Timing belt

[Logbear]

Yahoo!! Yea I was out working on the car at 1:00 AM. The rope down the spark plug hole worked great. The bolt came right off with a little effort and a breaker bar.

Then I did something dumb. I thought the pulley might come off easy too so I tapped it with a hammer and pried on it with a screwdriver. In doing so I took a small chip out of the pulley. Then I got wise and took off the plastic grill and the radiator fan and put a pulley puller on it and got the pulley off that way. It took quite a bit of cranking on the puller to get the pulley off but that sucker is off now.

The chip I took off the pulley is about 1/2 inch long and maybe 1/8 inch deep. I'm thinking if I make sure there's no rough edge left on the pulley to bother the drive belt it will be OK.

Any thoughts?

[takza]

I went so far as to use a hammer and a metal chisel to force the gear out enough to get the puller arms on it....surprisingly...the alum oil pump handled all that.

Next time I'll drill & tap 2 1/4-20 holes and pull it that way.

I think the crank gears...being smaller...wear after a lot of miles...I'm probably going to just replace mine next time.

You might get by if you dressed the edges down a little...if you have ANY kind of burr or upset metal where the belt rides...it wont last long.

[Chris]

Glad to hear you got the pulley off but too bad it busted. If you don't want to run the old pulley I've got an extra one you could have. When you install the pulley put some copper anti-sieze on the bore and key....that way it will come off easily the next time you need to pull it. The torque for the pulley bolt is 88-94 ft-lbs according to the 1983 FSM or87 ft-lbs according to the 1986 FSM.

[GTSSportCoupe]

Just a comment on pulling crank pulleys:

I spend time reading tech topics on quite a few Toyota forums. I hear many many people talking about how difficult it is for them to get their crank pulleys off.

This makes me wonder, because I have pulled lots of crank pulleys off of old high-mileage toyota engines and never had a problem. Many of the engines I have worked on were in rusty cars and/or were rusty themselves. So I assume the condition of the engines is the same as those others work on. I have pulled crank pulleys from at least 3 different 4ages, 2 different 3ACs, 2 5mges and 1 volvo B21.

I'll explain how I do it incase it helps someone out in the future: First I remove the crank pulley bolt. I then spray a little penetrating lubricant where the pulley meets the crank shaft. I then give the pulley a little wack from behind on each side with a hammer (this breaks the rust contact). The pulleys never slide right off right away. I just put one hand on one side of the pulley and my other hand on the other side, and I work it back and forth. Pull on one side and then the other. You can work it pretty rapidly. At first it doesnt look like its moving, then suddenly it gets really easy and comes right off.

Removing a crank pulley is sort of like installing an oil seal. You have to apply pressure to each side other wise it'll bind sideways. Many people think it is actually rusted on there when really it is just binding.

Hope this makes sense and helps someone in the future. Again, it has never failed for me.

[2wagons]

I too have dealt with the dreaded stuck pulley. On the "old"- old Tercel, RIP , I used a trick from a Honda Technician friend- a wooden rod in #1 cylinder, just feel the piston come up on the stroke. On the "new"-old Tercel, I used the “jam a wrench against a frame member and turn the engine over without starting it technique". It worked but I had to sit down a drink a beer to help calm nervous worries afterwards. just a note- The belt cover gasket had grown stiff with age and a small piece fell down into the crank pulley- unknown by me, so when I started it up, the piece jammed and broke the new belt , after much swearing, I replaced the gasket and belt. I hope I don’t have to do it for along time.

[Logbear]

Success!! The car runs again, and it runs good.

Chris, thanks for the offer of a new pulley. I have a couple of old engines laying around so if I need to I can pull one of those. I smoothed down the rough edges with a file so I think it will be alright. I think I'll carry a spare belt or two just in case though.

If I ever do this again, I'll be sure to get the radiator out, the radiator fan out and the front grill off before I do anything else. It's a lot easier to work in there with that stuff off.

There was a little concern about the 3AC being an "interference engine" and having a piston hitting a valve when the belt breaks. What I noticed was that when the cam isn't being held in a certain position by the belt (like when the belt is broken) it looks like all the valves are closed.

Thanks for all the support and advise. It really helped!

[takza]

Hey Logbear.........

How about a timing belt R&R writeup.....while you still remember all the details?

[takza]

Just a comment on pulling crank pulleys:

I spend time reading tech topics on quite a few Toyota forums. I hear many many people talking about how difficult it is for them to get their crank pulleys off.

This makes me wonder, because I have pulled lots of crank pulleys off of old high-mileage toyota engines and never had a problem.

