[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by the

With any car, when you removing the timing belt or chain, the relationship between the crank and the cams must be maintained.

Not sure on the toyota, but often there is a tool or device available to lock the cams in place. as long as you don't turn the engine over (like cranking the starter or something), the crank is not going to move.

so, in most basic terms, you lock down the cams, loosen the tensioners, replace the belt (and usually the idler and any other bearings and tensioners), and retension it.

people often put the engine at Top Dead Center on the #1 cylinder, just in case the cams somehow turn while the belt is off. There are usually TDC marks on the crank pulley and the cams, so it would be easy to realign them.

The cams and crank pulleys are marked, you align the marks vertically and put the belt on. I don't know of (nor was it in the factory manual) and service tool to freeze the cams in place while the belt is off.