DrivewayAl

Hey Guys, new to forum. I am going to purchase a 2003 ES-300. It has 90,000mi. and I am going to change the timing belt myself. Are there any special tools that I need and how hard of a job is it going to be. Thanks in advance for any help.
DrivewayAl

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

If you don't have an impact gun, then get yourself a tool that holds the crank pulley in place while you use a breaker bar to loosen it. Other than that, you don't need anything else that's 'special'.

LeX2K

You will need a puller for the harmonic balancer, don't try to pry it off with screwdrivers. Don't use a gear puller either, they make a tool especially for this job. If you are replacing the camshaft seals, you'll need a cam holder to remove the bolts, and some people like to use a seal puller tool. Other than that, no special tools required. Use the "starter bump" method to loosen the crank pulley, works almost every time.

DrivewayAl

Hey, thanks for the response. Yes I do have an impact gun and harm. puller. Does cyl #1 have to be TDC. I started to read procedure but I do not know if this is absolutly necessary. If it does how do i place cyl #1 on TDC. Thanks.
Driveway Al

LeX2K

You don't need to be concerned about TDC #1 compression stroke. Line up the crank pulley to zero, then go ahead and remove everything to expose the timing belt. Once you've done that, check to see if your camshaft marks are lined up. If they are not, put the crank bolt back into the crankshaft and rotate 1 turn. If you look carefully, they are marks on the crank gear and the housing, so you don't have to put the lower timing cover and crank pulley back on to get the mark lined up.

If you have a Toyota or Mitsuboshi (and some others) timing belt, there are white marks on the belt that make it extremely easy to line things up, match the marks to the cam and crankshaft gears and you're good. There is also a directional arrow on the belt so you don't put it on backwards (if you do, the marks won't line up).

Aceshigh

Can I use the balancer puller rental from the auto parts stores??
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=555524_0_0_

LeX2K

That one will work fine, although I don't know 100% for sure if it comes with the proper bolts (you need two of them) to thread into the pulley. IIRC, the bolts you need are m8x1.25, about 1 inch long.

A tip when threading in the two bolts, use some penetrating oil, the threads will probably be rusted or gunked up.