spuds

So I want a Denso,does it matter on this part?Who have you ordered from that actually delivered it undamaged/well packed? Placed my hand on the overflow and it snapped off,anybody ever repair one successfully?Advice when replacing?Thank you for your experiences,good or bad.

I also stripped out the belt tensioner pulley nut,its a left hand thread BTW(lefty tighty,righty loosie),so thats another 150 for tensioner and pulley(getting slightly noisy) OEM Toyota. My alt and power steering repair is starting to get frustrating....real fast.And it started out so well,go figure.

EDIT- This thread is a continuation from post 44 on down from this thread
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...g-lines-3.html

bradland

If you just stripped the threads on the bolt the entire tensioner doesn't have to be replaced. The pulley and bolt are both available independent of the tensioner itself. Rockauto sells the pulley but the bolt would have to come from Toyota or Lexus. Replacing the tensioner is a fairly deep dive, much more involved than you would think.

I've ordered 2 Denso rads from Rock, one for a 400 the 2nd for a 430, both arrived without damage.

spuds

How deep? I'll try to put in a pic,I broke the piece off the tensioner shaft to where the pulley mounts.Thanks brad.also do you know a thread,Im getting nowhere trying to search toady.

bradland

You start at the pass side timing cover and work your way down. All the parts along the way have overlapping edges so everything has to come off in sequence.
It's not as simple as just unbolting the tensioner and pulling it out. The pic is a 430 but it's basically the same...

spuds

Here is the pulley shaft


Here is the shaft snapped off


Shaft now part of the bolt

spuds

OK,I see nuts at 12 oclock,2 oclock and 6 oclock... all look accessible(is there some secret issue on those?),where is nut or bolt 4? The pulley is off the tensioner,the alternator is off,radiator is coming out,where is the real bad part?Is it the 4th nut or bolt somewhere in the 8-9 oclock position buried or some such?

Thanks for all the help Brad,hugely appreciated!

bradland

The fasteners are not the issue. You can remove all of them but the tensioner will not come out until everything above and next to it has been removed.
It's not necessarily difficult just a lot more time consuming than meets the eye.

spuds

So Im hearing it helps to remove the idler pulley for extra room,the hidden area is were it goes on an alternator stud,that is out of the way.Something about a plastic ring has to be removed,and the front timing belt cover.Is the timing belt cover hard?Anything else?

bradland

Everything inside the Red. Disregard the PS reservoir in this pic. Start at the top and move down removing everything along the way. The tensioner comes out LAST. Each part has an overlapping edge so there's no way to skip a step. You'll see once you're in there...

spuds

cool.So the thermostat cover too,I see the plastic piece.Is that idler pulley bolt also a left hand thread(Nope,normal bolt),righty loosie,lefty tighty like that freakin tensioner bolt was?

Any idea what gaskets I will need?Thermostat cover,do I need the front timing cover gaskets?

Im going to take lots of pics so next schmuck will know for sure.Looks doable anyhow,just a lot of nonsense to get there.

This is all because of a stinking left hand thread on the tensioner pulley,that totally SUX!

bradland

Your thermostat housing is slightly different than the pic. I don't remember if it stays in place or not.
You shouldn't need any gaskets. Just time.....

spuds

Cool,I'll start tearing it down tomorrow.Thanks again bradland,really appreciate your consideration,advice,knowledge and time.

Superfast1

Bradland- I had removed the belt tensioner on my 97 LS with minimal tools & it was a very easy job. Are you telling me Toyota has made it much harder to remove for the 98-00?

bradland

YES
As I advised Spuds it's not difficult, assuming you're good with a wrench, it's simply time-consuming as EVERY timing cover on the pass side has to come off before you can remove the tensioner. The only piece left (pass side) is the plastic crank cover. I'd call it 3/5ths of a timing belt service.

Almost everything on the front of the engine was redesigned after 97 for the 98-00 VVTi motor. Even the tensioner itself was replaced, new part number different part, after 97.

Superfast1

Thanks for the info.