Timing Belt Checklist
Timing Belt Checklist - Last Updated 6/26/2008 - Page 1 of 6
□ Disconnect battery ground.
□ Put service covers on fenders.
□ Remove intake hoses, and fan or fan-shroud assembly, disconnecting wiring for electrical fans as they are removed.
- 79-86: Remove fan – 3 M10 bolts – after detaching throttle quadrant
- 87-89: First unfasten oil hose from upper left radiator fitting using 27mm with 32mm counterhold pump wrench. Re-snug the oil line after the fans shroud is removed. Remove the air pump filter hose from the fan shroud.
□ Lift car and remove bellypans.
□ Loosen and remove all accessory belts
□ Loosen power steering/alternator cassette and pull forward.
□ Working again from above, remove upper radiator hose and lower radiator hoses, catching coolant.
□ Remove the oil dipstick and tube and plug the hole in the pan with a cork.
□ Unfasten the wire loom spacer from the bracket on the right side timing belt cover (4mm Allens).
□ Unfasten the main harness clamps from the central engine lift bracket (5mm Allens)
□ Remove the central engine lift bracket from the water pump (6mm Allens)
□ Remove the distributor caps (8mm hex/screw slot head).
□ Detach the coil wires from the caps and pull the caps up out of the way and tie-wrap them and any hoses and wires to the cross-brace.
□ Remove the ignition rotors (4mm Allen). You may have to loosen the power steering reservoir and move it out of the way.
□ Disconnect the timing belt tension sensor wire from the outside of the right cover.
□ Remove the left timing belt cover. It is help on by 3 M6 bolts, one hidden in the opening where the wires harness comes through.
□ Remove the two bolts on the right cover. Before removing the cover, be sure to detach the wire behind it from the spade on the tensioner arm.
□ Keep the bolts in the proper holes as you lay the covers aside.
□ Using a 27mm socket and ratchet, turn the crank to 45º BTDC with the cam gears 3 teeth away from the timing marks.
□ Working from underneath, remove the blocking plate on the bellhousing front face, and fasten the flywheel lock. Note you may need to use a longer lower bolt to be secure.
□ Remove the crankshaft bolt - may require pipe extension
□ Remove the pulleys.
□ Wiggle the vibration damper. The damper will move in very small increments and may take several minutes of wiggling. On rare occasions, a puller may be needed.
□ Remove the crank collar – note orientation of rim facing outward.
□ Disconnect the main wire harness from the charge post and loosen the clamp that holds it to the right front lift post and pull the harness out.
□ Disconnect the large brown wire that fastens to a block near the ABS unit in front of the power steering pump.
□ Remove the center timing belt cover. Note there is a 13mm hexhead bolt hidden near the right edge – that is one of the tensioner bolts – remember to leave it out until the cover is installed on reassembly.
□ Loosen the tensioner locknut (17mm) and back off the tensioner adjuster bolt (17mm) to slacken the belt.
□ Remove the Allen screw (4 mm) from the tensioner arm bracket. This often strips and may require slotting with a Dremel and removal with a screwdriver or chisel blows.
□ Remove the other M6 bolt holding the bracket to the water pump and remove the bracket.
□ Observe the position of the belt on the tensioner roller and wiggle the tensioner arm on the spindle to check for bushing looseness/wear.
□ Work the tensioner arm off the spindle.
□ Remove the timing belt.
□ Check the condition of all of the gears. Any wear through the anodizing on the cam gear or original oil pump gears which exposes the underlying aluminum calls for replacement.
□ Check the crank gear for tooth condition.
□ Check the oil pump and main seal areas for signs of oil leakage. If any, remove the gears and replace the seals.
□ Remove the remainder of the tensioner bolts and work the tensioner free from the block. Be prepared to catch oil draining from that area.
□ Remove the tensioner idler spindle from the water pump. This is a 19mm nut that threads into the pump - it penetrates into the water-jacket, so be prepared to catch coolant.
□ Remove the fourteen 10mm water pump bolts. Any that does not loosen easily should be given a sharp rap on the head with a hammer and treated with rust penetrant to break up corrosion. Note there are several short bolts in specific locations. Two holes in the water pump are for pin locators. One hole in the lower left area is for a bolt that goes in after the cover is installed.
