Important Information About Timing Belt Tensioners.

[pjorek Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close pjorek]

Thanks Roo for the heads up. What was the average milage on the vehicles that had this? Any particular year?

[Max Member Find all posts View Profile Close Max]

Thanks Roo, good on ya trying to save us some grief again.

2001 posts...a lot of those have been taking your time to help us out for no personal gain...or beating off numpties having a cheap shot at you for sharing your experience. Glad you've got a thick skin and stick around to enlighten less knowledgeable folk like myself

[baggs71 Inactive member. Find all posts View Profile Close baggs71]

Thanks Roo, good on ya trying to save us some grief again.

2001 posts...a lot of those have been taking your time to help us out for no personal gain...or beating off numpties having a cheap shot at you for sharing your experience. Glad you've got a thick skin and stick around to enlighten less knowledgeable folk like myself

X2.................

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

I change it because it's cheap insurance against a failure and not a waste of money as has been suggested elsewhere on the forum. If anyone just HAS to reuse the hydraulic tensioner, don't put it in the 20T shop press to push back the rod as suggested in the shop manual. I'm guessing that the tensioner is filled with some sort of high viscosity silicone compound that resists the force of the belt. It needs a steady slow push not brute force. If you push it back with the press I reckon there is a chance to blow out the seal and cause a failure. I thought about it, then put it on the drill press and used the chuck to push it sloowwwly back in (this is the old one which I keep as a spare). You only need to rest your hand on the handle of the press and it will go in without much resistance if you take it steady.
cheers Steve

[gxl_d4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxl_d4d]

I'm coming up to 150 000km and a belt change.

Anyone used these kits:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOYOTA-HI...item4d0a4ecf12

$150 for the entire kit. Not sure if the seals need changing with the belt or only when they leak.

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

I'm coming up to 150 000km and a belt change.

Anyone used these kits:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOYOTA-HI...item4d0a4ecf12

$150 for the entire kit. Not sure if the seals need changing with the belt or only when they leak.

I actually just bought one from this seller, it appears legit, all good brands as specified, tensioner looks like the real thing and the seals are in Toyota sealed bags. See http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...005-120-1KZ-TE for further opinions.
cheers
Steve

[sandman Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandman]

Thanks Roo, really appreciate your advice. My timing belt is going to get done in 5000km so reading up on how its done. What is the best way to release the initial tension on the pulley ? Do you use a pinch bar or a long screwdriver to compress the tensioner ? I've noted folks have just undone the 2 tensioner screws but I dont understand why you would undo them when the whole unit is under tension, good way to stuff the end of the threads or have the screws and tensioner go flying....

What say ye ???

TA :-) Pete

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

I change it because it's cheap insurance against a failure and not a waste of money as has been suggested elsewhere on the forum. If anyone just HAS to reuse the hydraulic tensioner, don't put it in the 20T shop press to push back the rod as suggested in the shop manual. I'm guessing that the tensioner is filled with some sort of high viscosity silicone compound that resists the force of the belt. It needs a steady slow push not brute force. If you push it back with the press I reckon there is a chance to blow out the seal and cause a failure. I thought about it, then put it on the drill press and used the chuck to push it sloowwwly back in (this is the old one which I keep as a spare). You only need to rest your hand on the handle of the press and it will go in without much resistance if you take it steady.
cheers Steve

Good point for people here to think about.

Thanks Roo, really appreciate your advice. My timing belt is going to get done in 5000km so reading up on how its done. What is the best way to release the initial tension on the pulley ? Do you use a pinch bar or a long screwdriver to compress the tensioner ? I've noted folks have just undone the 2 tensioner screws but I dont understand why you would undo them when the whole unit is under tension, good way to stuff the end of the threads or have the screws and tensioner go flying....

What say ye ???

TA :-) Pete

Good question, I carefully take out the 2 bolts, there's not that much pressure, nothing goes flying, no threads are ever damaged. I'm interested if there is any improvement on this.

