Timing belt R&R

[Logbear]

I just did this job so I wrote it up while it was still fresh in my mind.

1) Drain and remove radiator. Remove radiator fan, front plastic grill, and air cleaner. The grill is just held on but 1 screw and 4 plastic clip things.
Don’t hesitate to get this stuff out of the way. It all comes out pretty quick.
2) Remove distributor cap so you can see what cylinder is in firing position.
3) Remove #1 spark plug. (You can remove them all and then the engine turns over easier with a ratchet on the crankshaft pulley bolt.)
4) Remove the top plastic timing belt cover. The top part will come off easy with the crankshaft pulley still on.
5) Remove valve cover. Remove the top plastic timing belt cover. The top part will come off easy with the crankshaft pulley still on. The lower part need the crank pulley removed. Then you can confirm that no valves are open and in danger of being hit by a piston coming up. If you have to or want to, you can rotate the camshaft with a socket on the camshaft bolt (14MM).
6) Remove whatever drive belts you have. Remove the main crank outer pulley (4 bolts), and the water pump pulley (3 bolts) They come off pretty easy.
7) Rotate the engine with a socket (17MM on mine) on the crankshaft pulley until #1 piston is at it’s low point. (I poked a screwdriver in the sparkplug hole to tell when it was down). With the valve cover off you can also confirm that the cam is not turning, which assures you that the timing belt is indeed broken.
When #1 piston is at the low point stuff some small rope (I used ¼ inch nylon) into the sparkplug hole until it doesn’t want to go in anymore. I think I got about 3 or 4 feet in the hole.
9) Rotate the engine counterclockwise with the socket on the crank pulley bolt until the engine doesn’t rotate anymore.(The rope has bunched up the the cylinder and stopped the engine from turning) Now use a breaker bar on the ratchet and turning counterclockwise. (Yes, counterclockwise like any normal bolt) I started to wonder if it had reverse threads since it was so hard to get off but it’s a normal bolt.
10) When the bolt is out, use a pulley puller to get the pulley off. Don’t try to beat it with a hammer or pry on it like I did. I took a chip out of the pulley trying. There is just enough room in front of the pulley with the plastic grill out of the way to use a puller.
11) Remove the bottom plastic cover, and the timing belt guide. If the belt stripped out at the bottom of the crank timing cut the belt and remove it.
12) Remove the idler pulley bolt, pulley and spring. Pay attention to how the spring hooks on.
13) From here follow the shop manual, that’s what I did. The manual is very good.
14) I used the rope method of holding the engine to torque the crank pulley.

I did have a problem when I was all finished. My car wouldn’t start. After checking everything, I ended up following the procedure for distributor removal and replacement. I think I screwed up and had the distributor pointing 180 deg off when I put the new belt on. Anyway after the distributor R&R the car started and ran. And now it runs better than ever.

Tools: Screwdrivers, pliers, 3/8â€Â

[GTSSportCoupe]

Good writeup! Thanks!

[Dirtmagnet]

Great instructions.

Last week the timing belt on the Redneck Rover snapped. Within 1 hour I had it all dissasembled. Of course no-one in town had the parts, had to wait a couple of days.

Lukily we do not have the rusting problem here in the south, and my crank pulley bolt (19mm on my '83) was easy to remove. I did not have to do the rope trick, I used a chain wrench on the crank pulley and was able to hold it with that, to remove it and torque it. The pulley was a little stubborn even with a puller. I used some anti-sieze on it when I put it all back together.

I went ahead and put on a new water pump and tensioner pulley. It fired right up and runs great.

Thanks for the write-up.

[keith]

Easiest way to remove the crank bolt, use a long breaker bar wedged into the frame and bump the starter. Just barely hit the starter, the smallest fraction of a second is all it takes.

[Mac]

oldschool, I did it when i had to remove my engine for the second time, used an impact to take it off.

[takza]

The BEST method to hold the crank is to use a c-clamp in the starter opening...this way you can set the crank set at TDC...so you don't get things out of time.

Also need to watch the "gaskets" on the back of the plastic belt covers...they are needed to keep oil off the belt.

The crank gear was seized on mine...I pried and wedged using screwdrivers and even a cold chisel (not recommended) until I could get a puller on it. Cleaned it up some inside and used a little moly grease on it to install on the crank.

[shogun]

is my engine a freak??? my crank bolt is 19mm

[keith]

I've got a 17mm on one engine and a 19mm on the other. The 4ac didn't come with one, I used the 17 on that one.

[Typrus]

19mm on my 84 engine. Think the 86 engine is 17. Might be wrong.

[keith]

Per ARCHINSTL request

OK, I wish I taken some pictures of my timing belt change (one of them anyway).

Tools needed

Breaker Bar and ratchet
8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 19 mm sockets and wrenches
3, 6, 9, and 12" extensions, the wobble type come in handy.

Torque wrench, beam type is usually the most accurate.

A hook set available at most parts stores, for removing the seal

Timing light if you really think you need it. I have a little trick for that.

Steps

Remove the radiator
Loosen the front crank pulley by using appropriate socket on the breaker bar, wedging it against something and hitting the starter for just a microsecond. Check that it is loosened, repeat if necessary.
Remove all belts
Remove the valve cover and top half of the timing belt cover
Set the initial alignment for the engine. Crank the engine until the timing marks line up at TDC and the #1 cylinder is on the compression stroke. Verify by checking that both valves for #1 are closed and the caret (∇) on the head appears through the hole in the cam timing gear
Now remove the crank pulley.
Loosen the timing belt tensioner and remove the timing belt
Remove the crankshaft timing gear
Replace seal Use a hook to pull it out. Use silicone dielectric grease on the inside surface when putting back in
While your at it, you may want to replace the camshaft timing gear seal. For it, you have to remove the timing gear first, if you look along the cam, you will see a small square section that a 19mm wrench should fit on to keep the cam from turning while you loosen the bolt on the gear. I removed the rocker shaft before unbolting the cam bearings but it might be possible to remove the seal by just loosening the cam bearing bolts and lifting the cam slightly and replacing the seal. Be sure to torque the cam bolts in the right sequence when reassembling all this
Replace the timing belt. Align the cam gear (∇ in the hole) and the crank gear (dot on the gear with the ∇ on the block) verify crank position by temporarily positioning the lower timing belt cover and slipping the pulley on the crank. It should be at TDC.
Set the tension on the timing belt by letting the spring push the tensioner to the belt and tighten down.
Finish assembly, throw in a new valve cover gasket for good measure.

Just before putting the radiator back in, realign the engine to 5ºBTDC
Finish assembly

Before starting, pull the distributor cap and rotor. A vane on the distributor shaft should be aligned with the vertical metal line on the ignitor. If not, loosen the distributor and align it, then tighten down. Then spray some oil under the plate that the ignitor sits on. Also spray some up into the drain hole at the bottom of the distributor near the hold down bolt. This will lubricate the mechanical advance springs and weights. Put the rotor back on and give it a little twist. It should rotate in one direction a little and spring right back when released.

Put it back together and you should be ready to go.

Go to the FSM link just below the blue bar at the top of the screen to get torque specs, torque order and more info.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but someone here will notice and fill you in for me. Some stuff you won't figure out until you do it.