Hello,

I'm new to this forum and appreciate everyones feedback. I have a 96 Toyota Tacoma xtra cab, 3.4L 4x4. The engine has 3 belts (A/C, P/S and Alt) which are all cracked and worn. I need to replace them and would prefer to do it myself but have not done so in the past. Any tips? Is OEM best? Any feedback on Goodyear Gatorback? Is there anything I should look out for? It seems pretty straight forward but just want to be sure. Thanks!

 

Welcome to Yota Tech.... i would stick with oem

 

All 4 of my Toyotas have factory belts....the cost is worth it in assurance and peace of mind, as well as quality and GAURUNTEED fit!

Im turned off by aftermarket stuff that fits "most of the way". If its not 100%, its not on my Toyota.

 

I use OEM belts but there is no reason why Goodyear, Gates (if I was going to use aftermarket, I'd use Gates) and a host of other makers won't last a reasonable amount of time as well. The thing about going to the dealer is that your alot less likely to get the wrong size belt.....if you do aftermarket, just be sure to bring your old belts in to match sizes.

 

Thanks To All for reply. I agree on the OEM. just wanted to be sure.

Has anyone changed their own belts? Is it pretty straight forward? it's funny..i've never had to before and this is my 2nd toyota...i've done plenty of other stuff...head gasket on an 85', O2 sensors etc...But my 96 is just a champ. I had the dealer replace timing belt and water pump at 110K though. It's the original belts I think too with 132k unreal!

Any tips on the actual changing of them would be great. Thanks

 

I changed my belts with the help of another forum member here. I used Gates belts. It was both of our first time doing it but it wasnt all that bad. You have to remove the skid plate which is a pain.

 

After getting the skid plate off the AC belt is the simplest to swap of the 3. For the power steering belt I have found that taking the airbox out makes life a lot better.

Also, when doing the AC belt, you might want to spend the $30 on a new AC tensioner pulley. I swapped mine out this past weekend and it eliminated a lot of strange noises I was hearing under the hood. For the record I got an aftermarket one and goodyear belts.

 

stick OEM the napa PS belt wouldn't fit my 98 taco

 

Excellent, skid plate...check. And, yes I was going to get an new pulley and a new alternator while i'm in there. ok...last question.

Do I have to mess with the tensioning of the belts at all or should it just be as easy as replacing them?

 

Yes, you do. The only way to get the belts off is to loosen the various tension adjustment items, such as the idler pulley and alternator for example. Or you could just cut them off like me, but that wont solve the issue of getting the new ones on properly.

Make note of the tension of the old belts (hopefully it is decent) and aim to get the new belts to a similar setting. Once you get the new belts where you think they should be (assuming you don't have a gauge to measure them with), start the engine, let it run, then shut it down and recheck the tension on each belt.

Allow a few hours to do all this since you have never done it. It wouldn't hurt to have someone there to supervise you either.

 

off topic: any reason why toyota didnt do a serpentine belt? and are there retrofit kits around? the serp. on my friend's ranger and my dad's superduty v10 are awesome. 10 minutes to swap one out.

on topic, ive heard really great things about gatorbacks, but none concerning this 5vz-fe. cant go wrong with OEM

 

Serpentine belts are really easy to change most of the time, but it is interesting to note that most of the imports have seperate belts for each ascessory while domestic vehicles usually have the serpentine belt system. My only guess as to why that would be is that if the serpentine belt goes down you lose everything (PS, Alt, AC, sometimes WP, etc).

 

How many miles on the truck? Might be a good time to replace the timing belt as well and check the water pump.

 

I've got 132K. I replaced the timing belt and water pump at 110K. I had the dealer do it as they offered me a decent price + i've never done it before and did not want to mess with the timing. Figured the other belts are easier so I would give it a go and save myself $100 in labor charges.

off topic. I have to say that MTL 4runner has a very good point. if the serp belt goes, you loose it all. I just sold my fiance's 2001 Ranger....after 1 1/2 months finally....good bye to that time bomb.

Thanks everyone for you advice. Great forum.

 

knock on wood, i lost the alt and ps belts tonight, luckly i was about 100-150 yards away from the house when the engine finally died, uphill. so i coasted into the driveway. they blew a few minutes back and i was able to limp home on what i had on the battery. didnt want to have to be towed a tenth of a mile!

so looks like im off to replace all the belts. none of the stores in town had any in stock that were open, namely pep boys, auto zone, and kragen. dealer was already closed.

ill be off to the dealer to replace them this weekend. what really sucks is i move into my dorm tomorrow. which ill have to catch a ride with a friend now, and just move in with clothes and sheets. after i moved in i was going to pick up some parts from francr, looks like that is now foobar.

take this as a lesson, replace before they split. i looked at them about a month ago, and noticed they needed to be replaced, but kinda forgot about it while i was working. ohwell. no other damage than missing belts. and sorry to resurect a 5 day old thread.

 

ok, finally found some time to replace the belts. bought 3 from the dealer, one for each. got the battery on the recharger too, so it should be all ready to fire up when im done with this.

now ive searched everywhere for a damn guide on how to do this and cant find one. the manual i downloaded from the toyota service site, i dont think i downloaded right, as i cant find it in there either (anyone know where specifically it is in that?)

from what ive read the haynes book is no help, so there is no point in me spending nearly 20 on that.

any guides you guys know? or a quick writeup you can provide me? im kinda lost...

questions i have:
-do i need to drain the coolant?
-how is tentioning controlled for each? (for example, the alternator has a bolt up top, and one below on a slide with a bolt), do i just pull it as tight as i possibly can and then tighten it down? or is there some other way to tention?
-should i just slip the belts around the fan blades, or is there a better way?

edited to make it more clear what i was asking...


thanks guys, the idea of import engines is new to me, so im a bit confused on some of this stuff.

thanks!!!! really appreciate it and you guys are awesome!!!

 

There is a tensioning pulley for each of the belts. It will look like a pulley that is sitting there doing nothing. Just loosen the bolt that is pressing onto the bolt for those and move the pulley in the direction that makes it easier to place the belts in their place by turning the tensioner pulley bolt (not as complicated as it sounds). Once you have the belts on turn the bolt on the tensioning pulley to tighten the belt up. Once you have it where you want it tighten the device on the back of that bolt and you are set.

One thing that might make it a little easier to slip the belts on is to remove the fan. It is a very simple to take the bolts off from it and just put them back on when you are finished.

Edit: No, you do not need to drain the coolant, or any other fluids for that matter.

 

thanks, i didnt get a chance to do it this weekend (had to come back to school here and start the homework!!!)

i was rummaging thru the mechanics tools that my dad has from his days of working on cars (including a 3.slow) and found a tentioner (basically a turn buckle with )( ends to touch the pulleys. so that will help greatly. guess im doing it next weekend.

thanks for your help. maybe ill do a writeup just so its outthere for noobs like me!

 

Please do, i'll be needing to do this soon as well!

 

Funny how this comes up now, I just bought the belts to replace the ones on my 3.0. I too would appreciate some pics or write up on changing these out, since I've never done this on an import before (serpentine only). Thanks for the help guys.