2006 Highlander Hybrid Timing Belt Change

This maintenance item is supposed to occur at 90K miles. My 2006 HiHy had logged 82K miles and is almost 12 years old, so I decided I should change the timing belt.

I found a timing belt kit on eBay (item 251307366071), which includes the timing belt, two pulleys, engine coolant pump and gasket, and tensioner. I highly recommend that because original equipment manufacturer parts are sourced (boxes have manufacturer names, not Toyota names) and the price of the kit was $180 compared to ~$400 for Toyota branded parts.

I came across a few problems along the way, which I will describe for those HiHy owners who may decide to take this on in the future:

1. Removing the crankshaft pulley bolt. You really need an impact wrench for this. I bought a Makita corded impact wrench and am very happy with that purchase.
2. Special tools: crankshaft pulley immobilizer and camshaft pulley tool. The purpose of both is to keep the respective pulleys from moving when you are trying to remove or tighten them.
3. Removing the engine mount bracket located above the coolant pump. This is very difficult because of the two studs and two bolts which secure this bracket, combined with the very tight clearance to the passenger side fender and AC system steel hoses. I first tried removing two more of the engine mounts to jack up the engine, but that did not provide sufficient clearance. I ended up removing the studs by using two nuts attached to the end of the stud. When tightened together, you can then apply an open wrench to one nut to exert an loosening force on the stud. Then I replaced the studs with two more bolts. It is not easy to reinstall the bracket with the four bolts, but that is still easier than the original design.
4. Removing the LH camshaft pulley. This must be done if you want to replace the engine coolant pump, and the tightening torque is 91 ft.-lb so it is not easy to do. I used a 1/2" breaker bar and a steel pipe to extend the length of the breaker bar.
5. Lining up the new timing belt. The main issue is to make sure the three marks are lined up with the marks on the camshaft pulleys and the crankshaft pulley. If you can do that you will be good.
6. Seeing the mark on the RH camshaft pulley (close to the firewall). You need a mirror for that.

The removed parts all visually looked great. No seepage at the coolant pump. No cracks in the timing belt (although the belt teeth had a bit of dirt on them).

Attached are photos of the engine mostly disassembled for access, some of the removed parts, and the reassembled engine. I'm happy to report it started on the first try!

 

I agree that this job was not easy.

You are right, $200 on Amazon.com:

Yes, very similar, cosmetic differences mostly. The drivetrain is essentially the same and you would buy the same camshaft belt kit for the RX-400h.

The traction battery comes in three parts and is below the middle seat (my car has a small rear seat, for 7-passenger capacity.) You will see the ventilation ducts below the seating area.

I had the HiHy traction battery replaced under warranty relatively early in my ownership of that car. I had taken delivery of one of the first HiHy's to be shipped to the US, in June 2005.

 

Wait until you need to replace the iridium spark plugs. You need to remove the intake manifold riser (the black plastic) for access to the RH plugs facing the firewall. That will be another PITA.