Ive got 70 thousand miles on my xB, and have started hearing a ticking while I sit, or drive. Friend of mine popped the hood and pointed out my drive belt, its starting to separate.
has anyone else had this problem?

 

If those are the original belts, i would say that they are well beyond their usable life, & you definitely got your moneys worth out of them. The belts no doubt started cracking then eventually started to come apart.

 

i have 58000 miles on my box now i can hear my belt sqeek with every cold start

 

Drive belts life span is atleast 50K miles! After that, problems start to show up...squeaks, cracks and shredding. Worst case scenario, they break when you least expect it!

 

mine recently shredded also but that was my fault, didn't tighten it enough when I did a lightened pulley. But my car has 75k and it was fine until I did that

 

Belts are normal wear and tear items and should be changed at roughly 50K miles. This number will varry based on geographical location, weather, and humidity levels. Replace your belt with a high quality Gates or similar brand and you will be good to go for another 50K.

 

i got 42k and mine is starting to crack. ive just been too lazy to change it. i noticed it about 2 months ago. i also have to change a wheel bearing for some reason. i dont understand how that went bad but thats a diff story.

 

changing the fan belt is cake changing the PS belt is a p.i.t.a.

 

great to know. I'll be changin it next week

 

hmmm...guess i should go out and check mine. i've got 88K miles on my xB.

 

New member, found the site looking for help on Changing the Acc. drive belt... Anybody care to elaborate on how to loosen the belt? It looks like it would be easy but I can not get the alternator to move, and I can't tell if there is a tensioner pulley, does it take a special tool? It's just so packed in there that I can't see what I need to do to release the tension on the belt. Thanks...

Nevermind... SEARCH was my friend, looks like I was headed down the right path, just the alternator pivot bolt is really really tight or seized.

Jason

 

[quote="YeahToast"]New member, found the site looking for help on Changing the Acc. drive belt... Anybody care to elaborate on how to loosen the belt? It looks like it would be easy but I can not get the alternator to move, and I can't tell if there is a tensioner pulley, does it take a special tool? It's just so packed in there that I can't see what I need to do to release the tension on the belt. Thanks...

EDIT: Nevermind... SEARCH was my friend, looks like I was headed down the right path, just the alternator pivot bolt is really really tight or seized.

EDIT #2: OK WTF?... Is the pivot bolt on the bottom of the alternator reverse threaded? I just broke my 1/4" driver try to get this thing loose, I'm afraid if I use a 3/8's driver I'm gonna break the bolt head off.

Jason

 

Nope, it's just that much of a PITA to loosen. To get mine of I had to use a 24" breaker bar with a 4 foot copper pipe slipped over the end for extra leverage. I messed up the bolt head removing it because the socket kept slipping off and had to replace the bolt. Get a new one from Toyota or a hardware store. The spec is 40 ft-lbs, but the factory must tighten them to over 90.

It helps to have a second person push in to hold the socket on the boly, and removal of the headlight gives more space to work. On the bright side, once it's off once future adjustments will be easy.

 

ya that bolt is a pain, i bent a piece of pipe we had trying to get it off, and busted open a nuckle for my effort lol, owel, the projects not close to being done till you get hurt right.

 

Thanks for the responses, gave me the courage to throw on a 3/8's drive, hardened socket and a 1' breaker, that took care of that... the rest of it is ez other than it's just a tight spot to work in. Got it swapped and everything is nice and quiet again, got 140K out of that belt... Not bad.