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

The first post shows you what you need to do.

Basically there are 2 idler pulleys and an alternator that each individually adjust the tension on each of the 3 belts. The alternator was the hardest to get at to loosen the tension for me personally.

 

tpw, Did you or anyone see a difference from year and model rather if its deluxe or sr5 model trucks. I have a 1999 2.7ltr. and need to change the v belts. I use rock auto for parts as my go to place. I need to replace. Also has anyone done a tutorial for U -joints replacement on these trucks.

 

If you don't have AC then I would assume you'd only have 2 belts, other than that it should be the same. My alternator belt was the hardest to change out as the horizontal adjuster bold turned hard the whole way. The pivot bolt was hard to access as well. It's a bolt and nut so 2 wrenches are required and they are in a tight spot.

 

I just registered to say thank you to the OP. I am not mechanically inclined by any means (I usually stick to checking fluids, changing wiper blades, bulbs and the battery). I was pretty intimidated after getting started on my 2004 2.4L and I must say after I was done I was nervous even starting it but I seem to have done everything right So thank you again.

 

Better to put belt around alternator pulley first then pull over the fan pulley.

 

Thanks for posting this thread, the most info about the order of removal and replacement of the belts in the Chilton #68604 is simply "loosen nut on tensioner and loosen bolt on adjuster".

However for 2000-2004 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner with the 2.7L 3RZFE.

1. Taking the fan shroud off is not worth the amount time it takes, the extra clearance is minimal.
2. Removing the factory brush-guard is not necessary. However removing the skid-plate is very helpful if you have big hands, this allows you to manipulate the AC belt around the tensioner with ease.
3. Water pump and alternator share one belt a fact which seemed a bit unclear in the instructions.

Thanks for the info!!

 

Dredging up an old post to say thanks for the writeup

Ended up changing my 2001 2.7L (no AC) belts and it seemed to go fine, and fixed the high pitched squealing sound when I had it in higher RPMs. Cost me about 30 bucks and 45 minutes of time. I didn't end up taking anything out to make it easier to access the belts. For the alternator pivot bolt I just went in from the drivers side wheel well, and I could get at it pretty easily.When I retightened the pivot I put a wrench on the bolt side and wedged it in there so I didn't have to hold it when I retightened the nut with a socket on the other side. Little finicky if you have big arms and hands I would imagine.

Only thing I wasn't completely sure about was judging the tension. Seems fine and I looked all that up, but still seems like it could be done differently depending on feel. I tried to keep it similar to what the old belt felt like, but a little tighter, and used to 1/4 inch to half inch advice for the different length belts/span.

 

My question is about which bolt to loosen first on the idlers. Loosen the idler bolt first then the tensioner or what. My PS idler bolt won't budge, but the tensioner bolt will move any direction and is loose. Was thinking about just removing the bracket but am not sure if that's the thing to do. I don't want to break the bolt head on the idler off. What to do?

 

Maybe you need to soak the bolt with something like liquid wrench or similar.

 

Struggled with the Alternator belt for over an hour trying to get it on...there is just no way it's going on even with the tensioner wide open. I'm wondering is maybe I've got an after market alternator that is the problem because the tensioner is completely loose but I can see there is more room in the slide it can't use because the alternator casing is up against the engine. I see other people having problems with this too. Maybe these alternators are bigger? In any case, there is no way with the standard belt is going on so I'm going to get a slightly larger belt.

 

I hope you get to see this.
I replaced my squealing belt with the help of this post and just want to say thanks.

 

Are these the correct sizes for the 3.4?

 

Since you mentioned 3.4 - I just changed mine using TOYOTA belts

Alternator Belt 90080-91090-83 $15.97
AC Belt 99364-20870-78 $16.69
P/S Belt 90080-91126-83 $13.79

Prices are from Camelback Toyota - check here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-for-tw-members.207298/page-126#post-15726031

You can post up in the thread or PM Gary directly. They are my go-to source now for parts.

 

Super. Thanks!!

 

awesome thread , quick question though, anyone know the torque specs for the idler pulleys? going to be replacing all belts and both a/c idler pulley and Power steering tentioner pulley on my 2004 2.4

 

Damn i wish i would have seen this 2 weeks ago would have saved me a S H I T load of stress

 

Anyone have access to the original photos? Looks like most were taken down recently.

 

213k on original belts... think it’s time to replace

 

Tip for getting Alternator belt on!

After loosening the tensioner, the bottom two bolts where the alternator pivots, and the locking bolt. If your still having trouble stretching the alternator belt on then that means the pivot point of thr alternator is just seized up, and needs to be coaxed to bend to give way for the belt. First get some pb blaster or any kind of lub on the alternator pivot joint. Get you a peice of wood, and put that on the edge of the alternator and hammer that wood end to force the alternator to pivot more on the joint you loosed the two bolts on the bottom. Be sure to extend the tensioner far enough to accommodate the movement induced via the hammering. Doing this easily gets you the slack to put the belt back on easy peezy.