Brown residue near alternator??

Can confirm this is the best way to figure out what it is.

 

change the belt is a good idea. If it’s something else the belt needs changing anyways. Again good for you checking oil and general engine bay every week or two

 

Crankshaft pulley is rusty af. Flat side of the belt would ride across that. Seems normal

 

Negative. The ribbed side of the belt rides on the crank pulley.
What you're seeing IS the belt.

 

Looks like something that is contacting the outside of the belt ...

 

Have you bought fries from McDonalds recently? They have salt. *****Someone please que the 'part it out' guy******

 

Well it’s only Thursday but here you go.

 

Post a pic of the A/C clutch

 

i took photos from both sides of the front of the engine and belt assembly. does these show you enough? thank you.

 

It’s the belt. Change it.

 

if nothing is rubbing or dripping on the belt, change it, and be done with it.

 

Start with the cheapest fix first. New belt from Toyota. Take it back and show them. This clearly isn’t normal for a new 22’ Tacoma. Has it been driven normally and on road mostly?

 

Take some photos further back of the whole engine bay, and some from right above looking straight at the ground. These pictures are too close and you can’t see what else is happening. The rust or dust is clearly getting slung off the belt when it passes around the alternator pulley. That’s why it has those dust patterns on the alternator and the flex tubing to its right.

 

Yes, it has been driven normally and on road mostly. I do not off road. Truck is stock and maintained by me. I have owned it since new.

I was reluctant but made an appointment with the dealer on Wednesday morning. The more I look into this the more I think it is the belt. I hope it is covered under warranty; it should be. I glanced at the maintenance manual, and it says the initial inspection of the drive belt is at 60K miles/72 months, and every 15K miles/18 months thereafter.

I will update this thread late next week after my dealer visit. thank you.

 

how can a belt rust?

 

my guess: the idler pulley looks like bare metal, may get rust like brake rotors, then transferred to the back of the belt......might be related to weather in your area

 

My guess is some rust developed on the surface of a smooth pulley from simply sitting and/or getting wet. The engine was started and the belt rubbed off the rust and flung it around a bit. Look at the pulleys for any rust or pitting, but they're probably fine. If it bugs you just replace the belt

Other than that I guess it's possible one of the pulley bearings in an idler or maybe the alternator case is dry and spitting out rusty dust. But that's probably not likely..

 

Everything looks fine except for the belt and the rust spreading onto other parts around the alternator. I once owned a Jeep Patriot and they were notorious for the alternator pulley going bad. Once the bearings lost grease, they started to rust and shoot out brown soot and Dust onto the pulley and belt.
does it make any spinning or whining noises when accelerating or idling(besides the manual transmission of course)? If so I’d presume a bearing might also be the cause of the rust.

 

Ha ha. I thought there’s metal inside ha ha

Edit
After some googling, I found this. Some Serpentine belts do have steel fabric/layer .

https://youtu.be/RCejWrzx3Fk?si=rYSLvBb4mG9Ati4b