Thrown belt-- field repair possible?

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

Hi guys, wondering if anyone can advise on this. Drove up Duck Creek Road to Lamington National Park, QLD, near end got the A/T overheat light, which didn't seem all that surprising, given the consistent steep.

Transmission cooled within 20 minutes (though reading the threads on the A/T overheat indicator, it seems that it may be the torque converter issue/bug, rather than a true overheat), drove the last few K's into the Park without incident, and thought I'd take a look under the hood to see if anything else was amiss . . . and found a thrown belt.

Any way to get this belt back on in the field? Didn't seem possible by hand, but I'm completely new to the Prado (3K KMs so far), so I'm probably missing something obvious.

Much obliged for any advice

Vehicle details:
2004 Prado GXL (120) Diesel
Dual batteries (ARB install)


image hosting


greenshot

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

A/C belt mate. 14mm & 16mm socket is what you need off the top of my head but could be wrong. only done mine once and was a while ago. You need to loosen pulley wheel and tensioner nuts. Its the smaller pulley, belt is sitting over in bottom picture. Tensioner nut is one on top

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

A/C belt mate. 14mm & 16mm socket is what you need off the top of my head but could be wrong. only done mine once and was a while ago. You need to loosen pulley wheel and tensioner nuts. Its the smaller pulley, belt is sitting over in bottom picture. Tensioner nut is one on top

Many thanks . . . don't have the tools up here with me . . . but don't need the AC to drive to get them :thumbsup:

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

mate get a shielas stocking a tie it around the pulleys and it may be worth a try...

[John Member Find all posts View Profile Close John]

Judging by the corrosion on the pulleys, it looks like the belt's been off for a little while, mate. Also looks like it's turned itself inside-out. If you do put it back on, might be a good idea to carry a spare just in case it fails completely.

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

Judging by the corrosion on the pulleys, it looks like the belt's been off for a little while, mate. Also looks like it's turned itself inside-out. If you do put it back on, might be a good idea to carry a spare just in case it fails completely.

Thanks, good points.

I'm going to replace. Bought the car used . . . was definitely on when I bought it a month ago (and RACV inspected), but the wear on the pulleys and on the belt itself suggest that it may have been off before.

Would definitely like to have A/C as we cross the NT . . .

Any recommendations for a mechanic in Brisbane area? I'd like to have someone check out the pulleys and tensioner alignment before turning West.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Simple job anyone can do that one.
As Zutta said 2 spanners is all that is needed.
I can't even remember the sizes, 14mm on the idler maybe bigger 12 or 13 on the adjuster.
Carry 10-12-13-14mm covers most of the vehicle. Plus a few bigger ones 15 to 19mm.

Nice old school one drew, well that usually works a bit for alternators & water pumps which are crucial.
Because of the high resistance of the compressor I'd guess that might not work.
My concern is why did it skip off? Seized compressor?

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

P.m ##########
He s the Brisbane pp expert Prado Toyota mechanic.

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

My concern is why did it skip off? Seized compressor?

Haven't used the A/C much so I can't say (bought it a month ago in Melbourne, checked out by RACV). Did some hard banging up and down in Condamine and then up Duck River Road. Was concerned that maybe a jolt did it, but that doesn't make much sense.

Thought maybe the tensioner didn't pull it taught, or the belt is stretched stretched. Belt itself looks a bit odd and abraded.

P.m ##########
He s the Brisbane pp expert Prado Toyota mechanic.

Thanks, will contact him.

Any problem just cutting the belt and taking it off for the drive down? Not particularly happy leaving it flopping around the engine compartment with stuff turning.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Sorry to say, belts don't get jolted off.

It may be old & stretched, common sort of problem.
Cut it and dump it! In he bin!
Don't leave it there.

In the pic it looks like new, I was thinking it was not tensioned or retensioned correctly.

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

P.m ##########
He s the Brisbane pp expert Prado Toyota mechanic.

Great suggestion!

Big thanks for that, and to ########## for helping out a newb . . . what he doesn't know about Prados ain't worth knowing.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Believe it or not, I'm always trying to help.
Glad your sorted.
Any suggestions what was wrong?
What was the solution?

[Crocodilian Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Crocodilian]

Believe it or not, I'm always trying to help.
Glad your sorted.
Any suggestions what was wrong?
What was the solution?

########## isn't impressed by the most aftermarket belts . . .

Solution was to get a genuine Toyota part (he also recommended Bosch, but what was on the car was neither Bosch nor Toyota/Mitsubishi) . . . we did a lot of other unrelated stuff to get ready for my trip up North.

[groeschel Member Find all posts View Profile Close groeschel]

mate get a shielas stocking a tie it around the pulleys and it may be worth a try...

Dont bother, that is a urban myth!
I tried it twice (different cars, different locations and yes, different stockings!) and the stockings slipped almost immediately.
Within a few minutes they melted away and created a mess around the pulleys.

May be it worked with the Nylons from the 50ies but not with anything you could get in the last 20 years.
Cheers
Michael