timing belt question

[bowyer2002]

My '01 Tacoma Double cab 4X4 V6 3.4L has 105K and I am considering replacing the timing belt myself. I am pretty mechanically inclined, I've built engines, designed & installed my own 3" lift, weld, fabricate, etc. However, I would like to know if there is a manual or posting regarding this so I don'e screw up my engine! Also, if anyone could include how much time it takes to do this it would be appreciated since this is my Daily Driver and I need to schedule the work to minimize the down time and get realistic time expectations - I am estimating 6 hours for me to do it.
Thanks for your input.

[haireball]

I have done it on my 3.4l at 65k, my problem was the idler bearings for the timing belt were full of mud and not working so well. Anyways it is pretty easy if you follow the manual. I also replaced my waterpump since i was that far in. If you get the timing belt from toyota it is marked where to line up the two cams and crankshaft, it helped alot. I think it took less than 6 hours to do.I think i struggled with the compressor at first then i realized that you can remove the bolts easiest thru the pass front tire well if you pull the flap off/loose.

The manual is http://fsm.afraid.org/

But I have not been able to get it to work the past two week, i really wanted to print the whole thing off, cause i knew it would disappear someday, but i didn't and it seems to be gone. I might have those in the garage, if a do i will scan them and post them tomorrow.

[bowyer2002]

Thanks a lot for your help. The link didn't work for me either. I plan on doing this belt & water pump this weekend since it is 10 degrees F here today and will be 40F Sat!

Where did you get a FSM anyway? Or did you just use the link until it went kaput?

[bowyer2002]

After some searching I did run across a link I would use in conjunction with any other info you (or anyone else) might provide. In case anyone else needs the same type info, I found it at: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timing_belt/

[haireball]

yeah someone found the FSM webpage, it was awesome while it worked.

That like will give you a good idea what you are getting into, the crankpulley can be pulled with any good puller, dont' go crazy on stupid stuff, it wasn't as hard as they make it

[bowyer2002]

Last weekend I finally took the time to do the timing belt, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, water pump, and belts on my 3.4L V6. The dealership wanted $800+ for this work! I saved about $500 doing it myself. At 107K the belt was pretty slack and the water pump was leaking too!

This is VERY different from the 3.0L V6!

The http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timing_belt/ post was very helpful however, there are some things that i found on another post that were helpful in getting this timing belt changed out, some items i would recommend are:

1) BUY the $40.00 (est) TIMING BELT TENSIONER COMPRESSOR TOOL (SNAP ON PART #YA9730) This would have saved me about 4 hours of work removing & reinstalling the A/C compressor & bracket and some busted knuckles!
2) Have the crank shaft holding tool (fabricated out of 5"x5" plate & sq tubing (see link for details & dimensions)) PRE-FABRICATED and set aside before you go tearing into your engine. ALSO, do NOT use drill bits as shown on the link pictures - they are too brittle and will FAIL (break) use some 2" or 3"L 3/8"dia grade 8 bolts instead. I used my hi-lift handle on my 1/2" drive ratchet to un-torque and re-torque the 200 ft lb crankshaft nut. leverage is your friend!
3) Use a piece of cardboard to protect the back side of the radiator. I didn't, and mine got a little beat up by the tools , fan, etc. during this project.
4) If you don't already have them, now would be a good time to buy some ratcheting box-end wrenches - they saved time and fitted in places my ratchets and sockets couldn't have!
5) Just FYI the crank pulley is also the harmonic balancer, so i bought a crank puller (that didn't work for this application) THEN bought a harmonic balancer puller, that worked.

I hope this helps anyone else doing this project. If I had the Snap-On tool and my crank-shaft holding tool BEFORE starting this project it would have taken me about 6-7 hrs to get this done. But, without them being fabricated ahead of time it took me about 14hrs and a lot of aggravation, cussing and headache!

PS Just got back from a 600 mile maiden voyage with all the newly installed parts, no leaks, etc. A successful project!

Thanks for everyone's help!

[haireball]

I put the tensioner in a vise to make it compress and put a allen wrench in to hold it while I installed the belt, that is what the FSM said to do.

Good Job though, it wasn't tough, just time consuming

[bowyer2002]

Good point!
I forgot to add that after the tensioner is off the block(which is the hard part) the tensioner can be easily compressed and held in a retracted position with a 1.5-2.0mm allen wrench. As you stated haireball, not tough just time consuming. Still - that snap-on tool would have saved me some time though!