Auxiliary Belt Replacement

[sceh]

Am I missing something or are Toyota seriously telling me I have to remove and ENGINE MOUNT to replace this belt? I admit I can't see another way but imagine the belt goes when you are miles from home? In the old days you carried a spare and a spanner and that was it. Please tell me I am wrong. Anything difficult in doing it?

As an aside, I was changing a headlight and of course had to remove the bumper. Guess how many mounts it has got? Too many. I think Toyota needs to get its design people in shape...two would do but it has 8.

Anyway, the belt

[MikeSh]

Not uncommon. Transverse engines often have the mounts on the ends of the engine, so the belt has to navigate them.

Modern multi-groove belts last a long time and provided they are checked at service time you can see when they are starting to degrade. (I had one (on a Nissan) that wasn't spotted at service and about 2 days later the power steering made it slip (squeal) when parking. Blasted the dealer and got it changed before it failed.)

[Madasafish]

Done it on son's 1.0 . Yes you have to jack up under engine and remove engine mount.

Not difficult. You will need a socket set.. (Make sure you buy the correct replacement belt - yes it sounds obvious but easy to get thee wrong one - especially if buying from eBay or non Toyota.)

[MrTFWitt]

I read this thread and was a bit reluctant to start on my Daughters car, it has a terminal whine from one of the ancilliaries but these things cannot be put off for too long so I dived in.

Its a 2001 1.0 GS VVti and I was pleased to discover you can get the belt off from the top without dropping an engine mount, maybe this is because its a poverty spec model with no power steering or aircon.

Picking the right ratchet to get at the bottom bolt was key though, I have a 3/8 ratchet for doing spark plugs and it has a flexi joint in the head which gives enough flexibility to get a 14mm socket on the bottom bolt with a fine enough ratchet to get a couple of clicks per wiggle.

So with the right tools and the right spec it would be a roadside repair, jiggered if I would want to do it on the hard shoulder though.

I'll be pulling the alternator once my daughter has the cash to buy a replacement, that looks like a different job entirely, axle stands at the ready.

[Madasafish]

The jacking up and removal of engine mount is to enable the belt to be removed from the power steering pulley. No power steering = no need to jack up.

(Hence the comment about ensuring you get the correct belt!)