How do you change a serpentine belt on a 2007 Yaris?

[andrea.debiase]

I have done it on a Corolla but the Yaris, if i am not wrong, has no belt tensioner. Does anyone have a procedure to do this?
thank you

[FromBMWtoEcho]

If I remember correctly, all you need to do is loosen the alternator bolt, release the tension and pop off the belt. Take you longer to get your tools out the actually doing the job.

[ericlp]

yeah I did it.

THIS FU*KING POST SHOULD BE STICKIED!!!!!!

Changing Drive And Power Steering Belts

Just follow these EXCELLENT POST will tell you everything you need to know...

And should be on TOP so you don't have to search for it.

Anyway.... Do it while the engine is cool because if you have big arms like me there IS NO ROOM to work. I cut off my P/S belt but in order to remove the PS belt you gotta remove the drive belt. Plus you should own some jack stands.

Good Luck!


Edit: I didn't have to unbolt the pivot bolt. I just unbolted the the adjustor bolt and pushed the alternator back (all the way). It's kinda tricky to get the correct tension on drive belt I used a 1x4 to pry on it but be careful you don't brake anything as mentioned in the guide above. Also the new belt may get a bit loose over time and you'll probably have to adjust it again or it might make noise when you turn on the AC like mine did.

Edit #2: If you not changing your PS belt, you can work from the top of the car and you don't have to crawl under your car or jack it up or remove any access panels.

[andrea.debiase]

Is restoring the tension an issue? should I eyeball it? maybe i can make some marks before loosening those bolts to bring the alternator to the original position....

[FromBMWtoEcho]

The belt just needs to be tight. You can just use a pry bar or breaker bar and put tension on the alternator to tighten the belt. Just feel how tight the belt is on your car now and use that as a judge.

[andrea.debiase]

I was wondering if someone has any wise suggestion here. The belt is still making noise. Not as much as before but it still does. So here the story. Replaced belt with brand new one. Now the Yaris doesnt have a belt tensioner so i did it manually. To have an idea of how tight i made it I used the old one as a reference making marks on the alternator screw that holds the belt tense. I put the new one exactly where the old one was and lasted a week or so, then started making noise again. So i pulled it a bit more this time and was ok for the most part but on humid days it still makes noise. I could pull it more but i dont want to screwup the pulleys, bearings or the belt itself....how many adjustments does a new belt need when there is no tensioner?

any ideas?
thank you

[ericlp]

what kinda noise is it making? Maybe a bearing in your alternator is on its way out. Belts, pulley's, alignment and the devices that are turning all can make some strange noises when not working correctly.

Sometimes it can be hard to isolate the exact cause since there are many variables.

[andrea.debiase]

typical v-belt noise, a prolonged high pitch sound resembling someone spinning the tires on the road lasting a good 5 seconds or more.

[griz4718]

I got this out of Motor Magazine in the November issue.
Apparently, Toyota has a "new and improved" belt that is supposed to eliminate this issue. The part number is 90916-02500. The revised specs for tension say to install the new belt, start the engine and let it run for about 20 minutes to allow the belt to stretch a bit then shut it down. Measure the deflection of the belt in the center of the span between the alternator and the crank pulley. When properly tightened the deflection should be .410 to .450 inch. just under a half an inch. Hope that helps.

[ericlp]

Gates Micro-V AT® - Serpentine Belt
Part Number: K040465

I replaced mine with this just for FYI had it for about a year seems to be doing fine. I have the original as a spare just in case it broke on a long trip.

I concur with your statement ... .5 inch is about what I tension it at. Run for a few days and recheck and tighten again if necessary.

Also it never really occurred to me what brand of belts people were buying but don't cheap out. Get a good brand like good year or gates. Don't ever buy those 5 dollar belts. It's just not worth it esp if they bust on you and leave you stranded. Plus I'm sure the cheap belts will make noise where the quality ones will fit better.

Goodyear 4040460 Gatorback Poly-V Belts I'd try something like this it's on amazon for 10 bucks. If my belt was making noise.