tundra serpentine belt

[twotundras]

I just changed the serpentine belt on my 2000 Tundra. It had been squealing for a long time and I finally got around to doing it. Mine cost me about $28.00 from Advance Auto Parts. My local Toyota dealer wanted around $50.00 for one. Its a fairly easy job to do but frustrating if you try and do it yourself. Get someone to help by pulling on the tensioner (I used a breaker bar with a 14mm socket and short extension) while you thread the belt on. You may be able to replace it without doing this, but I removed the bottom plate so that it was easier to thread the belt on the pulleys from underneath. The pulleys are hard to reach from above and the belt wants to keep slipping off. There is a diagram of how the belt goes on just above the drivers side headlight. Make sure the last pulley you slip the belt over is one of the smooth ones, without the ribs. My truck no longer squeals anymore!

[cubic22]

I am at 60k with my 2002 should I change it out or wait until mine gets to your mileage. BTW what is your mileage?

I think I need to replace my spark plugs and fuel filter but I didn't know about my belt.

[Mdecsh]

Hello to all you serpentine belt experts. After reading all the messages, I finally went to work replacing the squeeky belt on my 2003 Tundra. The replacement took about 20 minutes and was relatively easy. I have a few clarifications to pass along so that those of you are somewhat mechanicaly challanged like me will be able to replace your belt too.
First; to loosen the belts you have to know where the belt tensioner is. It's the one on the diagram that notes that it has a left hand thread. Using a breaker bar and 14mm socket, turn the bolt counter clockwise until it hits a stop. Don't muscle it as it will only turn about 20 degrees or so. Then start the belt removal. This will take a total time of 30 seconds. Next; remove the breaker bar and start threading the new belt and make sure it's a Goodyear Gatorback. They are available at AutoZone for about $25. For the next 19 1/2 minutes, you will be struggling to get the belt routed correctly. Follow the diagram on the decal located on the right front side of the engine compartment. If the diagram is missing or illegible, make your own diagram by following the routing before removing the old belt. Route the belt so that the last 2 pullys to be hooked up are the one on the lower drivers side and the smooth pully that connects to the fan. From beneath the car, reattach the breaker bar and turn it counterclockwise as far as it will go. If you are by yourself, hook a strap the the end of the breaker bar and lash it to the frame. This way the tensioner is fully retracted, allowing you to route the belt first over the lower pully on the drivers side. Do this from under the engine. Next; from the top of the engine, start sliding the pully over the pully connected to the fan. This will be hard, but by turning the pully by hand, the belt will slide on nicely. Next: check to make sure the belt is correctly positioned on all the pullys and if all looks well, release the breaker bar and the belt will tighten up. You are done. Take a drive down the street and notice that people no longer look at you as if you are a disgrace to the automotive industry.
Thanks to all of you that helped me get this done.
Marc

[chulajuana]

Finally got around to replacing the factory serpentine belt on my '03 Tundra Stepside with 54K miles. The new belt is a Goodyear Gatorback I had to order over the internet for $45 because AutoZone didn't have one, but it was worth it. No more belt squeal. Did the job myself in about 15 minutes with some difficulty, but nothing insurmountable. I really helps to swear at the belt a little. A third hand would have been useful too.

[insaneenergy]

If you replace the belt and continue to have squeeling issues try loosening the A/C compressor bolts and retighten them in the correct order. This is a common issue on the 1st gen Tundra/Sequoia.

Welcome to My Vemma Site

[digitalbudda]

Thanks for the info; I managed to change my belt in less than 10 minutes!
I started with the lowest two pulleys and worked my way up but left the belt off of the very smallest pulley located top-center. Using a torque wrench with the 14MM socket worked great too. The wrench allowed me to loosen the tension and after I lodged the bar/wrench against the water line I could let go. It kept the tension off to allow both hands to thread the belt on. With only the remaining pulley on top left to thread, I pulled hard on the wrench and was able to thread the last pulley.
Thanks again for the great tip!

Originally Posted by twotundras

I just changed the serpentine belt on my 2000 Tundra. It had been squealing for a long time and I finally got around to doing it. Mine cost me about $28.00 from Advance Auto Parts. My local Toyota dealer wanted around $50.00 for one. Its a fairly easy job to do but frustrating if you try and do it yourself. Get someone to help by pulling on the tensioner (I used a breaker bar with a 14mm socket and short extension) while you thread the belt on. You may be able to replace it without doing this, but I removed the bottom plate so that it was easier to thread the belt on the pulleys from underneath. The pulleys are hard to reach from above and the belt wants to keep slipping off. There is a diagram of how the belt goes on just above the drivers side headlight. Make sure the last pulley you slip the belt over is one of the smooth ones, without the ribs. My truck no longer squeals anymore!

[RamItOne]

Sometimes those belts can be frustrating. Glad yall got em in. But how the heck is this in the Texas region section?

[muvico]

mine 2003 serp. belt did squeak, i replaced belt a year and 1/2 ago(oem belt). I guess humid weather and rain has something to do with it. I replaced with new one and it fixed the problem.(factory one belt) Next time ill use gatorback.

[Sephirothjx2]

Originally Posted by RamItOne

Sometimes those belts can be frustrating. Glad yall got em in. But how the heck is this in the Texas region section?

Good Question.
Figures it'd be better off in a DIY section or maint. section.