DIY: Changing serpentine belts on the V6 (1GR-FE) 4Runners

[BOSMECH]

Nice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rommel]

My belt did broke a week ago and I bought the Gates belt to replace it. However, should I check anything else because I heard if the belt breaks, something else can break too. I haven't changed the belt tensioner yet because I'm trying to find a tutorial for that. Any help would be grateful. The car has 168,000 miles right now.

 

[F4injected]

Why is it that my bando 7pk2120 belt is longer than the oem belt I replaced?

When I installed the bando belt, it felt pretty loose. I retraced the belt following the diagram about 10 times so I know it was right. I figured what the heck and started my car. It ran fine but as soon as the a/c kicked it, it started squealing like a pig.

When I took off the new bando belt and measured it against my old oem... it was longer!

Did they send me the wrong belt?

 

[F4injected]

Why is it that my bando 7pk2120 belt is longer than the oem belt I replaced?

When I installed the bando belt, it felt pretty loose. I retraced the belt following the diagram about 10 times so I know it was right. I figured what the heck and started my car. It ran fine but as soon as the a/c kicked it, it started squealing like a pig.

When I took off the new bando belt and measured it against my old oem... it was longer!

Did they send me the wrong belt?

NVM I figured out what it was...

I ordered the belt from AMAZON and turns out they stuffed the WRONG BELT into the packaging. They sent me a bando 7pk2170 belt stuffed into a package that says 7pk2120. :frusty:

 

[jtanner]

Just did this today with ~97k miles on my '05. Thanks a ton W211 for the write up & the suggested re-routing order for the new belt! Helped tremendously!

 

[SMJ93]

DIY: Changing Serpentine belts on the v6

Very nice write up it is much appreciated here I have a 03 v6 and have been searching relentlessly for some pic/video on this process. Got it done, thanks.

 

[ddnww]

Perfect write up, had to do this this morning, thanks OP.

 

[ben550]

Easy to follow.

I bought the belt at AutoZone for $26.99 and did it myself.

Mechanic would have charged $180 for the job.

Thanks for the clear/concise write-up!

 

[drapaki]

stealership quoted me $225 to do mine. the belt on amazon was $19. no brainer....

 

[the rizz]

Does anyone have any installation tips? I bought this belt from Amazon: (Bando 7PK2120 OEM Quality Serpentine Belt) and it is supposedly the same length as the OEM belt. But I couldn't get it to slip onto the tensioner pulley? Would it be bad to squirt a little water on there as lube? I ended up having to reinstall the OEM belt (which went on easily).

Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fdbyrne]

I've had good luck threading it through everything except the power steering pulley then slipping it over the PS pulley while compressing the tensioner. I've never tried to slip it over the tensioner as the last step. Seems like a good way to break a finger or something.

 

[the rizz]

I figured it out. Quick tip for anyone reading this. Make sure to lock the tensioner in place using a small screwdriver. The hole is hard to see, but it's under the tensioner. Then you can use two hands to pull the belt over the last pulley.

 

[iancoletx]

This was extremely helpful, thank you!

I used a 3' length of 1" PVC as a cheater bar and used that on the 14mm ratchet to lock the tensioner into place, with the bar resting on the battery with a brick or any other spacer in place to keep the tensioner at maximum release. Took patience to get the belt around the water pump, but it worked great, and eliminated the annoying cold-start squeak.

 

[earthrealm]

subbed

 

[john123drury]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU to the OP. My 4Runner has 110K on it, and still had the original factory belt. I probably could've gone even longer (no noises or noticeable issues), but I figured it was time for a change. The job is literally 15 minutes. Only thing I would add is to have a second person help when slipping the belt back on. For reference in case anyone needs it, I got my belt from Advance Auto part# 835K7 (7PK2120). Again - THANK YOU FOR THIS STEP BY STEP! It was incredibly useful! -Joe

 

[acronin2]

Having trouble getting the new belt back on :redbrick: . Any one have any tips? I am so close i just cant quite get it over the power steering pump pulley. I have put the old belt back on no problem. Any way I could stretch the new belt out slightly? Or would that not be a could idea...

 

[the rizz]

Having trouble getting the new belt back on :redbrick: . Any one have any tips? I am so close i just cant quite get it over the power steering pump pulley. I have put the old belt back on no problem. Any way I could stretch the new belt out slightly? Or would that not be a could idea...

Did you lock the tensioner pulley in place? Makes a huge difference.

 

[acronin2]

Did you lock the tensioner pulley in place? Makes a huge difference.

I couldn't the hole (lol) to lock it. I read that it is under the tensioner pulley but I cant see it and couldn't feel it so I have keeping tension on it while using my other hand to route it around the PS pump pulley. Where exactly is the hole to lock the tensioner?

 

[fullboogie]

One hell of a write up, OP. This is the kind of post that makes a forum really good.

 

[the rizz]

I couldn't the hole (lol) to lock it. I read that it is under the tensioner pulley but I cant see it and couldn't feel it so I have keeping tension on it while using my other hand to route it around the PS pump pulley. Where exactly is the hole to lock the tensioner?

I think the hole is part of the pulley swing arm in the bottom. So you pull the tensioner as far as you can, then put a screw driver through the hole and it slots into a second hole behind it, keeping the tensioner out of the way.