chadfo

I just replaced my serpentine belt and power steering belt today. I put a little over 102,000 miles on the originals. I would have replaced the belts before now but they looked ok and I didn't think about them often.

I went to Advance Auto first. I don't know why. I just did. They only had the serpentine belt in the computer. The guy behind the counter gave me some BS about the manufacturer holding patents on parts, etc. He would try to cross-reference to another belt if I could get the number from the belt. Also the serpentine belt was $34. I left and went straight to our brand new O'reilly's Auto Parts. They had both belts listed and the combined cost of both was $33.

Now for the fun part. As you may have seen in other posts the alternator has 2 bolts. 12mm for the upper and 14 mm for the lower. Those things are a bear to break free. Once the alternator was loose I pushed it back I slid the belt out. Then it was time to head under the car for the power steering belt. I jacked up the car on the passenger side and put a jack stand in place. Safety first. I removed the plastic underbody cover. There are 4 10mm bolts and 1 10mm nut in the middle. Now's where it really gets tricky. Both bolts are 14mm but the lower bolt is behind the pulley. You have to line up one of the holes of the pulley to get a ratchet in there. Also you have to have a newer more flat ratchet. My 20 yr old Craftsman wouldn't fit between the frame and the bolt. That bolt was also a bear to break free. I pulled out my 1/2 drive socket wrench for the upper bolt to get the extra length. Once those were loose I pulled the power steering pump towards the front of the car and removed the belt.

The really fun part is getting them back on with enough tension. Maybe I need more specialized tools but I managed. I used the largest flat blade screwdriver I have to get between the two plates the make up the lower bracket and apply pressure. Then I tightened the lower bolt and then the upper. I left the car lifted to put the serpentine belt on because there's not much maneuvering room at the top. I slid the belt down and over the alternator pulley and then went back under the car to get it around the other pulleys (put the belt on the main drive pulley last). Then I dropped the car down. I put the large screwdriver in the bracket behind the upper bolt per the instructions in the tech manual. It was a pain to get enough tension but I managed. I tightened the top bolt and then the bottom. Next I started the car then watched the belts to make sure everything was running smoothly and had no funny noises. I revved the engine a little to make sure nothing slipped. I turned on the AC and revved again. Then I turned the steering wheel to put pressue on the power steering pump. Everything was quiet so I jacked the car up again and put the underbody cover back on.

All in all it wasn't too bad if you like doing things yourself. It'll probably save about $100 or so not having the dealership change them.

xBHAWK

Good show Chadfo...

Advanced Auto is a rip-off, but they did have a Serpintine belt tool kit that they lent to me overnight. You pay about $30 for the tool and they refund your money when you return it.

A long thin bar with a 3/8 drive stub (does not ratchet) and shallow sockets to fit our bolts.

This made the job (replaced the pully with the lightweight 'Perrin pully') possible.

What is the life of our belts?

proctorsilex

i used a jack and a 1/2" drive ratchet to push up on the power steering unit while i tightened it in place.

i have an agency crank pulley though. my power steering belt was destroyed at the track last weekend, so i installed a new one a few days ago. today, at an autocross, the belt flipped over which disabled the power steering again. i think that i will be going back to the stock pulley unless you know of a way to get the power steering belt tighter, which could be the problem rather than the after market pulley.

chadfo

If your belt is flipping, I doubt it's a tension problem. Tension problems normally result in slipping, squeeling, and sometimes the belt jumping off the pulley. I think something is out of alignment and it's causing the belt to roll.

proctorsilex

are you saying that as a guess or from lots of experience with belts and pulleys?

i ask because i do not feel like switching back to the stock pulley unless i should.

i was fooling with the tension tonight. the best that i can get feels fairly tight, but i can still roll the belt until it is perpendicular, but no further. if that sounds tight enough, then i will switch back to stock because that is about how tight i had it before it flipped.

thanks

by the way, i was working on a speedo face that i want you to print, but i have not yet had a chance to finish it

bbizzle

oOo

chadfo

I'm saying that because I have experience with belts and drive systems in photocopiers and it's a normal scientific principle. If you apply more pressure to one side of an object the object will tend to turn.