I've only done 2 timing belts...both on Japanese cars. With one the gear could almost be pulled off by hand.

With the Tercel...it was seriously stuck. Used much penetrant....could barely even start to move it by hammering on a metal chisel as a wedge against the oil pump (a BIG NO-NO).

There are variations in OEM tolerances and engine conditions....I don't think people are exagerating when they say they have a problem.

I smeared a thin layer of moly grease on the crankshaft....hope it works for next time.

Like or not...the rad has to come out...or you will likely spend more time straightening the fins than it would take to just get it out.

[GTSSportCoupe]

There are variations in OEM tolerances and engine conditions....I don't think people are exagerating when they say they have a problem.

Guess I've just been unusually lucky... B)

(Generally I don't get good luck, it's usually a fight to the bitter end, but with crank pulleys, I have luck. )

[Logbear]

OK, here goes, it's pretty long winded. I wrote this for my own records for next time. It really was a pretty easy job even for a novice like me.

1) Drain and remove radiator. Remove radiator fan, front plastic grill, and air cleaner. The grill is just held on but 1 screw and 4 plastic clip things.
Don’t hesitate to get this stuff out of the way. It all comes out pretty quick.
2) Remove distributor cap so you can see what cylinder is in firing position.
3) Remove #1 spark plug. (You can remove them all and then the engine turns over easier with a ratchet on the crankshaft pulley bolt.)
4) Remove the top plastic timing belt cover. The top part will come off easy with the crankshaft pulley still on.
5) Remove valve cover. Remove the top plastic timing belt cover. The top part will come off easy with the crankshaft pulley still on. The lower part needs the crank pulley removed. With the valve cover off you can confirm that no valves are open and in danger of being hit by a piston coming up. If you have to or want to, you can rotate the camshaft with a socket on the camshaft bolt (14MM) and watch how the valves work.
6) Remove whatever drive belts you have. Remove the main crank outer pulley (4 bolts), and the water pump pulley (3 bolts) They come off pretty easy.
7) Rotate the engine with a socket (17MM on mine) on the crankshaft pulley until #1 piston is at it’s low point. (I poked a screwdriver in the sparkplug hole to tell when it was down). With the valve cover off you can also confirm that the cam is not turning, which assures you that the timing belt is indeed broken.
When #1 piston is at the low point stuff some small rope (I used ¼ inch nylon) into the sparkplug hole until it doesn’t want to go in anymore. I think I got about 3 or 4 feet in the hole.
9) Rotate the engine counterclockwise with the socket on the crank pulley bolt until the engine doesn’t rotate anymore.(The rope has bunched up the the cylinder and stopped the engine from turning) Now use a breaker bar on the ratchet and turn counterclockwise to loosen the bolt. (Yes, counterclockwise like romoving any normal bolt) I started to wonder if it had reverse threads since it was so hard to get off but it’s a normal bolt. When the bolt is loose, switch the ratchet and turn clockwise so the engine starts to turn so you can remove the rope.
10) When the bolt is out, use a pulley puller to get the pulley off. Don’t try to beat it with a hammer or pry on it like I did. I took a chip out of the pulley trying. There is just enough room in front of the pulley with the plastic grill out of the way to use a puller.
11) Remove the bottom plastic cover, and the timing belt guide.
12) Remove the idler pulley bolt, pulley and spring. Pay attention to how the spring hooks on.
13) Remove the offending belt.
14) From here follow the shop manual, that’s what I did. The manual is very good.
15) I used the rope method of holding the engine to torque the crank pulley.

I did have a problem when I was all finished. My car wouldn’t start. After checking everything, I ended up following the procedure for distributor removal and replacement. I think I screwed up and had the distributor pointing 180 deg off when I put the new belt on. Anyway, after the distributor R&R the car started and ran. And now it runs better than ever.

Tools: Screwdrivers, pliers, 3/8â€Â

[takza]

Hey...pretty good writeup...but you need to put it over in the repair guide section or no one will be able to find it....

I would have written one...but it's been too long since I did the job.

And that's one of the MAIN reasons I do the write ups...so I'll have details as to what I did and how to do it next time.

[Logbear]

I just put it in the repair section.

Thanks for the advise.

[hornett22]

i have chipped the pulleys to over the years.the best remedy i have come up with is to use a wire wheel along the chip.a drill or bench grinder mount.you'll see the difference in no time.as for getting the crank bolt off.long breaker bar resting on frame and turn the key.also as for getting the pulley off,i use two small prybars or two large flat head screwdrivers and walk it off.