thesc

Hello all. So the on my way to work I heard a pop then my battery light came on. Found that the alternator belt had snapped. I grabbed a new belt on the way home and digging in to replace it. The alternator and power steering pump are loose, those were a breeze. However, when it came time to loosen the A/C pulley nut, this is where I am stuck. The tensioner bolt, the one on the bottom came loose fine. The nut that is located on the pulley itself however will not budge. I've tried a wrench and socket, both of which have literally twisted/rounded off the nut. I currently have it soaking in some PB Blaster to give it one last go a bit later, but I feel this is a dead effort. Any other tricks to getting this nut off? My last hope is to cut the belt and have no A/C for the time until I can find a solution as obviously the alternator belt is a must.

Thanks

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Not sure why your removing that nut but having no clue what your working on really does not help

Malcolm99

It is just a nut and bolt so you have a few options but replacement metric hardware will be required, first wire brush the hell out of it well spraying PB Blaster on it until fluid drips off clean and clear, then grind 2 flats on the nut to fit appropriate wrench with cheater bar, usually the heating from grinding alone will expand the nut and draw in the PB Blaster and be easier to remove. If that doesn't work continue grinding or dremeling the nut until it splits in 2, if you stop grinding the nut once it turns black before hitting the threads of the bolt you should be able to take a hammer and punch and hit it so that the nut loosens or cracks and it should come off and maybe save the bolt., or option # 3 is to simply cut the bolt in 2. Sounds like a good time to buy a new AC pulley and hardware, this pulley gets a lot of exposure to the elements as you noticed and is usually the source of noise after 15 years or so, a liberal amount of hi-temp anti seize should be used on all of your adjusters and this bolt after a good cleaning to make it easier next time around.

I would assume from the description and 3 belts it is a v6 5VZ-fe as this is the correct forum for this discussion, but i guess it could be the un common 4cylinder as well, but either way the method is the same and this nut and bolt holds the tension on the AC pulley once adjusted.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Some times these tensioner pulley nuts back off which means someone might have slathered it in thread locker, red instead of blue and it's going to need some heat. Be prepared to replace the bearing wether you torch it or have to cut it free as the seals will probably be shot with either method.

thesc

For someone oh so helpful and high and mighty you would think you would know why I was loosening that to change the belt

You are correct, it's the v6 motor. Tried a few things including a torch and hammer/chisel I was able to borrow from the maintenance person at the hotel I'm staying in. All a no go. I ended up just cutting the belt off and replacing the power steering and alternator belts. I'll deal with the stuck nut once I'm back home and access to my bolt extractor set. With this being my first Toyota I wasn't sure if there was some trick I wasn't aware of to get around this. Thank you for your helpful post though.

Malcolm99

I should have said continue dremeling the nut until it cracks, a torch is not a good idea to use on anything attached to a motor,.. especially the front case. Trust me I live in the rock salt and liquid chloride belt 6-7 months a year in Canada, this is your best method to remove a stubborn bolt & nut, a dremel and a good bit will do away with that rusted nut.

ksti

How about some pic's

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

thats a nice way of asking what model and engine. Which is what Wyoming was asking.. I can play devil's advocate here since I had the same thought the first few readings of the OP, it sure sounded like he was trying to remove the whole bracket not loosen the pulley.

Malcolm99

Come on people, this forum is 95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners, there are only 2 motors offered on our continent, i realize we rarely need to open our hoods and wrench on our rigs but anyone who has changed the belts x3 on a 5vz-fe should know exactly what the original question was since it is the title, be pretty hard to change the Alt belt without taking the AC belt off wouldn't it, I don't think he could have been more clear unless he provided you with a pic, but the question has already been answered to the satisfaction of the OP, so I don't think a pic will help you any further, especially if the title doesn't.