So, I've finally gotten around to changing the belts on the 4runner. The last few vehicles I've had have had one serpentine belt with a belt tensioner. With our engines (6 cyclinder), I haven't taken much of a look yet, but are there automatic tensioners, or to I need to release tension on the alternator like the older engines I've worked with?

 

No clue. How about a bump?

 

I am at the same stage to get my belts changed. I'm at 70k miles now, so that means timing belt change? I've called a couple of places here in town, and the stealership wants $265 for the timing belt and another place wanted $500?!



Is changing the timing belt that difficult to do or is it one of those maintenance jobs that the everyday person gets intimidated by the task and they'll pay anything to get it done?

 

The timing belt is a pretty burly job on our engines, so most people just pay to have it done, usually put a new water pump on at the same time since everything is apart.

Looked at the belts yesterday, alternator can be adjusted to pull that belt off, but not sure about the power steering and AC belt? Any help? Bueller?

 

I've changed the belts on my 4Runner. There are no auto tensioners, so you will need to manually relieve tension with the screws. One of the tension screws is hard to get at from the engine bay becuase access is limited by a hard AC line and there is absolutey no room to swing a wrench. I struggled with that one because it was deep down and the TJM was jammed in my gut while streching to get it. One day later I noticed that the bolt was in plain view from the passeger side wheel well. Doh!! I also had to remove my fan clutch assembly to make more room and I remember taking the fan radiator shroud off too. Actually, I think you NEED to remove the fan in order to get the belts over it.
I strongly recommend buying the 3 replacement belts from Toyota. The previous owner had aftermarket belts on and they were making lots of noise. When I removed them and compared them to the Toyota belts, the difference in quality was clear. The Toyota belts were made with felt material embedded in the rubber of the contact/pulley side. This solved my noisy belt issues. Also in the past I've found that aftermarket belts, such as Gates, tend to stretch a bit and require periodic additonal tensioning. This is very annoying. The Toyota belts were a one shot deal. I tensioned them on the install and they have been flawless ever since. I think they cost the same as aftermarket belts too, so it's a no brainer.

 

timing belts usually need changing at 100K i thought?

 

Drop the skid plate to access the AC tensioner, PS tensioner can be accessed the same way or from the passenger side of the engine.

 

Thanks guys, will hopefully tackle this project on Sunday!