Timing Belt / Water Pump DIY - Step by Step Pictures

[e30pdee]

help! okay i took the harmonic balacer off without marking anything! how can i get it back on and aligned properly, im having a mini panic attack right now.... what do i do?

[e30pdee]

nevermind problem solved! there's a little hole in the harmonic balancer offsetting all the other holes that tells you its exact position when you took it off, so you can put it back on correctly!

[Mastrcruse]

Can someone take pics of the marks? The only thing that scares me about this job is getting it placed right. The motor needs to be in TDC to complete the tb right? How do I ensure it stays in TDC?

[vbaez11]

how come is it that nothing comes out of my early model 2.7l block coolant drain??

[jeffnhiscars]

Can someone take pics of the marks? The only thing that scares me about this job is getting it placed right. The motor needs to be in TDC to complete the tb right? How do I ensure it stays in TDC?

By not moving the cam or crank with the belt off

how come is it that nothing comes out of my early model 2.7l block coolant drain??

Assuming there is coolant in there you have crud blocking the hole. Poke it with a small screw driver and it would be a good idea to do a good cooling system flush.

[Christophe30]

While changing the timing belt have any of you changed your cam seals as well? If so how were you able to remove and torque down the camshaft bolt?

[jeffnhiscars]

While changing the timing belt have any of you changed your cam seals as well? If so how were you able to remove and torque down the camshaft bolt?

The easiest way to do this is to break that nut free while the old timing belt is in place. After its all stripped down, do the cam seal and again use the old belt wrapped just around the cam gear and held in place with a pair of vice grips wedged against the WP or whatever. Do not use the new belt for this.

Obviously, check and recheck your gear alignment throughout.

[Christophe30]

The easiest way to do this is to break that nut free while the old timing belt is in place. After its all stripped down, do the cam seal and again use the old belt wrapped just around the cam gear and held in place with a pair of vice grips wedged against the WP or whatever. Do not use the new belt for this.

Obviously, check and recheck your gear alignment throughout.

Thank you so much

[TehPilot]

I'll be tackling this sometime within the next week or so....
Parts I need:
-timing belt (1)
-water pump (1)
-tb tensioner (1)
-coolant thermostat (1)
-crankshaft seat (1)

anything else I would need "while im in there"?

Does everyone order from pelican?

[Vdubmt]

Awesome write up. Was going to take it to a shop to be done but after reading this DIY I think I'm going to tackle the job myself. Thanks.

[dank]

thermostat housing

while anyone was in there doing the timing belt, did anyone happen to do the "thermostat housing"? i know replacing the thermostat happens to be relatively simple, however, im having trouble replacing the housing that it is in... is it attached to the block? let me know your thoughts!

[jeffnhiscars]

I'll be tackling this sometime within the next week or so....
Parts I need:
-timing belt (1)
-water pump (1)
-tb tensioner (1)
-coolant thermostat (1)
-crankshaft seat (1)

anything else I would need "while im in there"?

Does everyone order from pelican?

Just saw this. You definitely want a new tensioner spring. It's useful life is the 5 minutes it takes to rotate the engine 2x to even out the belt BEFORE you tighten the tensioner, but the job it does survives the life of your belt....and you will get better pricing from autohausaz on virtualloy everything on your list

[mye30NoHo]

How do you hold water pump from spinning while removing the Fan Clutch?

[JinormusJ]

Normally, you'd just be able to give it a quick jolt and it'll break free. The fan clutches aren't supposed to be torqued down at all. Mechanics love to over torque these because they think theyre being oh so sly and extra precautious: they're not, and their "precaution" leads to major headache for DIYers with limited tools

If you're having problems; either:
1) Grab some household heater wire stuff (the metal strips with holes that fastens the water heater in your house) and bolt one down on the pulley, and anchor the other end to a fender bolt
2) Stick a large screw driver in the water pump itself (like straight into where the coolant goes)to jam the impeller, then apply force as you try to loosen the clutch
3) Just do it the easy way and remove the whole assembly and remove the clutch out of the engine bay. Just stick the bottom impeller in a vice and loosen the fan clutch. Just did it today:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3607437&postcount=54

[jeffnhiscars]

1) Grab some household heater wire stuff (the metal strips with holes that fastens the water heater in your house)....[/url]

AKA plumbers strap :)