mzeitlin

I searched and didn't find - so I thought I'd ask:

What are the steps to replacing the serpentine belt on a 2000 ES300?

It seems pretty tight in there to get a socket wrench on the tensioner ...

Is this best done by the shop?

Thanks

65,000 miles on my 2000 ES300 - time to change the belt - correct?

92ES5sp

The engine has 2 drive belts.
Start by loosening the 14mm pivot bolt, its left of the Alt pulley. Loosen the 14mm lock bolt on the right side of the Alt pulley. (Dont remove these) Now take a 1/4" ratchet and 12mm socket and loosen the adjuster bolt. The alt will pivot down to release tension. If it dosent, yank on the belt as you go, sometimes they hang up. Compare the new and old belt to make sure theyre the same size.

To change the P/S pump belt. Loosen the 14mm lock bolt and yank hard on the belt and the pump will move enough to get the belt off. (Its easier w/ the RF wheel and splash sheid off) These are the easiest belts on a car ever. All cars should be set up like this.

There is no specified interval for drive belts. You only change them upon visual inspection. If they are cracking, fraying, noisy or whatever then you should change them.

mzeitlin

92es5sp - Thanks !

ahc21ahc

Is this job doable without removing the right front wheel? I live in a apartment complex and neighbors might complain if I have the car jacked up and wheel off. Also, is any belt ok or should I order form a Toyota/Lexus dealer?

92ES5sp

You dont HAVE to its just easier to access the PS belt.
Ive got Napa belts on mine which is weird for me me cuz normally if its not OEM I dont put it on my car but theyre doing good. Try to get OEM if not go with Napa. With a Toyota belt theres no matching, theyre always the right size.

ahc21ahc

I just replaced the belts on my 95 ES. 92ES5sp's description is very helpful. I was able to replace the PS belt w/o taking out the right front wheel by just turning the wheel all the way to the right to expose the splash shield. Once the splash shield is removed (held by 2 10mm bolts), the PS belt and pump is visible and can be replaced. The PS belt is held by a lock bolt and there is a PS pump pivot bolt. The pivot bolt apparently is in the upper left hand corner of the PS pump and I was not able to see it so I didn't bother to losen it. I just losened the lock bolt and use a couple of screw drivers as levers to slide the PS pump along the locking bracket to losen the tension to remove the belt and then tighten the tension of the new belt (toward the engine to losen and away from the engine to tighten).

92ES5sp

See? Told ya it was easy

vpp

this is great! just what i needed. however, i cannot get tension on the PS belt. it seems that there is no space anywhere to allow any leverage to push back the PS pump... any help would be appreciated.

KawiLex

To say these are the easiest belts to change is idiotic. Please look at the ls430 where no bolts are required to be removed, no wheels or splash guards... A simple socket and 5 mins time and you have a new belt on. And two belts!?! Wtf

amanda

OK. I have located where the belt needs to go for the alternator. It looks like it loops over three pulleys. I can easily spin two, but the third that's down deep in the mechanics cavity does not budge. Is that normal or does that mean I need to replace that pulley or do something else with it?

Or is that part of the power steering belt mechanism and it shouldn't spin b/c it still has the belt on it?

Thanks.

808mcv20l

it's pretty easy to replace these belts.

There's 2 belts total.
The inner belt only drives the power steering, the outer belt drives the AC and Alternator.

There's no bolt adjuster for the powersteering belt, you need to loosen the pivot bolts on the power steering pump to remove it.

The inner bolt can be difficult to reach, but I used a short 1" extension and short socket was the perfect depth to get to this bolt. To reinstall you need something like a long screwdriver or prybar to create enough tension so the belt doesn't slip.

The Alternator belt is much easier to get to, loosen the side bolt then turn the adjuster bolt until the belt comes loose enough to remove (it requires a lot of turns!!!)
To reinstall the belt do the reverse keep in mind the Alternator belt needs to be set very tight around 120-150FT lbs if you have the tool w/ gauge.

I don't have that tool so I discovered that it's around 1/4" of twist deflection for the Alternator belt, while the powersteering belt is 1/2" of twist deflection.

If the belt squeals when the car is cold then you have the belt set too loose, it can be tricky to determine how much tension to set but if you follow the 1/4" deflection for alt. belt you should be fine.

amanda

Thank you for the tips, 808. I congratulate you on maintaining your car in such good condition!

I am about 3/4 of the way done. with the right tools, maybe, this could be a very swift job.

The alternator bolts are near impossible to reach. If I didn't have to loosen the one on the right side of the alternator, that would have been helpful! Maybe I just have bad tools. Also, they were not 14mm on my car.

For any novices like me, the pivot bolt on the power steering pump is right between the two pulleys on which the power steering belt lies. It sits inside a slotted sort of guide and moves along it to adjust tension.

I didn't initially have to remove the wheel but it was exceedingly difficult to slip on the belt so I eventually did have to remove it.

I don't know what exactly would be the right tools but things are pretty tight to reach the alternator bolts. It's been a doozy. It might be because i am very novice.

But tips have been both encouraging and helpful.

Thanks, everybody!