(Written by Wade Johnston, a neighbor and 'wheeling friend)

While replacing the plastic timing guide with my cheap fix metal guide, I noticed that the fan belt tensioner pulley was worn out and noisy. I had planned to purchase a new pulley with my timing set, and off to Toyota I went. The pulley is sold as a complete unit for $180 Canadian; I declined feeling that I could pick one up from a wrecking yard for considerably less. I searched several vehicles at different junk yards but found that most had the pulley assembly removed (indicating a common problem), or the assembly was already shot. I finally found one that was not too bad and was about to purchase it when I decided to disassemble it instead. What I found was a single bearing that could be removed and replaced. I contacted Action Bearing in Richmond and had the replacement in 10 minutes for $9 (much less than the $180 from Toyota) after tax! I believe the bearing is available at Lordco and certainly at other bearing outlets (watch for a minimum charge). The bearing that was in the truck was an NSK 6204V and the bearing that I purchased was an SKF 6204 2RSC3.

The short story:

Replace the bearing in the fan belt tensioner on the 22R/RE series engines with an NSK 6204V, an SKF 6204 2RSC3, or equivalent.

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