ice745

I have a '94 Camry 4 cyl, 5SFE. I'm going to replace the alternator and compressor belt, which I am confident in doing (this is my first time ever doing belts). This belt is clearly damaged, however the power steering belt seems completely fine, should I replace it anyway, so both belts are done at the same time, or should I wait until it needs it?

My other question is how do you adjust the power steering belt on the 5SFE engine. I think I see the adjustment bolt, but I don't know where the pivot bolt is. And do I just loosen both of them and have to move the power steering pump by hand, and then retighten them, or does the adjustment bolt turn to adjust the tension directly. Also, which should I loosen first, or does it matter? And are there any tricks in fitting your hand and wrench in there that'd be useful. Should I use a torque wrench on either of the bolts or just get them tight. I basically need to know everything about doing the power steering belt for this engine, again this is my first time doing belts on any engine, so any help would be appreciated, thanks

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RIP

Changed one a few years ago so details have faded. I do remember a few things like doing it all from underneath, having to use a mirror to find one of the bolts, and using a pry bar to pry between the pump housing and some structure so I could keep tension on the belt while tightening the bolts. I remember going at it thinking - ah hell, this is a piece a cake. It wasn't.

Yes, it is easier to keep track of one date/mileage than two. I normally change both belts at the same time. Come to think of it, I'm overdue.

ice745

I did the alternator belt, and it seems to me like its fine. When the engine is running, there is a slight wobble (maybe like 2 mm back and forth) in the belt between the crankcase pully and alternator pully on the side toward the cab. When the engine is off, I can push the belt in a little bit, I read it should be 1/2" and thats how far it goes. Is that wobble alright? or should I tighten it more?

Also, I was wondering about what may cause a belt to prematurely fail. I just had the belts put on 2 years ago, and its only 7k miles old. The smooth part of the belt is fine, but the ribs have some chunks missing, and one rib was starting to separate from the belt for about an inch. The area of the belt that was damaged was only about 5 inches long, the rest of the belt looks perfectly fine.

RIP

You can overtighten a belt. It leads to bearing failures in alternators, pumps, or compressors. You have to have a feal for tightness if you don't have a gauge. I usually leave mine on the loose side for a while. If I hear it squeal or see any other evidense of a loose belt like alternator lights, warm a/c, or the power in power steering has dissappeared, I tighten it a tad. I'll bet if you went to most any repair shop they would check it with a gauge for little or nothing.

Why fail? First don't skimp on a belt. Buy a name brand like Gates or Goodyear. Second, pits or dings in the pulley surfaces can decrease belt life. Third, temp swings, water, grease oil are all players. Then there's too tight or too loose belts.

ice745

Thanks RIP, your help is greatly appreciated and very useful. The pullies all seemed fine. The belt that was on there seemed like a cheap belt, I didn't even see a name brand on it, and it felt kind of hard...not the normal kind of stiffness. The new belt is made by Dayco, and seems a lot better. I'm pretty sure I have it at a good tension, but I'll see about getting it double checked. I'm just going to keep an eye out and make sure this belt doesn't fall apart early too.

csaxon

If you don't have a tension gauge then measure from pulley center hub to other pulley center hub and divide by 64.

i.e. say hub to hub is 16" and divide by 64 = .25 inches of deflection.

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It worked fine until I fixed it!

RIP

csaxon - Hey I like that. Is that a general rule of thumb for any belt or is that a Toyota spec? Wrote it in my manual. Thanks.

ice745 - Happy it worked out. I take it you are going to hold off on the power steering belt? Not a wrong decision. Just keep track of it. Thanks for the return post.