I have the V6. I just used a little critical thinking skills. I got the belt off/on by slipping it over the fan, and it is running smooth...but the engine is making a clicking noise now... any ideas?


-edit- Can anyone check on theirs, the crankshaft has this little metal protrusion, that looks like the belt is supposed to go under it, kind of like a guide, or to keep in place...its on the crankshaft on the right side, and it is almost exactly splitting the idler no 1 and tensioner. Can anybody verify if there belt goes under it or not?

If it is what I think it is, it is the reference gauge for setting the engine timing. It protrudes from the timing case cover alongside the right side of the crank pulley. It should have three raised points on it to check the engine timing against a mark on the crank pulley. The belt shouldn't touch this in any way. The belt should go around the top of the crank pulley from the right (looking at the engine from the front bumper) after exiting the tensioner, and go around the crank pulley and exit it from the bottom where it next goes over the top of the next idler pulley, on its way to the A/C compressor pulley.

f*ck i just spent 200+ to change mines today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting ready to replace my 05 SR5 V6. At first glance, it looks like there is no room to get a wrench in to release tension on the tensioner (from the top). Do you have to remove one of the radiator hoses to get to it? Are you using any extensions or other tricks to get down there or have I already jumped to the conclusion that there is a problem when there is not. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Tory

Been a while since I did it on my '03, but as I recall just a very short extension is all you need. You do not need to remove a radiator hose to change the belt, but it's a pain to thread around the fan. Follow the diagram under the hood and you'll be fine.

I would add that a long breaker bar with the short extension makes the job much easier.

Finally had to to have it done at 90k miles, and my mechanic did it for $100. Too cold for me to do it outside, so I decided to through him some work!

I thought the v-6 had a timing belt! I have a '97 4runner, does it have a chain or belt?

4th Gen V-6 has a chain. 03-09. I can not speak for the 97. I have never owned one.

Here is my little story with belt/pulley issues...I replaced my serpentine belt before my big move up to the frozen north (-40C winters)... it was a cheapo 35$ belt from Lordco in Vancouver. No issues at all on the drive up pulling a loaded Uhaul trailer(6x12) about 1400kms. When the belt froze over night it would make a chirping noise in the morning that would become louder as I accelerated, this became worse and worse. I thought for sure it was a pulley bearing because the noise was different then any squealing belt Ive heard. First I pulled off the belt and turned all pulleys by hand, no friction or funny sounds. I decided id try a new belt as the old one was cheap... the new belt was close to 90 bucks from Nappa. Its been installed a week and the squeal is now gone and have had no issues. I didn't realize the quality of the belt made a difference... the old belt was only 2 months old.

Back in Oct '09, I replaced the three idler pulleys with Gates units from RockAuto for the serpentine belt on my '03 V6, but re-used the belt since is still looked good. I didn't touch the tensioner pulley, since Toyota had installed a new one when they did the belt noise TSB several years earlier, and it felt good. Well, several weeks ago, I started to notice a noise in the morning, and it began to get worse as the days went by. I took the belt off yesterday, and the tensioner pulley felt loose. Apparently, you still can't get just the pulley. You have to replace the entire tensioner assy., to fix it. NAPA wanted $97 for the tensioner, and didn't have one available until at least monday. RockAuto has it for $67, but I would have to wait for it. I took the pulley off, and cleaned it up to look at numbers on bearing. It is a standard NSK 6203 DUL1 bearing, which looked to be easy to press out of metal pulley. NAPA had a 6203-2RSJ in stock, which was a perfect match to the oem bearing, for $12.49. 45 min later, I had new bearing installed in pulley, pulley installed on tensioner (be careful of reverse thread bolt), and installed the new belt I had from '09 which I didn't use then.

All is quiet again. Life is good. Time for a beer.