Timing belt change. What else to get?

Aelfwine

Aelfwine

New member
I've finally decided to do this job myself. I'm in the process of ordering parts from rockauto. Heres a list of what I'm getting. They offer lots of different brands, I'm not sure whats better though. Some are cheaper than the others but I'd like to go with better vs. cheaper. Let me know what you guys think. I'm either missing something or getting something I don't really need because I don't know if I'll need it but better to have it:) I will list brands starting from most expensive to least.

- Timing belt kit. Includes 1 Belt, 1 Tensioner, 1 Hydraulic Tensioner, 1 Idler, 1 Water Pump.
Aisin, Gates, DNJ Engine Components. Theres also a kit by SKF that has a Camshaft Seal and Timing Cover Seal but does not have the Hydraulic Tensioner and is the most expensive.

- Thermostat. 180 degrees with Jiggle Pin. Gates, Stant.

- Thermostat Seal, Thermostat Housing Gasket. These ones I'm not sure if I need. Also theres two different housing gaskets, one that has three holes in a triangular shape and one that has two holes in a rectangular shape.

- Upper and lower radiator hoses. Goodyear, Gates, Dayco, Acdelco, Roadmax. Also the upper and lower hoses have the same part numbers, is that right?

- Drive belts. I thought I might as well replace these. Goodyear, Gates, Dayco, Flennor.

Please let me know what I'm missing and what you think of these brands.
 
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I just picked up the Aisin belt kit from Rock Auto. I can assure that's the same company that makes the belt and pump for toyota.The only thing I didn't use was the tensioner. It looks to be of very low quality. It's a very good kit, go for it. Factory belts are made by Mitsuboshi. I went with Dayco belts. The upper and lower rad hoses are different, the upper is a little longer.
 
There is a timing belt kit company on the Internet and amazon. I bought mine from them via amazon. Great kit.

Make a pulley holder. Its easy and cost little money. I got flat steel from ACE Hardware.
 
Take your time. There is a great YouTube video or two. I watched the one with the Tacoma.

I had issues with rusted bolts or corroded aluminum. It tool two days to get everything apart. Had to go junking to locate replacement special bolts for the Alternator belt tensioner pulley and one of the four bolts holding the AC compressor to bracket that bolts to frame.

My kit came with oil seals for crank and cams also. I had a really bad front crank seal leak. Since it all had to come apart to replace it...............
 
Pulley holder Is also sold by rockauto for like 10-15 bucks. I'll go with that vs spending time on making one.

Rusted bolts is what I'm afraid of. I'm thinking maybe I should stack up on some begorehand.
 
Aelfwine said:
Pulley holder Is also sold by rockauto for like 10-15 bucks. I'll go with that vs spending time on making one.

Rusted bolts is what I'm afraid of. I'm thinking maybe I should stack up on some begorehand.
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The ones I broke were not ones replaced from the drawers at the hardware store. All were special........don't know if I'd trust a 15 dollar pulley holder. Especially if one of the pins swivels.

Mine took 15 min to make. The 3'x3" 1/16 inch thick flat stock was the most expensive part of the tool.

I sand blasted and re painted the harmonic balancer while it was off.
 
Sounds like you got everything that I would change.

How are your valve cover gaskets? Now might be a good time to replace them.

And don't forget to pick up some Toyota Pink long life coolant.
 
Swimmerboy2112 said:
Sounds like you got everything that I would change.



How are your valve cover gaskets? Now might be a good time to replace them.



And don't forget to pick up some Toyota Pink long life coolant.
Click to expand...



What's the difference between Toyota pink coolant and regular antifreeze??

Does it do something different than prevent corrosion, prevent the coolant from freezing, and raise the boiling point like normal antifreeze?

Not being a smart azz, just wondering because mine had green when I bought it.
 
The tensioner for the alternator always rust and breaks. I had to replace mine as well. You can pick those up at the dealer, I don't believe they're very expensive.
 
