Worried about Timing Belt Tensioner….

Hey yall, first post on here. Just wanted to say I have had my 4runner for going on 14 years. 311k on it and its still going strong. I give it more love than more love than I care to admit…. Anyways heres the deal:
Recently did the 3rd timing belt on this truck, everything went smoothly. The usual replacements, timing belt, water pump, exc.. well, got the t belt on, tensioner installed, and lost story short. I took the belt off again, to redo the crankseal because I just had a feeling it was going to leak. That meant the timing belt tensioner had to come back off as well. When I took it off, I noticed it had a bit of the hydraulic oil on the top of it. This is the Toyo OEM tensioner, brand new. I think its normal to have a little leak past the upper seal once its released. So I ended up taking a c-clamp, and recompressing it. It took multiple tries of getting it about halfway compressed, releasing, it slipping off the clamp. But I finally got it compressed. When I recompressed it though, I want to say I compressed it rather quickly. Within about 5-10 minutes of pushing it down. I am worried I damaged the inner seal. Truck runs perfectly, no noises, no signs of ill but I am worried sick that its a ticking time bomb of me being in a hurry and not just ordering a new Aisin or Toyo. Any thoughts as to if I should break it down again and put a new one it, or just send it. Any input is appreciated. Thank you so much, and lastly…. 3rd gen is best gen.

 

Personally, I've never heard of the internal seal failing from compression, though I suppose it could happen. Additionally, the 5VZFE is - as you likely know - a non-interference engine, so theoretically, should your tensioner / belt go, nothing should get destroyed, though you will "be stuck on the side of the road," which is inconvenient at best.

If it were me, I'd probably just leave it if things seem to be working, but if you're losing sleep over it, my recommendation would be to get back in there and swap it out. Peace of mind about the reliability of my 5VZFE is one of the greatest things, so getting to that mental state would be worth it for me.

 

Thank you so much for the response. After hearing that and also conversation with a good friend that has a Tac with the 5VZ, im just gonna let it ride

 

It's a non interference engine so worst case, is you'll need a tow and replace it. But that being said, I have compressed these multiple times due to checking my work and needing to reposition the belt. I compress them in a vise in like 10 seconds and have never had an issue.