'96 Avalon Timing Belt Change Advice

[Brown Bear]

Hello All,

I'm planning on changing the timing belt along with the alternator/a/c and power steering belt on my '96 Avalon. I might as well change the water pump too since the engine has 138,000 miles on it. My question is whether I need to take the spark plugs out (like my Haynes manaul suggests) if I'm only going to change the belt? I can see this if I plan on removing either of my camshaft sprockets and need to turn the engine freely. Shouldn't I be able to simply pull the timing belt off once I losen the tensioner and not move the camshaft sprockets out of alignment? Hmm, what do you think? I'm a fairly competent mechanic, so how long should I allow for the belt change -- at least in terms of time. I'm going to change the alternator/a/c along with the power steering belts, too. All advice is greatly appreciated.

Have a great day,
Jack

[toyomoho]

As taking some of the plugs might be difficult, leaving them in would seem OK. After the new belt is installed, suggest you still rotate the engine CW by hand a few times just to confirm proper cam and crank relationship. This may be a little more difficult with the plugs in, but still OK.