Working on the Serpentine Belt for Your 2007 RAV4 V6
The 2007 RAV4 with the V6 uses the 1GR-FE 3.5-liter engine, and the serpentine belt routing on that one is straightforward if you already know where everything sits. The belt loops around the crankshaft pulley at the bottom, goes up to the power steering pump on the driver's side of the engine, drops down to an idler pulley, crosses over to the alternator, runs to the A/C compressor pulley, and finishes at the tensioner assembly. That is the basic path. I have done this replacement a handful of times on my own vehicles, and the biggest frustration is almost never the routing itself. It is getting the tensioner to budge with enough slack to slip the belt off. The diagram on this engine shows a single serpentine belt connecting six main pulleys: the crankshaft, power steering pump, idler pulley, alternator, A/C compressor, and the tensioner. There is no separate belt for the water pump on this engine because the 1GR-FE uses a timing belt for that. This is one of those things people mess up, including me once. I assumed the water pump was serpentine-driven on a hunch and nearly ordered the wrong belt before catching myself. The routing label underneath the hood cover usually has the correct path printed on it. If yours is missing or faded, which happens a lot on ten-plus-year-old vehicles, you can find reference images online, but double-check against your actual engine configuration before committing to anything. The belt itself is a Gates or ContiTech part, typically numbered something like 6PK1810 or close to that length. I always verify the part number rather than guessing from memory. Belt lengths vary between model years even within the same engine family, and a wrong belt will not tension properly no matter how carefully you route it.
Here is how the removal and installation actually go. You need a 14mm socket on a ratchet or a specific serpentine tool, and you work the tensioner toward the engine to relieve pressure. The bolt is accessible but sometimes crunchy with grime. I spray penetrating oil on the tensioner pivot point and let it sit for fifteen minutes before attempting anything. Once the tension is off, the belt slides right off the tensioner pulley first, then you can peel it off the rest. Installation is the reverse, but instead of guessing, lay the belt around every pulley following the diagram, leaving the tensioner side as the last step. That gives you the most room to work. When you get the belt seated, apply steady pressure to the tensioner with your tool. Do not yank it. The tensioner arm can snap if you force it past its designed arc. I learned that the hard way on a different project, and the repair cost more than the tensioner assembly itself. With the RAV4 V6, the tensioner is forgiving if you work it slowly. Once the belt is on, spin the crankshaft by hand two full revolutions using a socket on the crank bolt. This checks that the belt tracks correctly and does not jump a pulley. If it looks straight and tensioned after that, you are good. A few things that tend to go wrong with this setup. The tensioner pulley bearing gets noisy before the belt does. If you hear a whine that changes pitch with engine speed, check the tensioner before blaming the belt. Replacing just the belt when the tensioner is worn will leave you dealing with the same noise in a few thousand miles. Also, the idler pulley can seize from road debris and moisture. It is small, easy to miss during a visual inspection, and when it goes, it takes the new belt with it. Give all idler pulleys a spin by hand before you install a fresh belt. They should turn smoothly with barely any resistance and absolutely no grinding.
Another thing worth noting is belt dressing. People ask about it constantly, and the answer is no. Belt dressings are a bandage for a worn or glazed belt, not a fix. If your belt is glazed, it means the pulleys are misaligned or the tensioner is not applying proper pressure. Dressing it will make it quiet for a week and then slip worse than before. Replace the belt and investigate the real cause. If you want an official diagram, Toyota does not publish belt routing schematics as downloadable files on their main site. You will find decent quality images on forums like Toyota Nation, RAV4World, and the official Toyota owner community. Those are usually screenshots from the service manual or photos of the hood sticker. Any of those work. Just make sure the image matches the 3.5L V6 and not the four-cylinder, because the routing is completely different between those engines. The entire job should take you about twenty to thirty minutes if you have the right tools and a calm workspace. It can stretch to an hour if the tensioner is stiff or you are fighting with a crushed belt that will not cooperate. Keep a flashlight handy because the area around the tensioner is dark and shadowed under the engine cover. The whole process is not complicated. It just rewards patience and punishing impatience.
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