Adventures with the serpentine belt

[Louie]

I changed the belt today, on an 03 V8, and it was a real battle. I got cut and scraped reaching down there and moving the belt around all those pullies. After removing the skid plate I put a box wrench on the tension pullie and after releasing the belt the wrench got stuck against the fan clutch. The whole process was a pain and drew some blood. But I have a question. I think I did something wrong. When you turn the wrench counter-clockwise does it completely release if you turn it far enough?

And a comment. At 42.5k miles, the old belt looked like brand new. I bent it back to expose any cracks and there were none, none at all. How long do these belts really last?

 

[jharris2]

I changed mine on the V6 because it was squeaking. It had 24,000 miles on it and looked brand new, but the noise was driving me nuts. Was an easy install, especially compared to yours. Not sure why one would be so much more difficult than the other -- I didn't even have to get underneath the truck to do it.

 

[toto]

The maintenance guide says to start inspecting it at 60K miles.
The V8 has a timing belt that's due at 90K, so that's a good time to change all of the belts if you haven't done it already.

 

[greasefingers]

Of the 12 vehicles that I have owned, this was the easiest of them of to replace the belt. Go here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20239&highlight=serpentine

 

[a3fnqpjw]

Does the timing belt have anything to do with the annoying ticking sound coming from my engine bay? Or is that ticking noise (what my service manager ) refers to as "normal". btw i have a 2005 v6.

 

[greasefingers]

Louie: After re-reading your post, the tensioner is accessed from the top of the engine, no need to remove the skid plate. It is spring loaded and remains that way. You simply move it against the spring force, to provide slack.

I would replace this every 60 k miles, although it can go longer. Mine looked fine with only micro-cracks that where skin deep. (the cracks don

 

[Louie]

I replaced it at about half the life of the timing belt because I plan on doing the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump and the tensioner pulley and spring. I now carry the old, good serpentine belt as a spare. I removed the skid plate to get access to the underside of the pulleys to see how everything fits. I know now to use a socket wrench on the tensioner pulley and not a box end wrench, which got stuck. Live and learn.

 

[Louie]

And another comment, I removed the skid plate to make sure the belt was on correctly. And one final comment. You put the belt on including the tensioner pulley but don't run it over the idler high on the driver's side. You then remove the tension and slip it over that little pulley on the upper driver's side last. Oh, and it's a 14mm socket you need for the nut which is left had thread so you don't have to worry about it getting loose.