Supercharger belt change: difficulty level?

My supercharger belt needs changing. From searching the forums, I should go with a Gates replacement belt. Dealership wants $100 for labor (and that's with 10% off labor charge....) plus the cost of the belt (about $20). Considering these belts need to be changed "somewhat" regularly, is this something I could tackle? I'm not hugely mechanical. Thoughts?

Is there a better write up than this dude's? https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trd-s-c-maintenance-how-to.331263/

It looks pretty detailed. He ordered a Goodyear Gatorback but read the Gates might be better.

Thanks and cheers

 

Belt condition

 

It shouldn't be a difficult job. When swapping my pulley I had a second person pull the belt off the top pulley when I relieved the tension on the belt using the same wrench method on the tensioner. From there it is going to be more about routing the belt in confined space, might be a little bit of a pain but not technically hard. If the dealer is quoting you $120 (pre-coupon) that means it will done by a tech in an hour or less.

My writeup covers the pulley swap, not the belt change, but has a couple additional pictures:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/urd-2-85-stealth-supercharger-pulley-install.416267/

 

How bad does the belt look, in your opinion? 1-10?

 

my thing with serpentine belts / belts of this sort. If you have an inclination to change it.... DO IT.

Gone are the days of the good ole 3.4 from the first gen that used 3 of the same belt that would allow you to have to failures and still keep driving so long as you moved them around to the alternator.

 

From the looks of that belt I'd change it if it was me. It's got a number of cracks in it already. Definitely drying out.

If it breaks while you're driving you'll run into problems right quick.

 

Purchase the belt and have an independent shop swap it out for you if you're not capable. They might charge you $50-60 for a 15-20 min job. It definitely needs replacing.

 

I read that if I don't order OEM/OME part, the supercharger won't be covered under warranty. Is this true?

Yeah, good idea with independent shop. I'd like to take a crack out of it, I just need to order the belt. I was having problems finding the right P/N for the Gates belt, but then read about the warranty thing with the original manufacturer belt so I'm at a standstill.

Cheers

 

The supercharger only has a 1 year warranty anyhow doesn't it? Or was it 5 years? Maybe it was 1 year if self-installed and 5 if installed by Toyota, I can't remember...

At any rate, I'm sub a dub dubbed to this thread for reference later on. Have a 3.4l supercharger, my belt looks way better than the one in that photo up above so I would definitely change it out if I were you. Interested to see how hard of a DIY job it is, although I'm likely just going to have an independent shop do it for a fraction of what the dealer would charge.

Toyota dealership near me wanted $125 to swap out my fuel filter with one that I had already purchased from O'Reilly's (so just the labor basically). It's a 30 minute job at most, probably less for a skilled mechanic. Local independent shop did the job for me instead for $45.

 

Stick with Gates if available, but I've used GY year belts on other supercharged cars before with no issues running 9-10# of boost. You can always take the belt off to your local Napa Auto parts to find a good match. It's nothing special to it. They just count the ribs and measure the length. Even if it's off by 0.5" inch, the tensioner will take up the slack.

 

Covered under your powertrain warranty if installed by Toyota, standard is 5 years. 1 year if installed by someone other than Toyota, or your powertrain has expired.

 

Update July 9th:
Did the belt swap last night. It was horrible. I'm not mechanical. I'm also a girl lol. I had to call my friend's dad to assist. I'm not sure how one person can release tension on the assembly (and hold it) and then get the belt off from the top. Anyway, it took us 1.5hrs. I took the skid plate off, which was essential. I left the radiator shroud on but D/C'd the radiator hose for more room; there was very little space.

It was actually a neat little challenge though. I'm going to keep an eye on this belt since it's OEM and I want to see how many miles I get out of it. Good luck to anyone else who embarks on this mission...

Cheers

 

Glad you managed. It is far easier to remove the belt with 2 people, you do need to remove the skid but shouldn't have to disconnect the radiator hose.

 

I agree with this. I have done mine a couple of times and I usually get the wife to pull the belt over the top of the blower pulley.

 

I searched many different forums and spent a couple hours trying to figure out which belt I should get, what size belt, how to do the swap, blah, blah, blah. The point is, I am sharing the fruits of my labor with you!

This is for the TRD/Magnuson supercharger for the 4.0L V6 Tacoma 2005-15.

Belt Needed:
70.5 in, 5 rib

Possible Belts you could use:
-Goodyear gatorback got re branded to Continental elite. part # 4050705 (my recommended belt of choice)I believe this is no longer availible.
-Dayco Poly Rib belt, Premium Part # 5050705
-Gates Micro V Part # K050705/5PK1793
-Toyota Part# PTR30-35040

Personal Experience:
-I have been running a Gates micro V for the past 5K miles or so. Tons of cracks, did not hold up well. Switching to Continental Elite soon.

-Dealership quoted me at $180 for a simple belt swap. Way too much.

-I would also recommend treating your new belt with some kind of rubber protectant before hand.


Install How To:
Video shows belt swap after pulley swap.

In case the clickable link doesn't work https://youtu.be/gSrhiG-cKo8?t=5m54s


Steps:
1)Remove skid plate to access tensioner from underside. All access will be through the underside and potentially the drivers side wheel well.
2)Loosen tensioner (1/2 in square drive) and remove belt from pulley located on supercharger (will probably need a friend or loved one for this part)
3)Remove the 2 M8 (per manual) bolts from the tensioner support bracket (this piece is mounted on the inside diameter of the belt, one bolt is on the tensioner, the other is on the ac compressor)
4)Remove the tensioner bracket (2 M10 bolts per manual)
5)Slide belt in from top, place in upper pulleys
6)Reroute belt down through engine
7)Reinstall tensioner assembly (torque 2 M10 nuts to 29ft lbf)
8)Reinstall support bracket (torque tensioner nut first, then acc nut to 19ft lbf)
9)Make sure belt is routed correctly.
10)Loosen tensioner and place belt on tensioner pulley
11)Put skid plate back on

Actual Install notes:
-Continental elite belt has been on for about 10K, still looks brand new. Highly recommend
-I released the tensioner from the top and slid the belt off from the supercharger pulley. I found this was much easier then trying to go through the bottom.
-Keep very good tabs on the lower pulley spacers. Almost lost one. had quite a scare.
-Belt was routed properly and left off of the supercharger pulley.
-The tensioner was then released and the belt finally placed around the supercharger pulley to finish.

 

@AestheticallypleasinG

You should post that in this thread.

 

One correction:

The part number for the Gates Micro V belt is K050705 / 5PK1793

 

Thank you, I just updated my post.

 

NP.

I don't know if the original Gates part number is the same as the Gates belt you had experience with, but if I recall, that part number was for a much smaller belt. Might be the reason why yours cracked so quickly?

Anyway, I'm installing the Gates belt tomorrow. Also have a Dayco as a spare, but I'm interested in how well that Continental holds up for you.

 

Bump - I just did the swap. The original Dayco belt had 30k on it and was done for. Replaced with the Gates belt.

I pulled the fan clutch and shroud (and taped cardboard over the radiator), and of course the skid plate. It was very easy to change with the fan out of the way but would have been a major PITA had that not been done.

I think one could probably get away with accessing everything from the top and not pull the skid, IF you remove the fan and shroud. But having access from underneath certainly made it easier.