[dangerseeker]

Hey guys, I just wanted to see if anyone here had personally replaced the serpentine belts on their sienna? I was going to do it today and it seems pretty tight to get any tools down in the space. Can anyone tell me what pulley is the tensioner? Also, would it be easier to jack the thing up and come in from the underside? Thanks for any insight you might provide. I'm lookiong forward to hearing from you.

 

[94dlx]

My 2004 has two drive belts. One for the A/C & alternator and the other is for power steering (commonly called V belts). The timing belt could be considered serpentine but not usually referred to as such. Which are you looking to replace?

The V belts are really very easy (with basic auto repair experience) but the timing belt is a big job.

There is an adjusment screw right below the alternator that will loosen enough to take the A/C & alternator belt off. The power steering belt has no tensioner and this makes it difficult to get the belt tension just right after installing the new belt.

 

[acthad]

Hey,
So is the serpentine and v-belt just a matter of jacking the front passenger corner and removing the wheel and splash/access cover to expose the belts and pulleys? Is there a diy link for and 04-05 Sienna belt change?

Thanks in advance! 8)

 

[jc]

Check this link

http://www.siennachat.com/forum/index.php?topic=2791.0

There are some pics and some PDF's read C A R E F U L L Y to find the PDF.

You may need a special wrench access the pulley bolt for the power steering pivot bolt. It's tight in there.

Regards, JC.

 

[jbgood]

Just did my wife's today -- took about an hour going slow and showing my son what to do. I followed the instructions found at the link above, although I didn't get a special tool to reach the second bolt on the power steering belt. I had a deep 12mm socket that I managed to place on the bolt by feel: no easy was to see what you're doing.

I used Goodyear Gatorback belts from Amazon -- $32 delivered. Only an hour and one scraped knuckle; now the wife is happy and the van is quiet again. Good luck and let us know how it goes.




John

 

[jlojko]

my van has been squeeling for a while. this mostly happens at low rmp (at idle, but also when off the gas entering an intersection). Really loud. Really annoying. This seems to be more pronounced in cold weather.

Then one day, I started it up to warm up and let it run in the yard for a half hour. It was dusk and the auto headlights were on. After a half-hour or so, there was a new warning light blinking and an alarm going off. I shut the car down and when I tried to restart it, the battery was dead. I got a jump start, and drove off and the battery charged fine.

So I'm thinking that the alternator is gone. Brought it to the shop and they tested the alternator and said it was fine. They threw a new belt on. I'm then thinking that the alternator must be failing at low rpm and they don't test for that.

After reading this formum, I decide to check the bearings on the alternator. But also while reading, I see that the belt has to be pretty tight and there is a common issue among Toyotas and maybe these vans. I follow the instructions in this thread (thanks especially for the diagram). Loosen up the alternator, get the belt off and spin the pulley on the alternator. I'm no expert but it feels fine. A little resistance as expected but spinning by hand.

So I tighten it back up and I realize when I get the tensioner bolt back to where it was that it has not been adjusted in forever. The rust on the bolt makes it difficult to get past where it had been for, well forever. So I get it cranked in about six more quarter turns, checking the tension of the belt in between. The adjustment is very fine, so it took a lot of adjustment to get the belt as tight as it should be (tight enough not to slip by hand at least).

Fired it back up and problem solved! Lesson learned. Just tighten the belt first.

A couple of notes: folks in this forum keep mentioning a serpentine belt. There are two v-groove belts on the van. One goes toward the front and hits the AC and the alternator. The other one goes toward the back and hits the power steering. Traditionally, a serpentine belt covers everything. This is not the case here. Two belts. The second belt must be accessed through the front-right wheel well by removing a plastic shroud. I didn't check the PS belt, but I am going to now. I think you also have to take the wheel off.

The other note is that the shop changed my belt without loosining the tension adjuster under the alternator. Again, I'm no expert, but I don't understand how they did this. I know this to be the case becuase the bolts were frozen. Breaking them free took some work and some lubricant, as described in this forum.

So the new belt was still too loose. How did they do it? I don't know. I'm guessing they cut the old one off and then used a screwdriver to jump the new belt onto the pulley. I really don't know. But the new belt running loose, would certainly get glazed in no time since the squeeling persisted.

I had to create a login on this forum to see the pics. It was worth it becasue it made the job way easier. Since I am a member now, I figured I would add my two cents and hopefully make it easier for someone else in the same boat. Tighten the belts first.

Good luck

2004 Sienna XLE Limited AWD, 140k miles

 

[thanwu]

Thanks for sharing. You don't have to warm your vehicle before you drive (no more than a minute even in a very cold day). It works better to warm your vehicle up with gentle driving.

 

[crappiejim]

What size v belts would I need for a 2004 Sienna?

 

[Bakerhaub]

Of the 2 belts, the P/S belt appears to be more difficult. Can I ask the members here how exactly did you brace your Sienna when taking off the front tire and working up in that wheel well? I have a the jack of course but did you put yours on jack stands or brace it somehow so it was safe to work under? Thanks.

 

[jc]

Of the 2 belts, the P/S belt appears to be more difficult. Can I ask the members here how exactly did you brace your Sienna when taking off the front tire and working up in that wheel well? I have a the jack of course but did you put yours on jack stands or brace it somehow so it was safe to work under? Thanks.

Put it on jackstands. Then remove the wheel. There is a splash shield that needs to be removed to get full access. Sometimes the p/s pump bracket is so tight that you cannot swing the p/s pump down to get enough slack in the belt to remove it. There is a bolt at the 11 o'clock position that might need to be loosened. I believe it's a 12 mm bolt.

Good luck.

Regards, JC.

 

[sasktoyota]

Hi All,

Just a quick note about replacing the two belts. On my 2005 Sienna CE, for the bottom Power Steering belt, I found, after wasting an incredible amount of time, that the easiest way to get this done is loosening the bolt at 11 o'clock as well as both of the two bolts that are part of the assembly which has the slot where one of the bolts sits in and slides up and down. On my Sienna, this slotted bracket was out of alignment, so that if you loosened just the one bolt that sits in the slotted portion of the assembly, it would not freely move up and down. Loosening the second bolt (which holds the slotted assembly to the vehicle) allowed me to easily move the bolt in the slot to get the desired tension. I then tightened up all 3 bolts. I hope this helps someone.


And as another note, ALWAYS use jackstands. Saving money putting the belts on yourself is not worth dying for. Just remember to take them out from under the vehicle after.

 

[craigmcdomett]

Nice information. . . .

 

[pejmanlevian]

Great information.. ..

 

[thanwu]

Thanks for sharing! I changed the upper v-belt in my 06 Sienna which is close to 200k miles yesterday. It runs quietly again

Hi All,

Just a quick note about replacing the two belts. On my 2005 Sienna CE, for the bottom Power Steering belt, I found, after wasting an incredible amount of time, that the easiest way to get this done is loosening the bolt at 11 o'clock as well as both of the two bolts that are part of the assembly which has the slot where one of the bolts sits in and slides up and down. On my Sienna, this slotted bracket was out of alignment, so that if you loosened just the one bolt that sits in the slotted portion of the assembly, it would not freely move up and down. Loosening the second bolt (which holds the slotted assembly to the vehicle) allowed me to easily move the bolt in the slot to get the desired tension. I then tightened up all 3 bolts. I hope this helps someone.


And as another note, ALWAYS use jackstands. Saving money putting the belts on yourself is not worth dying for. Just remember to take them out from under the vehicle after.