Changing the timing belt

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:45 pm

Ok, me and my brother are going to attempt to it ourselves because our mechanic is too busy to be doing something as free labour, so f**k him. Im also replacing tensioner and idler as well

has anyone that done it before have a brief step by step outline on how to do it? any help would be good

Someone should really put a DIY up on this ...

sublime19 · Post by **sublime19** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:53 pm

Lol?? I don't think u wanna do this on YOUR car if you've never done it before and don't even know how to do it

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:09 am

my brother knows what hes doin, hes done it on his car but i just wanna check if there is anything different

i know the ramifications of not doin it properly but my mechanic will point us in the right direction ...

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:26 am

No real issues, just take your time and factor in at least a whole (long) day for it.

If its a manual you should be okay with the nut on the crankshaft by just locking up the gears and stamping on the brakes to hold it.

Make sure you have some bulldog clips to hold the new belt to the cam gears or it is a real pain in the ass as they spring about all over the place due to the tension on the valve springs.

And once you are happy the belt is on and all the timing marks line up turn it by hand at least 4-5 times and recheck they do.

It is just a long slow job, nothing really more frightening than that.

Bill

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:03 am

I contemplated doing a DIY, but I didn't have the time. Just ask as you go, we'll be able to tell you.

My fist tip is to get the motor to TDC before you pull the harmonic balance pulley off. Its got a mark on it that you line up with a mark on the timing cover. Once you got that lined up (and the bolt out of the pulley as storm mentions) then start stripping her down.

Its just easier that way, everything is then already lined up & its just a matter of pulling the belt off & putting the new one on.

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:28 am

thanx for the help guys, il probably start on it tonight, if not then tomorrow morning

Post by **I8A4RE** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:15 am

As someone said befor go slow, pay attention to which way round, tensionser etc go.

And above all make sure when its finished you turn the engine over by hand at least 6 times to make sure your marks line up, before starting it.

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:37 pm

yep and last thing, what do you do about tensioning the belt?

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:52 pm

Unbolt & remove the whole tensioner assembly when you pull the old belt off. It has a spring / hydraulically loaded arm that pushes its pulley onto the belt when operating. Lock it down into its lowest position & use a pin through the shaft to keep it there.

Get the belt on in the following order:
1. Round the crank pulley
2. Up around the water pump toward the front of the engine
3. From water pump, up over the front two cam pulleys (when in place cable tie the belt to the pulleys - 1 tie per pulley)
4. Drop off the 2nd front cam pulley & go down & around the idler pulley
5. Come up round the back of the idler pulley & go over the 2 rear cam pulleys (again, cable tie the belt to the pulleys)
6. From the rear of the 2 back cam pulleys, the belt will now head back down to the crank pulley, but loosely - as that was where your tensioner has come off & needs to be bolted back on.

Put the tensioner back in place, with the centre nut of the pulley loose. You'll need a set of 90 degree angled circlip pliers here - once you bolted the whole tensioner assembly in place, you need to rotate the eliptical centre section of the pulley in toward the front of the motor. There are 2 small holes in the centre of the pulley that will allow you to grip & turn it with the circlip pliers. As you twist the pulley in, the belt will tighten around it. Once you have it tight, continue to hold the pressure with the pliers & get your brother to quickly nip up the centre nut of the pulley. Then you can relax, all you have to do then is pull out the pin you used earlier to lock the shaft of the tensioner down. The tensioner will then release further, tightening the belt a little more. It wont tighten it hugely with the motor off, as its a oil operated hydraulic shaft & you wont get oil pressure with the motor off.

There ya go, almost a DIY!

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:08 pm

wow good work ben, thats gonna help heaps mate

thanx

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:10 pm

And here's a little pic to help out with

Timing marks are the red lines (and the little red rectangle) & the white numbers correspond to the numbers in my above post.

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:21 pm

ahh shite, im guessing this is gonna be an absolute mission with the engine in

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:23 pm

Correct

Tippin · Post by **Tippin** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:27 pm

haha

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:37 pm

Bennoz wrote:It wont tighten it hugely with the motor off, as its a oil operated hydraulic shaft & you wont get oil pressure with the motor off.

Does it actuall rely on the engine oil pressure Ben, cos once mine was off I could see no way it actually connected into the engine and with no gasket it would be a definite area for leaks.

I assumed the spring kept the tension and the oil was just to act as a shocker to stop the piston bouncing around to the point where a tooth could slip

Bill

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:54 am

and if you can't pull that pin out easly then you need to adjust the tension so it does.
that is the check to make sure the belt is tensioned properly.