12mm bolts.

Step 2. Remove the (2) bolts on top of the fan shroud.



Step 3. Remove the (4) bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator. *Do not try to remove the fan shroud, let it sit there.



Step 4. There are (4) clips holding the half-moon plastic piece to the fan shroud. Just push the clips out and you should be able to remove it easily to have more space for the belts removal in a bit.



Plastic piece



Removed



Step 5. Start removing the power steering belt first and work your way to the alternator last. Use the 14mm wrench for the locking nut and 14mm socket for the adjusting bolt, loosen them only...do not remove. Remove the belt and maneuver the belt around the fan.



New vs Old



Part number for the OEM belt (Power Steering)



Step 6. Water pump/AC belt - same thing, use the 14mm wrench and 14mm socket to loosen the idle pully locking nut and adjusting bolt for the water pump/ac to remove the belt.



New vs Old



Part number for the OEM belt (Water Pump/AC)



Step 7. Use the 12mm socket for the locking bolt, 12mm wrench for the adjusting bolt, and 14mm socket for pivot locking bolt. I find it easier to remove the nut instead of the pivot locking bolt. Use PB Blaster if needed.

*Torque = 21 ft-lbs locking bolt, 43 ft-lbs pivot locking bolt.







New vs Old



Part number for the OEM belt (Alternator)



Installing the new belts:

Step 8. Work in reverse, start with the alternator belt. Slip on the new belt, and torque the pivot locking bolt to spec (you can hand tight the locking bolt.) Adjust the tension of the belt.





Step 9. Install the water pump/AC belt. Tighten the idle pulley locking nut and adjust the tension of the belt as needed.



Step 10. Install the power steering belt. Tighten the locking nut and adjust the tension of the belt as needed.



Step 11. Reinstall the half-moon plastic piece to the radiator fan shroud.

Step 12. Reinstall the (4) bolts of the fan shroud to the radiator.

Step 13. Reinstall the (2) bolts on top of the fan shroud.

Step 14. Reinstall the (4) bolts to the front skid plate.

Step 15. Start the truck and see if there's any irregular noises/squeaks and tighten as necessary.

Thank you thank you, you're all welcome. Feel free to rep away biotches!

 

sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky sticky

 

Nice work!

 

No need to sticky it yet.

I'll make a 1st gen maintenance thread that will include all of my DIY crap in there.

ie. Changing your spark plug, changing your belts, greasing driveshaft, oil change, tranny change, differential change, change the back light of your cluster to LED white, LED dome lights, and any other shit I can come up with.

 

Is there a need to use a tension gauge on the new belts or should you just try to match the tension on the old belts? I ordered this simple tension guage by Gates, and ive already used it on a Honda i did belts on, works well enough to give you an idea if youre in the right tension range or not.

$31 Gates 91132 Krikit V-Ribbed Belt Tension Gauge , Black

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-91132-Belt-Tension-Tester/dp/B000CRDLZM/ref=pd_sim_auto_1

 

I love this post!!! I am very visually oriented and love to see all the pictures you posted along with the directions. VERY Cool. Greatly appreciated from those of us new folks on this site that arent as wrenchy as the next guy. = )

Thanks!!!

Eric

 

man that PS tensioner is so much easier to get to on the 4cyl compared to the 6.

 

What happened to the pictures?

 

Why oh why did I try and loosen the tension without loosening the locking nut?? Why, because I hadn't read this wonderfully done threat. Now, I have to by another pulley assembly for the power steering, cause it will probably be easier than getting the broken bolt out and finding a replacement.

This is the first thread I've viewed on this site and the reason I just registered.

You've just improved my quality of life man!

 

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!

 

I broke the bolt on the tensior too. I pulled the tensior assembly and replaced the bolt...took me 15mins and a $.25 bolt from the hardware store.

 

I did one on a 2.4 (not mine) and I recall the alternator belt being an absolute bitch to get around the alternator pulley... did you have the same issue? I had the tensioner all the way loose and it still took a lot of pushing, prying, and cussing to get it back on.

 

I'm gonna be changing my belts tomorrow and I had a question regarding the awesome write up above.

Does the:

refer to torque specs for all the corresponding locking and pivot locking bolts?

 

anyone? please

 

Taking off the skid plate (at least on a '96 4x4) is actually unnecessary unless you have a short arm reach from above. There was room on mine to reach down to all the adjuster bolts. How to remove the skid place is not immediately self-evident on the 4x4, unless mine was "glued" on by road grime. I removed 3 bolts in front and 2 in back but couldn't get the plate to budge. No other bolts seemed like they ought to be removed. So I tried the belt-change without removing the plate and was able to reach the lowermost adjustment bolts without extreme stretching. It saved a good deal of extra work.

The metal clips connecting the two sections of the fan housing were fragile and kind of a hassle to remove. One lost its tension and had to be squeezed back into shape. You have to remove the top water hose to take the fan shroud all the way off, which is ideal but not necessary.

My (Toyota brand) PS pump belt was very tough to get past the lip on the wheel(s) but fit fine once seated. The other 2 belts had plenty of slack.

I would add all torque specs, if possible. The Toyota factory manual really makes you chase down that info. Page CH-6 lists the 43 & 21 ft-lb figures for the generator, but each fitting has its own spec. For example, the PS idler pulley torque is listed at only 14 ft-lbs. Some people bank on hillbilly luck, but every torque spec was set for a reason.


P.S. It's pullEy and raTchet

 

I found this thread late, but those 2 torque specs only apply to the alternator/generator lock & pivot, per the 1995 Tacoma factory manual. The PS idler pulley requires 14 ft-lbs and the others are elusive at the moment.

I see a lack of critical specs in these how-to steps online, so you're better off with a manual to double check them. "Just tighten 'er up" is risky, especially when you're dealing with any sort of rotating bearing.

 

alright, I'll tighten both pulley bolts (for the power steering and AC) to 14 to be safe.

 

Is this the same process for the 3.4 V6? Just curious if I can follow this without screwing up things too much. and not have to take it to my mechanic

 

Maybe my 97 2.7 is different but I just replaced my belts and the alt belt is also the water pump drive belt. A/C is on the harmonic balancer and idler, same with P/S. You can see it in Step #9's pic. Had my son do it, fairly simple job, took him maybe 30 minutes total.

 

Gates sizes are:

K050340
K040343
K040438

These fit perfect on my 04 Prerunner. I highly suggest Gates belts, but they are more expensive at about $60 for the 3.