Hello all,

Sadly my water pump is leaking big time and I need to do the timing belt and water pump job I have been putting off for some time now. I have 186k on my 1997 4Runner and I am unsure if this job has ever been done.

I am researching how to do the job myself. I wouldn't mind paying some to do it, quoted around $700 for the timing belt and water pump plus the cam seals and other stuff. But part of me wants to do it myself so I can save some money and do it right. I am afraid I am going to need to spend on some tools I won't really end up using much.

Besides regular wrenches I figure I will need:
1) Torque wrench to 200 or 250ft lb
a) It seems the torque spec for the old '97 bolt is a bit lower the 217 spec, and a wrench that only goes to 200 seems cheaper.
2) Chain wrench
3) A tool to hold the harmonic balancer in place. Seems like I could in theory make one, but if there is a cheap one that I could buy, I would prefer that I think
4) Possibly tool to pull some of the pulleys off the engine if they have gotten stuck?
5) Tool to pull the cam seals.

Seems like an extra $200 of just tools, any of these I could rent from an automotive store?

Would be awesome if there is anyone near Greensboro who could lend me any of them (happy to put down a deposit, but I know its a long shot).

Other questions I would have:
- Is it worth it to pull the radiator?
- Anything I am missing
- Would it be okay to use the "new" style crank screw

Best,
Gull

I just did mine this spring/summer, piece of cake, see my thread here. The only hard part was getting the timing gear off the crankshaft because there was burnt oil from leaky cam seals gluing it on, but eventually a torch and my Harbor Freight gear puller got the job done. The rest was quite easy.

I bought a cheap 250 ft-lb torque wrench off Amazon Amazon.com

Probably not super accurate but my bolt is still tight months later and I may never need a torque that high again. I had to use a cheater and all my might to get it to click at 217. I have a 97 too, if the torque is really lower on that year all I can say is dohhhh!

Amazon was sold out so I bought the balancer tool off ebay for about $40. I used the starter-bump method to get the crank bolt off, so I really only needed the tool for putting it back on and even then there are ways around it. I had no trouble removing other pulleys.

Most will say you should pull AND replace the radiator but I only pulled mine. Yes, I think you will be much happier with it out and you won't puncture it if you plan to keep it.

Timmy will show you how to do the whole job (this is for the 3.4l)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHC4...ature=youtu.be

EDIT: PS-there are people here who are a lot more experienced at this than I am

Thanks for your info. Did you use a special tool to remove / install crank shaft and cam shaft gaskets?

I just tapped them in carefully with a wooden dowel, going around and round little by little, if I remember correctly. That's how I just did my rear axle seals.

I either used the HF seal puller or the Lisle Seal puller to get them out, I have both and don't recall which but pretty sure it was the Lisle.

I also did buy the tool to hold the cam pulleys. That came in very handy

https://www.harborfreight.com/seal-p...ips-63039.html

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...ler/lis0/58430

I suggest watching both my videos before you tackle the job to get a good sense of what's involved and the tools that will help you get it done.

You can rent a torque wrench for free from Autozone. I made a tool to hold the harmonic balancer out of a 2x4 that was long enough to brace against the frame to hold it from spinning while loosening/tightening the bolt.

Assuming no crazy rust issues (not guaranteed...), if you want to go down-n-dirty, you can get away with a big impact for the crank pully (to take it off and put it on). You'll re-use seal pullers, pully pullers and other similar tools if you don't have them already.

For a "V" engine, the 5vz timing belt is pretty easy (and low risk). I would make sure you have a second vehicle to drive in case you have an issue though...

-Charlie

Cam seals - I was about to buy one those lisle seal pullers but came across this trick to use a self tapping screw and side pliers.

[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8huauNTY9E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8huauNTY9E[/URL

I'm gonna use my big impact to remove cam sprocket/pulley but have ordered the tool to hold when reinstalling so I can use a torque wrench

Few observations from my own service:

Watch Timmy's video like 15 times.

Remove the radiator.

"Rent" the big torque wrench.
Buy a long-ass breaker bar.

Use a long piece of notched/drilled angle iron for the pulley brace. I tried a 2x4 and it cracked apart instantly.

Just buy the Lisle seal puller. I did the screw/plier trick and it was terrifying. I don't think I scratched anything,
but I damn sure thought I did - and that would be an royal pita to remedy. (Cheap can be very expensive!)
I did however use a PVC adapter/reducer thingy to drive the seals back in. No leaks for a year so far...

My cheapy 1/4" extensions broke when tying to sneak past the a/c unit. I finally just went ahead and moved
the compressor. It wasn't really that bad and gave a ton more room to work the tensioner.

This video by a Dealership is pretty useful.
He used cardboard to protect the radiator rather than removal.

Timing Belt

I did this job using Tim's video which is linked.

The kit I bought did not come with marked teeth on the timing belt. To make sure I had the belt aligned the way it should be before pulling the pin on the tensioner, I used this thread:

Timing belt marks

I was able to mark the teeth on the timing belt myself and make sure everything was lined up perfectly with factory marks on the cams.

For ease, the info I used in that thread was...

I'm wondering if anyone has the kit handy that they could count how many teeth there are between the left/driver side cam tooth and the tooth with the crank mark 69 teeth

I just finished getting the timing belt re-installed. For completeness there are 50 teeth between the left and right can marks.


I used this tool to hold the harmonic balancer:
https://www.amazon.com/Sunluway-4Run...e%2C211&sr=1-1

and this tool for holding the cam pulleys
Amazon.com
Good luck!

Just a few comments.

--The starter bump method is the easiest way to break that crank bolt loose. Just tweak the key don't hold it. You will still need a holder to put the crank bolt back in, however.

--the 2x4 works great if you build it right. 1) leave plenty of board past the bolts; I left a foot and 2) do NOT put the bolts on the centerline of the board. Put them on the diagonal so one is one the top half of the board and the other on the bottom half. Ignore either of these rules and it WILL crack.(ex-carpenter here)

https://photos.fife.usercontent.goog...-gm?authuser=0


--I left my rad in with a piece of composite drawer bottom I had hanging around to protect it. It went just fine.

I was terrified to use it myself, but Amazon was sold out of the tool and I'd seen too many homemade ones fail. I searched and searched and found no evidence anyone had ever damaged anything using the starter-bump method. But it could, theoretically, if the engine started and the breaker became dislodged and starting spinning at 3000 rpm in your engine compartment. So you prevent it by protecting or removing your radiator, and only letting the starter fire for a fraction of a second, so it doesn't start.

I was still scared to do it, but my 4runner has a "special feature" that allows me to disconnect the running circuit so it couldn't start even if I was dumb enough to keep cranking it. Yours might have a fuse that would accomplish the same thing, but its probably not necessary if you release the key the second you hear the starter.

After I did it, I wondered what I had been so scared of.