Timing Belt Update

[Jetfixer]

Well I did it. It's not really that bad of a job, but for an aluminum engine I found everything tremendously overtorqued. I know that mainly it's from work-hardening, but I thought for sure I had pulled some threads on a couple of bolts, especially the engine mounts. Let me warn any of you who wants to change their own timing belt (on the 1mzfe at least), good luck getting the crankshaft pulley bolt out. I tried 3 air guns including a 200 psi Snap-On and they didn't even bother it. Finally I had a friend come over and hold a 4 foot prybar on the ring gear while I used a 2 foot breaker bar WITH the handle of my floor jack on it for leverage. Using those 6 ft of oomph, it still took all I had to break that bolt loose and I was picking my buddy up off the ground. And to think that the torque for re-install is 159 ft/lbs. Anyways, don't even think about changing that belt without also changing your water pump, it's driven by the timing belt and you dont want to have to go back in there in a few thousand miles if the pump fails. I bought Toyota original timing belt, idler, tensioner and water pump online from drivewire for $200 including shipping. Factoring in the cost of new power steering and alternator belts, antifreeze, oil & filter and case of Corona for proper lubrication of self and friend, I figure I spent less than $275 on the whole job. My 99 SLEV6 has 81K on it. The removed belt probably would have gone to 100k easily, but I bought the car with 62k on it and had no idea of how it had been treated. Preventive maintenance is always cheaper than repairs. I know this belt will last over 100k miles. There are a couple of shortcuts the book doesn't mention, if anyone is going to do this and wants help, email me.

[Mudd]

Very nice. I'm planning on doing mine come summer time. Did you replace all of the tensioners and seals too, while you were in there?

[Mole]

nice expirence!

im sure members on this board would like a step by step procedure in the DIY forum.

[Stock Solara SEV6]

I only have 10k miles on mine, so I get to wait awhile to do the belt. I did change one a few years ago on my SHO and had a similar issue with the crank bolt. I finally got it off after purchasing a new impact wrench as well as being sure not to use any extensions, just the socket. You loose a lot of power through the slop in the extensions.

After going through all that, I found a tip on how to remove the crank bolts. I have not tried this (and it sounds kind of scary). The method is to disconnect your ignition, place a breaker bar with a socket on the crank bolt, make sure the breaker bar is in good contact with the floor, then turn the key and crank the engine over. Make sure you know the direction the engine cranks so you don't toss the breaker bar!

[Mole]

i dont really favor that method much.

1. the sudden impact and force can snap the bolt.
2. you would put some stress on the crank.

but if it works for you, then by all means go for it

[DavPak]

Preventive maintenance is always cheaper than repairs.

usually true, but in this case since the engine is non-interference, it wouldn't matter.

BTW, toyota water pumps usually go 120K easy without leaking. but in your case you did it yourself and you were right there, why not do it, right?!!

good job, congrats.

[Jetfixer]

I would never dream of using the "crank it with starter" method of try to loosen the crank pulley bolt. You could easily damage the starter or round off the bolt if the socket slipped. In fact, it's not recommended to even use an air gun like I tried. Steady pressure works best and is safest. As far as the 1mzfe not being an interference engine, I still think preventive maintenance is cheaper than a towing bill.

[offthahook]

Preventive maintenance is always cheaper than repairs.

usually true, but in this case since the engine is non-interference, it wouldn't matter.

BTW, toyota water pumps usually go 120K easy without leaking. but in your case you did it yourself and you were right there, why not do it, right?!!

good job, congrats.

True and true. I have 70K on mine and I'm gonna do like jetfixer and get it all hooked up in one fall swoop as well. I didn't get a tensioner or anything else because the parts guy just suggested a water pump/V belts while I'm in there. He said there is no kit from Toyota for a timing replacement-- just do the external belts and WP, too. Eventually, the timing belt will have to be replaced. The parts and labor are only going up. So if you're keeping your car for awhile, why not do it at 70 or 80K? They are non intereference engines, but piece of mind is priceless. Plus, we all know Murphy would come through on this one. That belt would snap in a freeway jam on a cold day when you were 100 miles form home and had an appt. On a Saturday even... I'm doing the thermostat and possibly hoses as well.

Jetfixer-- Did you replace the timing cover gaskets or were they reusable?? I'm trying to anticipate what little rubber parts might need replaced as they are pulled off! The three belts, water pump cost me $131 from Conicelli Toyota.

[Jetfixer]

I did get a complete kit of genuine parts that included the tensioner pulley, the idler pulley, and the timing belt. Another kit had the water pump & it's gasket. Keep in mind the actual tensioner is the external plunger. As long as that has no evidence of oil leakage and you cannot move it by hand, you can reuse it. Be advised that it takes about 2000 lbs. of force to "reload" it. I did mine in a 6 inch bench vise. (Do not turn the tensioner upside down, ever) When you get it pushed back into the housing, you insert a small hex key or drill bit through an alignment hole to hold it until you bolt it up and then like a grenade, you pull the pin! I did not replace the timing belt cover gaskets. They were in excellent shape, but I did tear one a little reinstalling it. These are just dust seals, not oil seals, so I pushed a little RTV in by finger afterwards.

[offthahook]

I did get a complete kit of genuine parts that included the tensioner pulley, the idler pulley, and the timing belt. Another kit had the water pump & it's gasket. Keep in mind the actual tensioner is the external plunger. As long as that has no evidence of oil leakage and you cannot move it by hand, you can reuse it. Be advised that it takes about 2000 lbs. of force to "reload" it. I did mine in a 6 inch bench vise. (Do not turn the tensioner upside down, ever) When you get it pushed back into the housing, you insert a small hex key or drill bit through an alignment hole to hold it until you bolt it up and then like a grenade, you pull the pin! I did not replace the timing belt cover gaskets. They were in excellent shape, but I did tear one a little reinstalling it. These are just dust seals, not oil seals, so I pushed a little RTV in by finger afterwards.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to assume my tensioner and and idler pulleys are good. If they aren't, I'm DEFINITELY having them replaced as well. Same with gaskets, too. Any other info. that you can think of for the job? I'm sure this will end up in the tutorials section because it is hella helpful to those of us hitting 75-100K on the Solaras.

EDIT-- Just got back from talking with the service mgr. at Toyota. Here's his take. Tensioners RARELY, if ever, need replaced on the the first or second timing belt change. They spin them to see if they're good and they almost always are (like 99.9%). He said the water pump is usually good as well, but they suggest it to be replaced with the belt. He said the valves never need adjusted unless the head is pulled off. That's cool because my Honda seems to need that about every 25K. Honda says 15K even. So basically, if your Solara has been even minimally maintained and under 100K, you shouldn't need a tensioner.