10mm

Hey guys,
Thanks for everyone contributions. Ive been a long time lurker and have sponged a wealth of information in the meantime. Im currently in the process of rebuilding most of my 1995 toyota 4runner 3vze. I recently pulled off cleaned and painted the plenum, replaced all 1000 vacuum hoses, and dropped in new injectors. Everything went as smooth as possible. Figured while i was at it i would replace the timing belt and components as it was due. Here is where the saga begins. Pulled the front apart. Like a big dummy i pulled off fan pulley bracket before lining up timing marks. Not thinking much about it i proceeded to rotate crank to line everything up. Well of course belt slips everything gets out of whack. No problem though non interference engine just pull belt line up and voila. Replaced water pump, idler bearing, and tensioner pulley. Get belt back on. Put fan pulley bracket back on and pull tensioner pin. Rotate crank to check marks. Everything lines right up. Think all is good with the world and button it back up. Start it up burp coolant everything seems fine. After driving a day or two i notice a weird noise coming from what sounds like the driver cam. Almost like its a thumpng onto the teeth. Pull the cover notice slack under driver cam. Tensioner is fully depressed. I checked it when replacing but figured this was the culprit. Replace it rotate crank everything lines up. Button it back up after burping coolant and lettin it idle, i hear the noise again along with a squeak. Now im thinking bad idler bearing. Tried to replace it without pulling tensioner. Bad mistake all tension practically pushes idler out when bolts removed. Get two sockets and pull both cams inward to create slack while putting in idler. While it was tight i was able to get it in and bolted down. Rotate crank everything surprisingly lines up. Leave cover off and connect radiator hoses and refill. Startup and now belt is chirping on idler. Belt seems to be misaligned and has a little movement while rotating. Pull tensioner fan pulley adjust where belt rides on pulleys. Put everything back together and now no squeak but belt is rubbing leaving rubber toward back of idler pulley, Also seems like it is loud where it is feeding onto driver cam. Im kinda at a loss. Bout to pull belt back off and recheck if idler bearing is level. Maybe where i put the new one on with belt still in place it got slightly tilted due to tension. Also tensioner seems pretty depressed still. I feel slack is not staying on that side. Anyone have any suggestions? Im not looking forward to messing with it a 4th time.

scope103

Ya missed a few ....

I'm going to guess that you bent the axle bolt (shaft, timing belt idler) for the idler pulley. 13556-65010 (the good news: it's only $16) You won't be able to tell until you remove the timing cover. This time you'll remove the tensioner.

10mm

I had no clue you could replace only the shaft. Might as well. It is possible it was under quite a bit of tension when i put the new in.

scope103

Uh .... It's up to you, but I really discourage replacing parts without testing the old ones. Shouldn't be too hard to tell if your idler is leaning.

Here's where I got the price. https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/p/_...355665010.html You should always re-check the part using your exact vehicle specs. This dealer is in Florida, I've had good luck with them, but don't forget that they have to ship it to you (so if your brick-and-mortar dealer price isn't that much higher, make your call.)

10mm

True! It doesnt visually appear like it is but that would be the only reason i could think of for the rubber being left on the back portion of the idler.

10mm

So got the squeak fixed but now im back to my initial issue of the driver cam not meshing teeth properly. Turns out i tighten the idler bearing down a little crooked the second time. There is some room for idler to wiggle side to side even with bolts half threaded. Pulled outward to hold it straight on bolts and tightened it on down. Replaced belt and everything is lined up perfectly after 2 crank rotations.With the lack of confidence this go round i left the upper cover off to see if i could watch the issue. The truck runs extremely smooth but the sound of clacking teeth riding weird on the gear is nerve racking. After observing from all angles, the driver cam gear has a vibration to it. Although slightly it is just not spinning true. It is visually seated in key way and doesn't appear to be wallowed. I know when i did the timing belt the first time, when things got out of whack, i used the cam bolt to turn belt and even stupidly turned counter clockwise a few cranks. Is it possible the bolt is just a little loose? I did not remove the cams to change the seals as they were not leaking and didn't want to risk it. Should i just give it a few ugga duggas with the belt on to see if it fixes it. I dont have the SST to hold the cam. Maybe just a socket on the cover behind it trick will suffice? Im 98% sure that this gear is my problem just not positive how i should approach. Any suggestions?

scope103

If you have the valve cover off, there is a 27mm hex flat on the cam. You can put a wrench on that to resist turning force when tighten the cam bolt. I don't think you'd want to use an adjustable wrench (there isn't much room, and you don't want to be pushing the wrench against the aluminum head). You can get a 27mm wrench at Home Depot for not-much-money. I'm pretty sure a 1 1/16" will also work.

The cam sprockets don't have a key way. Instead, they are keyed to the cam with a "knock pin." The pin fits into a hole in the end of the cam, and then into a slot in the cam sprocket. If you clobber the cam sprocket you can actually bend the knock pin (ask me how I know). And that can mess up the slot in the sprocket.

10mm

Thanks for the insight scope. I think that is the route to go. Unfortunately i got the plenum and throttle body already back on. Pulling the throttle body should give me enough access to get the valve cover off. My luck if i just jam the cam with a socket itll end up destroying the knock pin.

scope103

Just so you know, the two cam sprockets are identical, but they are installed with different sides (flanges) facing out. If knock-pin trauma has messed up the slot in the sprocket, it will probably be limited to the "in-side." You can swap the two sprockets (turning them so the flanges are still on the correct side) and the "in-side" of the sprockets will be undamaged.

10mm

Thanks for info scope. You were dead on. Removed belt, pulled cam gears and inspected inner portion where knock pin contacts. Driver cam gear bolt was looser then should of been. Could tell there was a little bit of wigglin going on. Swap cam gears and torqued everything down. Its now running the best it ever has. Sucks it took 5 times to get it right. On a positive note i can now knock out a full timing belt job in right at 3 1/2 hours with no power tools.