|
Here are some ideas that might help you with the timing belt and other front-of-the-engine jobs. These are just things that have worked for me. There are various approaches that work.
Suggestions:
-Remove the valve cover and front cam cap to access the cam seal.
-Remove the seal carrier to access the intermediate seal and the crank seal. Replace these two on the bench.
-Removing the seal carrier also makes it easy to clean up the crank and intermediate shaft where the new seal will ride.
-Notice exactly how deeply all three seals are set before you remove them.
-Have a crank tool on hand. $36 from Chris at Swedish Engineering (1-800-938-6586 X502). Beautiful tool. IPD has a similar tool for about $39 (1-800-444-6473.
-Don’t just drive the new seals a little deeper onto virgin territory without cleaning the shafts first. Easy if the seal carrier is removed. They might be crudded up and need cleaning. What you think is “virgin shaft” might in fact be rough and cruddy which wouldn’t do the new seals any good.
-Clean everything along the way.
-Consider replacing the water pump (Hepu $33, Groton, Nick 1-877-634-0063), the coolant, the tensioner($22, Groton), and all the drive belts.
-Have a seal carrier gasket and valve cover gasket on hand.
-Before removing the old belt, line the engine up at #1 TDC and mark the front edge of the old belt right in front of the three marks on the engine. (The original marks on the old belt probably won’t be lined up anymore. Don’t worry about that.) Mark the front edge of the new one right where its factory marks are and carefully compare the two. Make sure the marks on the new one match the marks on the old one, assuming your old one was installed correctly.
- The crankshaft mark might not seem to line up right. When the engine turns the mark on the belt will hit the right place on the sprocket. You have to count back counterclockwise, say 6 notches on the belt from the double mark, and six teeth back on the sprocket, and make sure those marks hit each other. That way when the engine is turned over the official mark on the belt will hit the right place on the pulley. The official mark on the belt won't actually be touching the right place on the sprocket while the cam and intermediate marks are on target. That's because the correct place on the crank sprocket will be up and won't be touching the belt at all until the engine is turned over.
-It’ll all be clear when you do the job. Take your time and enjoy the job. It’s not hard, and is actually kind of fun.
- Groton, IPD, and Swedish Engineering are three good possibilies for parts. There are others too, but generally not the dealers. Check prices and brand names. Often Groton has the very same brand parts for the best prices. When I bought my crank tool, Swedish Engineering was the best.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
--
Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, M46; 86 244, 140k , auto.
|
