Hey gang, I'm replacing the timing belt on my 1999 4runner (3.4 v6) and have the new bosch water pump on, tensioner retracted and pinned in place yet no matter what I try I can't get the belt on that last little bit.

I did check and it's the same size as the original belt. I'm running it over the cam gears first, down past the water pump pulley and can barely get it over the crank gear but just can't get it past the tensioner.

My only thought at this point is that the water pump pully may not be centered in the same spot as the toyota one but that doesn't make sense at all.

One question, with the left and right cam marks on the belt lined up with the marks on the gears, where should the crank mark on the belt be? Mine seems to line up on the right side of the crank gear, not the bottom center.

Thanks guys, I fought with that belt for over an hour and decided to sleep on it. Probably going to have my dad come over and give a hand also.

 

Relax. Just loosen the mounting bolt on the upper idler a few turnd until it sits at a slight angle. That will give you enough slack to slide it on. Then retighten idler bolt.

 

X2, I usually leave the upper idler off until i have the belt on and its ready to go.

 

For crank and belt alignment see page EM-19 and 20:
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1996/SIL/...imbel/inst.pdf

 

Big Thanks guys, we got it on. The belt was so tight I just went ahead and pulled the upper idler completely off. Once everything was positioned I had to put a little downward pressure on the idler to get the bolt and hole to line up but it all came together fine.
Test started it and she purred like new. 215,000 miles and counting.