The drive belt tensioner installed in the 1997 through 2008 Toyota Corolla model vehicles is the component that keeps the drive belt tensioned around each accessory pulley; it is a spring-loaded component. The drive belt routes underneath the pulley that is attached to the spring-loaded drive belt tensioner. Replace the drive belt tensioner whenever the spring inside the tensioner weakens and is no longer able to keep the proper amount of tension in the belt.
Park the Toyota Corolla in a safe location with plenty of working room. Park the Corolla on level ground.
Open the hood and locate the drive belt tensioner on the front of the engine. The drive belt tensioner has a spring-loaded arm on one end and a pulley on the other end of the spring-loaded arm. Use the 19-mm bolt head in the center of the tensioner pulley to rotate the tensioner.
Turn the tensioner clockwise with the 1/2-inch drive breaker bar and the 19-mm socket. Pull the drive belt out from under the tensioner pulley.
Loosen and remove the 12-mm bolt from the hydraulic cylinder that is attached to the spring-loaded part of the tensioner with the breaker bar and a 12-mm socket. Pull the bolt out of the tensioner and place the bolt in a safe place.
Loosen and remove the 17-mm bolt from the center part of the spring-loaded arm. Pull the bolt out until the bolt hits the frame of the car.
Position the floor jack under the oil pan located on the bottom of the engine. Lay the small block of wood on the jacking plate of the floor jack. Jack the floor jack up until the wood block presses against the oil pan. Continue to jack the engine up slowly, until the 17-mm bolt can be removed from the tensioner.
Pull the 17-mm bolt out of the tensioner, then pull the tensioner off the front of the engine and out of the engine compartment.
Position the new replacement drive belt tensioner on the front of the engine. Slide the long, 17-mm bolt into the tensioner until the bolt hits the front of the engine block..
Lower the jack, so that the engine is back in its original place. Finish screwing the 17-mm bolt into the tensioner.
Screw the 12-mm bolt back into the hydraulic cylinder, at the top of the spring-loaded arm of the tensioner. Tighten both bolts with the breaker bar and sockets.
Rotate the new drive belt tensioner clockwise again with the breaker bar and the 19-mm socket. Slide the belt back under the pulley that is attached to the drive belt tensioner. Make sure that the belt is still seated inside the other accessory pulleys.
Crank the Toyota Corolla and watch the new drive belt tensioner as the motor is running, to make sure that it is going to work properly. Turn the engine off and close the hood of the vehicle.
