Timing belt and plug change (few small pics)

[mcgon1979]

Did the belt over the weekend with a mechanic friend of mine. heres a couple of shots of the work.

step1
stripping the area to reveal the belt... It actually looked pretty old and had plenty of wear marks on it. defo due a belt anyways.

[mcgon1979]

Marked up the old belt and the cam wheels and removed.
I know some of you will probably prefer to use the factory markings on the pulleys but I have never had any hassle this way and like to put on the new belt exactly as the old one had come off.

[mcgon1979]

new belt on with minimal hassle. As belt changes go its not too bad....

[mcgon1979]

this next bit was to prove the pain of the job... was more hassle putting these bad boys in... Whoever had it in japan had VK22s in it. They ar eidentical to IK22s except the IK has a tapered tip and a u groove....

The tips of the VKs were slightly worn too and a slider confirmed the gap was bigger than on the new IK22s.... As it happens the car feels noticeably revvier with the new plugs.

[mcgon1979]

here is a shot showing where the manifold splits to access the rear bank. The inlet manifold gasket was fine, its very tough and would be unlikley you would break it. I replaced it anyway as I had one bought. Throttle body is removed from inlet manifold and the also the rear bolts. (had to remove one side of the strut brace too. just tie wrapped it up to the bonnet out of the way.

[mcgon1979]

car back together and running. (I admit I gave her a bit of a clean)
I also did the oil filter and put in 5w40 fully synt. which probably also added to the feeling of free-er reving. The stuff coming out of it seemed thicker, prob 10 40.

anyway, thats her done for a while. next job will be replacing the coolant, and also changing the fuel filter.

[Muad_dib77]

Very Nice Job U did there.. And may I say that is a SUPER clean engine bay you have!

Impressed.

[CJ]

Nice work, I've always meant to have a go at changing the timing belt but never got around to it. As regards the marks you put on the new belt, did you just copy off the old one?

CJ

[kevinod]

You didn't use anything to lock the (can't think of the proper name)cog wheels? Had a lot of problems with mine when I did it, they moved out of position really easily, ended up buying special tools for the job.

I have a fuel filter to install myself, but its in an awkward position to get at so not in a hurry with it... spark plugs 'in stock' along with gaiters to be replaced...

[Sebastian]

i cannot belive how clean is your engine !!
you have all my respect!

[mcgon1979]

hey guys, thanks for all your comments.. I never would try a job like this on my own though, but my mechanic mate is in the business 15 years so knows his stuff. (plus he has all the tools and ramps etc)

CJ: yeah I marked the new belt identically as the old one. counted out the number of teeth on the old belt between each mark on the cam wheels. then counted them again on the new belt. then visually inspected too. the new belt went on as the old one came off. tooth for tooth.

Kevinod: yep Kev the cam wheels can indeed move slightly. maybe only by one tooth but if the belt goes on even with only one cam wheel one tooth out, your engine won't run right. any more than a tooth off and your in for a bad day. the cam wheels were very carefully marked though (before the old belt came off) as was the belt itself to ensure the new belt went on with the cam wheels in the right position. exactly right.


I wish I could take all the credit for the clean enigne bay. It was like this when I got it and its been pretty easy to maintain it once it started this clean. just some son of a gun on a cloth every few weeks... I have to admit though, I never thought I would care what the engine bay looks like, but now I love keeping it clean. lol

[LSpec]

where you bought the belt??

any special website

[baldtyres]

I actually get a little tingle when I see an engine that clean

[mcgon1979]

bought the belt at camskill....

[baz]

very clean engine bay good job

[Wildhound]

I can't believe the cleanliness either... shocking! Mine's bloody filthy. I'll be giving it a proper clean when I put the shiny rebuilt engine in in a few months. Particularly after seeing that!

[Grace]

cracking job and what a spotless engine bay!!! and I thought mine was clean

[ftolam13]

good job and nice engine

[ftomad]

bought the belt at camskill....

expensive?

[mcgon1979]

Labour costs about 200 - 300 if your getting someone to do it.
Parts from camskill.co.uk belt kit for V6.

[djabie]

looking at your tips for changing the cambelt and i decided im gona give it a try myself.
Im not a beginner as cars go but just a few questions.
1. Was the bottom crank bolt easy to crack.

2. Did the bottem pully come off easy enough

3. Did the cams move much are they easy to rotate back into place if they do move.

4. I see you clamped the belt with a pair of vice grips on the first cam
Was this to hold the belt to line it up with the rest of the cams.
could the belt be clamped on any cam.

Sorry for all the questions i have never done a belt this way before it looks so much easier
Thanks in advance for any replys.....

[mcgon1979]

Hi djabie,

I don't recall there was any problems at all with the bottom bolt or the removal of the bottom pulley.
The belt was just clamped at cam 1 just for convenience really as the belt was put on from the bottom to cam1 to cam2 etc, so just lined up the correct tooth on cam 1 and clamped it as a start point, stop it moving or slipping etc.
The cams do move a little bit so its important to mark them up before removal of the old belt just in case. The markings on the cams themselves are hard to see so I think its better to tipex them up just to be sure.
It's not a very difficult job but I would never try it on my own, I was working with a mechanic so had access to all the right tools and all the right advice for any questions. mind you, if you competent and have done a belt before on any car I think you would be ok. I think there might be digrams and adive in the engine manual also, available from the downloads section of this site. Once you get the belt on in the right position (mark the old one and the cam wheels well before removal) you cannot really mess it up. just a matter of the tensioner and the pulley back on. just take notes as you remove anything.

[steelroe]

Metal paper clips are a great help in keep the belt clamped onto the cams while you are working on the crank pulley.

[djabie]

Thanks for your replys guys
I have changed a few timing belts before but every one is different wouldnt wanna mess it up on my own car lol
So just waiting for the cam kit to arrive and i will post back and let you know how i get on success or disaster.
thanks again cheers....

[mcgon1979]

Thanks for your replys guys
I have changed a few timing belts before but every one is different wouldnt wanna mess it up on my own car lol
So just waiting for the cam kit to arrive and i will post back and let you know how i get on success or disaster.
thanks again cheers....

ah you'll be grand. Once you know the seriousness of messing it up
I remember being around for a belt change on a single cam 1.9 diesel astra. makes the fto belt change look like rocket science.