I was wondering whats the difference in the coolant too. Do you get it at the dealer? Or part stores would have it? Oh and how much of it do you need?
 
Cliff note version:

1. Some coolants are full-strength and need to be diluted 50/50 with distilled water. (Toyota Red). Some come pre-diluted (Toyota Pink--yes, there is a pink. It is NOT just diluted Red, it is a different formulation for newer cars. Also Zerex Asian, which is a Pink clone, at Napa and elsewhere.)

2. They are all the same in terms of heating, cooling, freezing, boiling as long as they have the same strength of ethylene glycol.

3. The other differences are all related to corrosion resistance. Some formulas use additives that are bad for our Japanese cars, notably Euro formulas with borates and silicates. Ours use phosphates, which the Euro engineers hate.

4. You can use modern green with no problems, as long as you keep the change interval short (20-25k max). You can run Toyota Red for 30k/2yrs or Pink--or Zerex Asian--for 50k5/yrs.

5. Most of us choose to run Toyota Red, as it is easier to do a full flush when using a full-strength coolant and it just works. It is what it came with from the factory. Dealer or Amazon.

There is a new entrant: Pentosin. They have launched Pentofrost A1 which is a Red clone (full-strength), and is available at my local NAPA for $25.99

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Antifreeze-Cooling-System-1-Gallon/_/R-ANJ8115203_0421979991

They also have Pentofrost A4 which is a Pink clone (diluted 50/50) and available at NAPA for $23.99.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Antifreeze-Cooling-System-1-Gallon/_/R-ANJ8115209_0431955313

The A1 is clearly a much better deal. It's the first widely available Toyota Red clone I have seen. An option for those far from a dealer or whose stealer is excessively greedy.
 
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This is definitely on the list for me this Summer. Ill be doing it myself for sure. I got a "friend price" of $700 to have to done. Ill take the $275 for the parts and do it myself. I'll be happier with the end result I'm sure. :art:
 
Lizard333 said:
Toyota Timing Belt Water Pump Kit Genuine Parts 4 Runner Truck 3 4L V6 | eBay

I have a 98, and I just bought this. All parts are OEM, and they all worked perfect. Cheapest complete kit I found. Cheaper than Camelback Toyota.

Should be a good start.....
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+1. That's the one I got too. I think a lot of people re-use the crank bolt but the FSM says it's not re-usable so I got a new one. I also got a timing cover gasket and dip stick o-ring based on this write-up.
 
Finally I finished today. Took me two and a half days of working non stop. Rounded off a bolt on the AC compressor, the one thats hardest to reach. Had go buy special sockets to get a grip on it and I did, broke the head off of it, pulled the compressor back and cut it with a hand saw to get it off. Now my compressor is held by only three bolts... I was replacing my AC condenser anyway so I had lots of room to work with which helped out a lot. My alternator tensioner was really rusted but I was able to get a impact on it from the wheel well and got it to move. Otherwise everything went fine. Also had a coolant leak from the hose that connects to the water pump on the side. I was able to put some more tension on the clamp with my long screw driver and it stopped. I'm really exhausted at this point but satisfied with everything working out since it was my first time doing this kind of thing. Also installed my hayden tranny cooler while I was at it. Really easy to get at the hoses once everything is apart. The weird thing was that the timing belt itself was new but everything else was never replaced. The pulleys were old and had bad bearings on them and the water pump had a leak. I wonder why somebody would go through all the trouble and not replace everything...
 
Congrats! Thanks for the update

Aelfwine said:
I wonder why somebody would go through all the trouble and not replace everything...
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I have two theories. One is while consumers typically know to have the timing belt (and usually water pump) done, most don't know about all the other pulleys, tensioners, seals, etc. so it might seem a mechanic is ripping you off if he tries to "sell" you on doing all the other stuff so maybe they don't even bother. Another theory is that if a shop does everything separate, that's more $$$ profit! On the Carfax for my truck, the PO had the timing belt done at the dealer, then the water pump a short time after at the same dealer. What a waste.
 
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