timeing belt questions

[boxcarfan]

ok so i got 85,000 on my car and i know your supposed to change the t-belt at 105,000 but idk...im thinking 90,000-95,000 just to be safe...for thoes that have done it...is there ANY special tools i need? or tricks that might help?

ALSO...im thinking about a new cam, would that be too much of a pain in the ass if i changed the cam while doin the t-belt?...and i want something better than the stock cam...kinda mild cam...i got no mods really...so i know i cant go crazy with the cam...what would you guys put in it(for thoes who know) thanks!

[Paul56]

ok so i got 85,000 on my car and i know your supposed to change the t-belt at 105,000 but idk...im thinking 90,000-95,000 just to be safe...for thoes that have done it...is there ANY special tools i need? or tricks that might help?

I changed my timing belt 5000k before the recommended mileage just to give myself the peace of mind.

The following parts were all changed at the same time:

-timing belt
-hydraulic tensioner
-cam seal
-crank seal
-water pump
-PS/AC tensioner
-upper torque strut
-coolant

All of the idler pulleys on the old parts on mine no longer ran smoothly.

There was evidence on the water pump that it had been seeping for a while although there was no detectable drop in coolant.

The seals were changed as a "might as well do it while in there" type of thing. They were not leaking but with items torn down enough that they were both accessible I felt it was worthwhile changing while in there. The seals are cheap. The time and grief to get at them again should they start to leak later was just not worth taking the chance... at least to me.

The inside rubber on the upper torque strut was all busted up on mine so that was a no-brainer.

From the outside appearance of the old timing belt looked brand new.

Unfortunately I did not do the job myself so I have no tips on the procedure or tools.

[Hudson_Neon]

wow... that seems a little overkill unless they were all leaking.

as far as tools go, nothing "special". the oddest ones would be a pulley puller and the "special" tool used to reinstall it (it's just a long bolt with a nut and washer. if you can't find the metric one there's a standard size that'll work ok. just be careful). just follow the FSM (it's somewhere on 2gn, can't seem to find it for some odd reason though)

[MXer]

If your doing the timing belt, I'd recommend the tensioner, water pump and bearing. Might as well go with a UDP (Under drive pulley) and for a cam - The Crane 10 or Comp 200 would work well. Might as well put a short tube header on as well. I think there is a post somewhere somebody walked everyone thru a cam change without pulling the motor.

[boxcarfan]

yea i saw that one...but i have access to a lift at work....but its gotta be done in one full day....from 7:30-5:30.....you guys think it can be done?

[Adionik]

I hear you are supposed to disconnect the header from the block so when you're lifting it the exhaust isn't bent wrong

[Paul56]

yea i saw that one...but i have access to a lift at work....but its gotta be done in one full day....from 7:30-5:30.....you guys think it can be done?

If you have all the parts you will need and don't get bogged down with items that are hard to remove.

I did not feel comfortable purchasing the tensioner in advance since some sources indicated the only true way of knowing what is in there is to tear it apart.

So I waited for confirmation of that before seeking out the tensioner and found them hard to get... needed to source one from a dealer down south. The job ended up taking 3 days due to the wait for this part.

[boxcarfan]

ok what im gonna replace (or have on hand just in case) is water pump and tensioner, and i kinda wanna put a crane 10 in it.