Tensioner Pulley Release bolt broken.

if you can afford to scrap it, then you should scrap it and get something better.

You cannot drive this car with a broken tensioner.

 

I'm just saying scrap it because you said it was all rusted. If all the rust is what's on the picture, then those minor parts can all be replaced.

 

I'd say it's doable, but not easy. What I'd try is to cut off the belt to remove tension and then spray the bolts that hold on the assembly with penetrating oil and let that soak in with lots of re-application for a few hours. Then you might be able to remove the whole assembly. Then again, it might come off easily or not at all. But it's sure a royal pain to get in there to work.

 

KROIL is your best friend in these situations.

 

Did you start by loosening the bolt that goes through the center of the idler pulley?

-Chap

 

Chap identified your problem. You are supposed to loosen the nut on the idler pulley first. Then when you rotate the adjustment bolt, that will drop the pulley down, loosening the belt. Since you did not loosen the nut, you snapped the bolt.

Do not use a cheap 12-point socket when loosening the nut. Use a quality 6-point socket on the nut and a breaker bar to loosen. If you use cheap tools you will round the edges of the nut and cause more problems for whomever has to follow you.

After you loosen the idler pulley nut, you still may need to cut off the serpentine belt to relieve tension on the idler pulley. Since the adjustment bolt is broken you may need to replace the entire idler pulley assembly, depending upon how much damage was caused by your exerting excessive force on the bolt, the existing corrosion, etc.

Also, see my post here:
How to replace engine coolant pump and thermostat | PriusChat

 

OK Patrick, the tightening torque on the idler pulley nut is 30 ft.-lb so you will have to exert reasonable force to loosen it especially if corrosion is an issue. You may be lucky and find that after you loosen the nut you can remove the pulley, then figure out how to replace the broken bolt.

When replacing the broken bolt use an automotive grade bolt. The head of the bolt has markings on it to indicate its grade, try to get a similar replacement. Bolts that you can get at the hardware store often will not be hardened and may cause problems if they fail while in service.

You don't need to start a new thread.

 

I suggest you start by loosening the idler pulley nut and see where that leads you. If you are lucky you will just have to replace the sheared bolt - if you are trying to minimize the repair parts bill.

I recognize you started this adventure with the intent to replace the engine coolant pump, and I trust you also planned to replace the serpentine drive belt as part of the job. With 180K miles on the odometer I would replace the idler pulley as a matter of course. That is not very expensive. However, some people like to wait for an actual failure before taking action - so I will leave that choice to you.

 

An astounding amount of rust on those hose clamps.

 

I would use a 1/2" breaker bar along with a piece of steel pipe (a cheater) that fits over the end of the breaker bar, to increase the effective length of the breaker bar. That improves leverage and makes it easy to remove the nut.

If you have a 3/4" wrench with an adapter to fit the socket, that may work well, it depends upon how long the wrench arm is.