DIY Timing Belt and Water Pump

I have a 2001 Tacoma 3.4 Liter V6. I am needing to change the waterpump due to a coolant leak and am going to replace the timing belt, alternator, power steering and air conditioning belts, thermostat, seals and crankshaft, tensioners while I am under there. I only know how to do basic mechanic skills like change my oil, check fluids, so this is going to be quite the task for me. Any suggestions on where to learn and get the best info to do this repair? Also do you suggest any hints from past experiences of you changing these parts? should i get a shop manual on how to do it?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwDlQmP5KAo

Lots of how-to videos on Youtube about this. Save a weekend and you can get it done yourself. Or - Pay the dealer to put OEM parts on. They should charge you under $1000 for the whole job. I paid $863 to have mine done.

 

Mine needs to be done also. From what I understand the hardest part is breaking the pully bolt lose. Most guys use a special tool to do it - either bought, borrowed or home-made. Ther is also the starter-crank method that scares me. That's the only thing that keeps me from doing it myself.

 

I did this back in May (I think).

Search youtube, there are a few good videos. Like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xv11NRc5Xg

You can get away with a basic repair manual for all the torque specs. A factory service manual won't hurt.

Get a buddy to help you out.

Take pictures as you take the truck apart so you have something to referance when you put it back together.

I have a 2.5" lift and 33" tires. I found letting almost all the air out of the front tires really helped. I also replaced a bunch of AC components so I was able to remove the radiator, the AC condensor and my ARB bumper which made access to the front of the engine super easy.

 

tought to tell from the video but it looks like he installed the thermostat wrong. On the 3.4 the jiggle valve goes at the bottom and not the top.

 

It wasn't that bad. I was hesitant at first, too. I tried using my air impact driver, but it wouldn't budge. I just used my breaker bar and disconnected the ignition so it wouldn't actually start, then bumped the starter - came right off.

Putting it back on at the end I used a tool I made out of some 3/16" flat bar and a piece of L bracket and some grade 8 hardware (a long piece and a short piece so it looks like a "y" with long grade 8 bolts in the ends to fit in the pulley holes but still clear for the socket). I ended up bending it, so I used steel L bracket instead for the whole thing. The long piece was long enough to touch the ground, then I could use both hands on the torque wrench to get that elevendy billion ft-lbs of torque.

 

I've seen quite a bit of debate over that. I just replaced it the same way it came out, but I honestly don't remember which way it was...

 

it should be ok facing up but in my experience it runs about 10 deg cooler with it facing down

 

I did something similar for the pully bolt. I should have gone out and bought some grade 8 stuff. I bent the bolts when re-tightening. It's currently living as a grabber under my camper shell. It's soon to become new brackets for my skid plates.

Oh yeah, a tech at my local dealership advised using red loctite on the main bolt when you re-install.

 

When I drain my radiator if the coolant is fairly new and not dirty can i re use it to fill my radiator back up?

 

Yup.

 

I'd never re-use coolant, just too lazy to find a proper filter to get all the dirty and debri out because I'm already dirty and whatnot.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I more than likely aren't going to have clean coolant after it leaves the truck.

 

You don't want to see my coolant right now, it looks like its 2 layered...

 

The oily slick helps lube the water for better circulation

 

2 drill bits stuck in the holes in the face of the pulley and a piece of square tubing wedged between them helped me get my bolt out. The drill bits don't bend like bolts can.

 

I was thinking about trying this since I have a bunch of spare belts:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/homemade-crank-pulley-tool.140646/page-2#post-7088548

You might want to add your idea to this thread since I haven't seen that exact idea on it yet...

 

Just added. Good call.

 

Holding the pulley via the outside with a strap wrench, chain wrench or any other improvised method is a no no. The pulley itself is only secured to the hub with a rubber isolator. This rubber can be torn/stressed.
No matter how many folks have success with the "bump the starter" or strap wrenches, the chance for damage is always there.

Worst case scenario.

 

Thanks man.