□ Remove the timing pointer from the old pump (two flathead screws) and transfer to the new pump.
□ Transfer spindle to the new pump.
□ The old pump may be held fast to the block by the gasket. There are a few lever points where you may gently pry against the back of the pump. You don't want to gouge an aluminum block around the water pump! Also a good rap with the wood-handle end of a hammer should help loosen it.
□ Clean off any gasket material from the block using a gasket scraper or single edge razor blade.
□ Clean the tensioner gasket area as well.
□ Remove the boot clamp and boot from the tensioner body while holding the opening upright.
□ Cup your hand over the end opening and invert. The main tensioner washer assembly and piston should drop out. If you drop this, the washer stack will scatter and some may break.
□ The washer assembly from MY83 on is composed of 7 stacks of 5 nested concave washers, with nested groups facing opposed, forming 3 and ½ groups of 2 stacks. Disassemble the stacks and clean the washers with solvent.
□ Remove the adjuster bolt and push a long, thin shaft into the tensioner from the bolt hole end to push out the valve body.
□ Clean the inside of the tensioner body and check for the Teflon lining. If this has significant defects, the body must be replaced.
□ Clean the valve body and replace its o-ring.
□ Remove the tensioner arm contact piece from the tensioner boot with the spring clip that holds it and transfer to the new boot.
□ Lightly lube the o-ring and reassemble the tensioner components, and clamp the boot on the end using a end-cutters or cv-boot clamp pliers.
□ Turing to the tensioner arm, if the idler bearing is noisy, remove the idler by removing the C-lip and using a puller to remove it, then press on the new idler making sure the bearing stays centered.
□ Loosen the nut holding the main roller and take it off the tensioner arm. Be careful to observe the assembly order and transfer the locating C-clip to the new roller shaft.
□ Turn the tensioner adjuster bolt to full loose.
□ Clean the block and the tensioner of any remaining gasket material from the tensioner.
□ Use a light coating of gasket sealant on the gasket and mate to the tensioner.
□ Attach the tensioner to the block. Leave the air pump bolt for last evenb though the AC line A/C line will block that bolt.
□ Turning to the water pump, transfer the degree indicator from the old water pump to the new one.
□ Use a tap to clean out the water pump bolt holes and die to clean up the bolt threads.
□ Test fit the new water pump to the block. Note the pin locations in the image below. Position the water pump on those pins. If it does not push on, ream the pin holes slightly to remove paint that may have reduced the diameter.
□ Remove the pump from its test fit and position the gasket on the water pump with a light coat on non-hardening gasket sealant (Hylomar, Yamabond). The factory uses no sealant. Consider using none on the block side to ease gasket removal next time, if the block surface is pristine.
□ Insert the long and short bolts in the holes as indicated in the image below. Note the bolt indicated by the left arrow is left out to be put in through the center cover.
□ Torque the bolts to 6 ft lbs.
□ Start the new timing belt at the crankshaft pulley, oriented so you can read the labeling from the front of the car. Pull it over the oil pump, the left cam sprocket, around the water pump, and over the right cam sprocket. Turn/adjust the camshafts counter-clockwise as necessary for the 45º marks to line up when installing the belt (it is normal for the valve spring pressure to turn the cam sprockets).
□ Install the tensioner arm on the water pump spindle.
□ Check that ALL slack in the belt is between the right cam sprocket and the tensioner.
□ Use a 17mm open-end wrench and turn the tensioner clockwise to tighten the belt, checking tension with the Kempf tool.
□ Install the center timing-belt cover. One 13mm bolt goes into the tensioner, plus three 10mm bolts (one is long). Be careful to not over tighten the bolts because the cover is plastic.
□ Install the crank collar and harmonic balancer.
□ Finger-tighten the crank bolt and washer.
□ Temporarily remove the flywheel lock.
□ Turn the engine to TDC 0º
□ Check timing marks on camshaft sprockets. Correct any marks off by more than ½ of a tooth by turning the crank back to 45º BTDC, loosening the tensioner bolt and walking the belt over the cam gear teeth. Retension the belt and turn the engine two turns and re-check all timing marks.
