What is the difficulty level of timing belt/water pump service?

[blairracd]

I'd like to save hundreds of dollars and do this myself, but I'm wondering how difficult of a job it is. My 4runner is not very rusty so I am not worried about super stuck bolts, but how extensive is this job?

I am aware of some of the write-ups but I'm looking for you guys' opinions and experiences on doing this.

Thank you.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I'd like to save hundreds of dollars and do this myself, but I'm wondering how difficult of a job it is. My 4runner is not very rusty so I am not worried about super stuck bolts, but how extensive is this job?

I am aware of some of the write-ups but I'm looking for you guys' opinions and experiences on doing this.

I just finished mine yesterday, so the memories are still fresh . It all depends on your skill level and tool collection (or access to tools). If you follow FSM or Tim's superb videos, there is nothing hard about it.

But it is a LOT of wrench spinning, and you should always be prepared for some surprises which may require tools you may not have on hand. For instance my crankshaft timing gear was rusted onto the crank (unlike Tim's which popped right off), so I had to go round up some bolts to use with a harmonic balancer kit.

I had all the other special tools on hand (harmonic balancer kit, crankshaft holder, camshaft holder, seal puller, seal installation kit, belt tension gauge) as well as tons of hand tools and cordless tools and impacts.

It still took about two days (6-7 hours a day, given the early sunset), but I also wanted to degrease the motor and paint all sorts of brackets and pulleys, so you can do it much faster. But if this is your first time doing this, I'd set aside two full days just in case things go wrong. And have a back up parts chaser vehicle .

I've done timing belts on my Lexus GS which was much harder given its VVTi technology, so this was easy in comparison.

But don't be fooled, this is not for the faint of heart or a beginner (don't mean to offend anyone, I just don't know your skill level), so this would not be a good first project to get nice and intimate with the 5VZ internals.

 

[m0ist]

I did mine in about 10hrs. Had some help with me which definitely made things easier. Was my first time, and I'd say it was not that hard just time consuming. There's a lot of information out there, so just read up and watch some videos for pointers.

 

[MOYotas]

Where in Missouri are you located?

 

[02gixxersix]

I'd like to save hundreds of dollars and do this myself, but I'm wondering how difficult of a job it is. My 4runner is not very rusty so I am not worried about super stuck bolts, but how extensive is this job?

I am aware of some of the write-ups but I'm looking for you guys' opinions and experiences on doing this.

Thank you.

It's not super difficult, just very tedious. The only special tool you really need is one to hold the crank pulley. I made mine, but ended up bumping the starter to remove it, because 3 1/2 feet of breaker bar was doing absolutely nothing. After the lift and timing belt job I bought a 60 gallon compressor that should actually be here today. You could cut the time in half easily with air tools, but I did it with hand tools (unfortunately).

 

[mtbtim]

I just finished mine yesterday, so the memories are still fresh . It all depends on your skill level and tool collection (or access to tools). If you follow FSM or Tim's superb videos, there is nothing hard about it.

But it is a LOT of wrench spinning, and you should always be prepared for some surprises which may require tools you may not have on hand. For instance my crankshaft timing gear was rusted onto the crank (unlike Tim's which popped right off), so I had to go round up some bolts to use with a harmonic balancer kit.

I had all the other special tools on hand (harmonic balancer kit, crankshaft holder, camshaft holder, seal puller, seal installation kit, belt tension gauge) as well as tons of hand tools and cordless tools and impacts.

It still took about two days (6-7 hours a day, given the early sunset), but I also wanted to degrease the motor and paint all sorts of brackets and pulleys, so you can do it much faster. But if this is your first time doing this, I'd set aside two full days just in case things go wrong. And have a back up parts chaser vehicle .

I've done timing belts on my Lexus GS which was much harder given its VVTi technology, so this was easy in comparison.

But don't be fooled, this is not for the faint of heart or a beginner (don't mean to offend anyone, I just don't know your skill level), so this would not be a good first project to get nice and intimate with the 5VZ internals.

I couldn't have said it better. OP, the special tools you'll need depends on how much you plan on replacing. If you don't plan on doing the camshaft seals, you don't necessarily need a special tool to hold the camshaft while you're trying to break free the bolts. But, that camshaft holding tool does come in handy when you need to make adjustments to the pulleys to get the timing marks lined up if they end up shifting on you. And, if you're not replacing the seals, you don't need a seal puller. You don't necessarily need a seal installation kit because you could tap them in the manual way with a big socket or piece of pipe that's the right diameter. A belt tension gauge is nice to have but you could do it the manual method by measuring the deflection by pushing and pulling on the belt. The crankshaft holding tool is a necessity whether you buy one like we used in the video or you make your own.

Watch the videos below and you'll know what's involved with this job. In Part 1 when you get to the part where I'm explaining the difficulty with getting the timing belt on, just skip that part. We show a much easier way to get the timing belt on in Part 2.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHC46ypHxWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mErd7xoBS9I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ajordan1975]

it's pretty easy. full day of work, but simple.