When you installed the pulley did you make sure the pin on the driveshaft was aligned with the hole in the pulley (at least I hope there is a hole)? If you didn't, that pin could be keeping the pulley from sitting flush and therefore not be truly straight which will cause the belt to flip.

proctorsilex

chadfo, thanks. the pulley is in there correctly; pin and all. i was very aware of the pin because i replaced it with a drill bit (i have a supercharger).

the stock pulley goes back in tonight!

chadfo

Good luck! If I can get it off tomorrow, I'll be selling my Perrin pulley. It's been great to me.

evosky

bringing this back from the dead ....

so i've been having the power steering belt problem too. i have an agency power lightened crank pulley.
mine shredded at 50k, so i figured it was time for a replacement anyway. took it to the local pepboys to get replaced, and a day later, the belt jumped off.
so i'm taking it back to get put back on.

did you guys really solve the problem by putting the stock pulley back on? think it might just need to be tightened more than it was before?

proctorsilex

evosky, I gave up on the Agency pulley because I could not get it to operate properly. Granted, I typically drive cars harder than the average driver. Maybe if you get the power steering belt tightened by a dealer to factory spec and you _____ foot the car around, then all will be ok. Presumably, SOME people must be ok with the pulleys since the forums are not completely full of horror stories.

I have had horrible experiences because of the Agency pulley. It either shredded the belt or flipped it, so I put the stock pulley back on which grips FAR better. At the same tension with the same belt, there were no shredding or flipping problems with the stock pulley. Unfortunately, the fit was not as tight. Combine that with a supercharger and track driving and you have a recipe for the pulley coming off. I managed to get home. I put the Agency back on because my stock pulley was shot. The fit was even worse, so the Agency came off too. I got a stock pulley from a fellow SLer, which worked for several months until I tightened the serpentine belt to make it stop squealing; a week later, the pulley came off.

The crank and pulley are worn down now, so I had the pulley modified to have a tighter fit. I plan to weld it onto the crank on Thanksgiving, which should solve the problem.

To anybody having trouble with an aftermarket pulley: I do not know what to tell you to do if you are having problems. Maybe it is better to live without power steering?

To those considering a pulley: DO NOT DO IT. The way that Toyota designed the crank-pulley mating is rather weak, especially if the mating is done more than once (it was already done once at the factory so any mod is weakening the union). Maybe you will be lucky with the pulley, but you are playing Russian roulette if you replace the crank pulley. Make sure that whoever does it knows what they are doing.

There was a thread on here about installing a pulley. The op said to twist and force the pulley on with the belts in place (so you do not have to tighten them later). The first time installing the Agency, I followed that scheme which is completely WRONG and weakens the mating even more. Every other time I replaced the pulley with the belts loose and tightened them afterwards.

I cannot recommend against the crank pulley mod enough. Any benefit is tiny [I noticed none] and you take a chance at wrecking your crank shaft to the point that you cannot put on the stock pulley.

evosky

^^^ thanks for the insight.
he has a legitimate point and concern for the aftermarket pulleys out there.

i am running a completely NA setup, so maybe that will help in terms of not having the powersteering belt from flipping or throwing. my serpentine belt has been absolutely fine in the meanwhile. my AP pulley has been on for about 15K miles, and only now (when my engine was reaching the 50K mark) did the powersteering belt shred. however, i think that it was due for a replacement anyway. but, i am still a bit wary about how grippy the AP pulley is, but in the meantime, the pulley hasn't given me any problems with the belts in the years i've had it.

jct

i ditched my lightened pully and went back to stock and i couldn't feel the difference what so ever

xBHAWK

So, who knows the life expectancy of the XB's belts?

When does the manual say to replace them?

Perrin Pully working fine for me after 30,000 miles.

I had planed to replace both belts at 100,000 miles. Am I overdue?

evosky

i think the belts are due to replaced around 50-60k.
at least that's from what i've seen on service listings for the box. i'd say it's time for some new ones before 100K

365Motorwerks

I have never replaced the power steering one, I think it was about 100K or so until I got tired of squealing with the AC belt on cold mornings.

hangout

nice job

ako

Ugh just had mine replaced at 100k miles. Was a pain to do it myself.

OakToddler

How many belts does the 1st gen xb have?

Power steering belt

Alternator, water pump, and a/c

Serpentine?


Have you guys heard of Armormark belts? Anygood? I think its Prestone.

jct

its just two belts