□ Check the belt tension with engine at 0º TDC with the cam timing indicators at TDC. Place the tool midway between the right cam sprocket and the tensioner idler (smaller roller). Tighten the belt by turning adjusting the tensioner screw clockwise.
□ Turn the engine two more turns and re-check the tension. Engine must always be at TDC 0º when checking.
□ Loosen the tensioner bleeders and fill the tensioner with motor oil into the left bleeder using an oil can with clear hose. Fill until oil runs out of the right bleeder. Tighten both bleeders.
□ Insert the oil dipstick tube, positioning the harness behind the dipstick tube.
□ Plug in the connecting wire for the timing-belt tension sensor.
□ Attach the upper part of the dipstick tube to the center timing-belt cover.
□ Install the console mount for the alternator - two 13mm and one 17 mm bolt.
□ Again install the flywheel lock.
□ Remove the crank bolt and washer.
□ Install the pulleys with the belts in place. From back to front the order is A/C belt (large single pulley), power steering belt, air pump belt, and alternator (thick, ribbed belt).
□ Tighten the crank bolt (with thick washer oriented so concave side faces the crank snout) to 218 lbs. torque.
□ Remove the flywheel lock and replace access cover (on automatics) or clutch slave cylinder (on 5-speeds). Remember the washers with the two 10mm bolts.
□ Replace the upper timing-belt covers. The right side has one short and one long 10mm bolt. The left cover has three short 10mm bolts.
□ Thread the wiring harness across the front of the engine, under the right timing-belt cover and up and forward to the jump point and reconnect the cable and the 13-pin connector.
□ Reconnect the harness wire to the block near the ABS unit.
□ Reattach the harness bracket to the right engine lift point.
□ Reconnect the tensioner sensor wire running from the right fuel rail harness to the connector underneath the right timing-belt cover.
□ Tighten the A/C compressor belt and pivot bolt.
□ Tighten the power steering belt with the13mm adjuster nut. Tighten the two 13mm lockdown nuts and the 13mm pivot bolt.
□ Tighten the air pump belt with the 13mm adjuster nut, 17mm lockdown bolt, and 13mm pivot bolt.
□ Tighten the alternator adjuster and the 17mm lockdown bolt. Do not forget to tighten the pivot bolt if you loosened it.
□ Attach each distributor to its timing-belt cover with a flathead screwdriver or an 8mm socket.
□ Connect coil wires.
□ Attach the front spark plug wire loom to the water pump (4mm hex key).
□ Disconnect the oil cooling line and loosely replace the fan shroud.
□ Reconnect and tighten the oil cooling lines (1-1/4" or 32mm and 1-1/16" or 27mm wrenches) remembering that the side tanks are plastic.
□ From underneath, fit the three tabs at the bottom of the shroud into place, and connect the fan wiring and clips.
□ Tighten the two 10mm bolts on top of the shroud.
□ Reattach the air pump filter hose.
□ Tighten the power steering reservoir clamp.
□ Replace the jump point cover.
□ Replace the oil dipstick.
□ Reattach the coolant reservoir hose.
□ Attach the lower radiator hose to the radiator.
□ Attach the upper radiator hose to the water manifold.
□ Fill the engine block with a coolant mix through the upper radiator hose and then connect the hose to the radiator. The mix should be approximately 50/50% aluminum-friendly coolant and distilled water (adjust the ratio to your climate).
□ Fill the radiator through the lower radiator hose and then connect the hose to the water manifold.
□ Fill the coolant reservoir.
□ Check accessory belt tension.
□ Test upper, lower, and coolant reservoir hose clamps.
□ Remove tools, lights, etc. from the engine bay.
□ Reconnect the battery ground strap.
□ Start car.
□ Set heater to full HOT and fan on maximum.
□ Check engine for leaks and bad noises.
□ When coolant reaches operating temperature the thermostat will open and the lower radiator hose will begin to warm. At that point periodically squeeze the lower radiator hose to help move air out of the system, although the system is self bleeding back to the reservoir.
□ After the engine has fully warmed, shut it off.
□ Check accessory belt tension.
□ Check radiator hose clamps.
□ Add coolant to the coolant reservoir and tighten the cap.
□ After engine cools, add coolant as needed.
□ Replace engine belly pans.