alchemist

iTrader: (1)

The 350 motor so yes - plenty of failures for the IS and RX

ka0bit0

Sorry to bump an old thread. But is changing out the idler pulley a necessity ?....I only have around 60k on my 08' gs at the moment. So I'm guessing both that and my belt should be fine ?

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

Yes should be fine. However, most people, including myself have the philosophy that you are in there anyway so why not replace it to be on the safe side.

Also, if I recall, you need to remove idler to access a couple of the water pump bolts so why not spend the $30 and put a new one on.

Gunspeed

Did you happen to have the torque specs?

snkepit

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for sharing.

burny

Al, Did you ever check on our starter rebuild? I'm telling you there are no brushes/contacts to replace in this particular starter

BinaryJay

The material newer belts are made of don't crack like older belt types, they will pretty much always look fine. The only way you can tell is with a belt wear guide.

Anyway, I bought a new water pump to have thrown in while my car was (and still is... a week later) in for the piston rings service so I should be good for the rest of the usable life of the car on the water pump front (knock on wood). One less thing to worry about. The only thing I really worry about going forward with my car is the transmission but hopefully the fact that we actually change the transmission fluid up here maybe I'm pretty safe.

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

I think I used between 25-30 ft lbs

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

I think you're right

gr8fulRed

Glad I found this excellent DIY !! My 09' just hit 119k and the water pump bearing is starting to growl now. I've been religiously checking for the dreaded "pink crust" every 5k miles when I'm under the car changing the oil and have never seen any...but this sound is definitely a sign that the pump is going out. Not going to wait for it to get worse, ordering up the parts today to replace the pump, the belt, idler pulley, the thermostat and maybe the hoses. Anyway to check the tensioner while I'm in there?? Sucks to have to do this now....since I just had the coolant flushed and replaced 19K miles ago. I guess another $50 in coolant is a lot better than burning up my freaking motor !! Hopefully, all goes well. Wish me luck boys!

bayer

Hi ,could you highlight on picture which bolt is lefthand thread.

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

I did...it is the one labeled 'Tensioner'

gr8fulRed

I knocked it out a few days ago. All in all, it wasn't too bad. A little messy (hard to catch ALL the coolant that drains from old water pump), but with a little patience....all came out fine. I've put about 500 miles on it since I replaced the WP and idler and all seems fine. Nice to have a smooth humming engine again, versus hearing that pump bearing growling!

eggtart

Does anyone know if the GATES 36173 pulley is for the 2006 GS300 motor also?

Also I was going to get this belt tensioner but not sure if it works...Ebay says it wont, but what does Ebay know...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311369244429...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

thanks!

Sgfierros

A huge thanks to the OP and for the great info posted in this thread. Swapped out the wp on my 07 GS450h. A heads up to those looking to do this on theirs, get the right belt as it's different(shorter) than the GS350 and you DO NOT need the idler pulley. The 450h doesn't have it as there is also no alternator. I also had issues with the o-ring on the water inlet housing. The one included with my waterpump was slightly missized and I ended up having to get a universal one to replace. Also for those thinking not to drain their coolant, it can be done but will be unnecessarily messy. If I were to do it again, I would just drain off a good portion of the coolant to simplify things. Hope this helps someone and thanks again guys!

-Steve