Hey John, another good thread, Thankx for the pointer!

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

The way the tensioner works: it doesn't as much push out at the idler arm but more resists the push of the belt movement and prevent it from retracting the rod. Some designs use a simple sprung ball bearing on a ramped rod arrangement: as the tensioner extends the ball runs down the ramp and locks the rod from returning. My Nissan L6 motor has it; pain in the ar*e as you have to disassemble it to reset it. It basically only takes up the slack as required and I have never found any tensioner on any car/motorcycle that sprang out with any excessive force to it.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I haven't done a belt change myself on the Prado but on one of my other cars you rotated the engine backwards half a turn by hand and that compressed the spring so you could fit a pin in the tensioner that held the spring compressed. It looks as though there are holes in the Toyota tensioner to do the same. Then rotate the correct way again by hand until the timing marks line up and the tensioner and belt can be removed easily. The new tensioner already had a pin fitted and you simply removed that once it was all lined up. Then again rotated a couple of turns the right way by hand to set the tensioner and check the timing marks were still good.

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

I haven't done a belt change myself on the Prado but on one of my other cars you rotated the engine backwards half a turn by hand and that compressed the spring so you could fit a pin in the tensioner that held the spring compressed. It looks as though there are holes in the Toyota tensioner to do the same. Then rotate the correct way again by hand until the timing marks line up and the tensioner and belt can be removed easily. The new tensioner already had a pin fitted and you simply removed that once it was all lined up. Then again rotated a couple of turns the right way by hand to set the tensioner and check the timing marks were still good.

I don't think I would chance that on this donk, timing is critical; there is no room in the combustion chamber for any valve that is not meant to be there. Having reset the rod on this tensioner I don't see you being able to retract the rod in situ by any method; besides, it's only a ten minute job to R&R it anyway. The procedures mentioned on this thread are all from the engine service manual and you deviate from them at your peril.
cheers
Steve

[sandman Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandman]

Thanks guys for the input so far.. think taking the 2 screws out carefully will suffice :-)

I'm kicking myself though, I bought a super cheap 3/8 torque wrench to do the job and found I needed a smaller wrench for the tensioner bolts. So out I went and bought a Kincrome one to find a "Quality Assurance test certificate" in the unit....The SCA has nothing and the Kincrome one does....Not sure if I'll trust the SCA one now...who knows what its really doing at 35nm when tightening the pulley screw :-)

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

Thanks guys for the input so far.. think taking the 2 screws out carefully will suffice :-)

I'm kicking myself though, I bought a super cheap 3/8 torque wrench to do the job and found I needed a smaller wrench for the tensioner bolts. So out I went and bought a Kincrome one to find a "Quality Assurance test certificate" in the unit....The SCA has nothing and the Kincrome one does....Not sure if I'll trust the SCA one now...who knows what its really doing at 35nm when tightening the pulley screw :-)

Actually, you really need three: one about 120lb/in, the one you have to get to about 60lb/ft, and a 1/2" drive up to about 200lb/ft to cover hub nuts, suspension bolts and the like. I picked up Warren and Brown deflecting beam units off evilbay, expensive but they really will never need calibrating like the spring jobs do. They aren't that dear really when you can hand them down to the great, great, great..... grandkids.

[sandman Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandman]

Thanks Roo, its on a 120....Like you, always use high temp bearing grease on the screws, my old man taught me to do it....Going to use all new original parts to do the job, I'm just anal about this for teh timing belt. To save $50 to have something break and let the valves slap the piston, its just not worth it :-)

[sandman Member Find all posts View Profile Close sandman]

They aren't that dear really when you can hand them down to the great, great, great..... grandkids.

My dad has a Sidchrome deflecting unit, I grew up with that thing and I reckon one day he will give it to me but I've been waiting a bloody long time !!

I gave my son a Sidchrome set for his 18th birthday...Trust me the xbox360 has got 100 times more use that then spanners :-) One day he'll appreciate it :-)