Toyota Corolla Serpentine Accessory Belt Replacement Guide - 9th Generation 2003-2008 Model Years (2024)

Owners of other vehicles equipped with the 1.8L 1ZZ-FE engine such as the Toyota Celica, Allion, Premio, Vista, WiLL, Caldina, Matrix, Avensis, Opa, Isis, RAV4, Wish, Chevrolet Prizm, Pontiac Vibe, and Lotus Elise may also find these instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible new serpentine accessory belts for a 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla equipped with A/C (air conditioning) with their part numbers are as follows: Continental Elite 4060740, Bando 6PK1880, Toyota 90080-91139-83, Drive-Rite V-Ribbed Belt # 740K6, Dayco Poly-Rib Belt # 5060740 and also the Gates K060739.

The first step is to allow the engine to cool for a few hours.

Do not attempt to replace the accessory belt while the engine is still hot to avoid being burned.

Then remove the engine cover by loosening the two 10mm nuts near the front of the engine and pulling out the two black plastic fasteners near the rear.

I'd recommend printing out the accessory belt routing diagram in the picture below to have as a reference.

Place the socket on to the "fake" nut just above the real nut on the tensioner.

For help locating the false tensioner assembly nut, take a look atPicture Number 10 above.

Once there is enough slack in the old belt, carefully slip it off the alternator pulley at the top front of the engine.

Avoid putting your fingers between the old belt and the alternator pulley just in case the tensioner springs back in to place unexpectedly.

I recommend buying the Continental Elite 4060740 belt since it has excellent reviews on Amazon.

If the old belt seemed loose and the tensioner was very easy to rotate, replace it with the Dorman 419-123 belt tensioner.

Place the new belt down on to the left (passenger) side of the engine and wrap the ribbed side around the lowest large pulley near the rear of the engine.

Then bring it upwards and wrap the smooth side over the tensioner pulley and continue to the upper pulley at the rear of the engine and wrap the ribbed side over it.

Some people prefer to leave the alternator pulley for last but I found it easier to wrap the belt around the alternator and then leave the smooth idler pulley located just below and behind it for last.

The alternator pulley has a raised metal lip that can be difficult to pull the new belt over.

Keep a firm grip on the belt to keep it from slipping off the other pulleys.

Then carefully slip the belt over the last pulley. Avoid placing your fingers between the new belt and any of the pulleys.

When you're sure that the new accessory belt is properly installed, you can start the engine and take the car for a test drive to see if everything works well.

Be sure to test the air conditioning and listen for any strange sounds.

I replaced the belt on this 2005 Toyota Corolla with 93,000 miles on the odometer due to a loud chirping or squeaking sound that had gotten worse over time.

The new Gatorback (now known as "Continental Elite") belt, self proclaimed as "The Quiet Belt", lived up to its name and completely silenced the embarrassing chirps and squeaks that the car emitted when started up on a cold morning.

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