[V8] V8 timing belt

[dsaad at icehouse.net]

Wellcome to the club!!

I also agree - I would rather do a t-belt than a clutch. It is far easier.

Dave


Quoting David Head <v8q at bellsouth.net>:

> I finally bit the bullet and completed the timing belt last weekend on 
> the tornado red car. I was seriously apprehensive in approaching this 
> job. All in all, it was pretty straightforward - I would rather do one 
> of these than a trans or a rack  (any day!)... Kudos goes to Keith for 
> listening patiently and providing few rude comments to my dumb
> questions...
> 
> For tools I had the cam locks, harmonic balancer lock, 2079 extension, 
> pin spanner and big wrench for the fan removal. I replaced the oil pump 
> seal and bearing - but nothing else (other than the expensive plastic 
> bushing). Car runs fine - it has a slight whine it didn't have before - 
> might be coming from the water pump. While in there I also replaced the 
> distributor seals and added additional blue sealant, new rotors and 
> distributor caps and resealed both valve covers
> I also bought a digital 6" caliper from Harbor Freight for $20.00. It 
> sure made life easier when setting the damper length!
> 
> I was lucky in that when I shut the car off, it was about 5 degrees 
> short of TDC. Verification can be done by pulling off the valve cover 
> and eyeballing the zeros on the gears for the drive chain. One can also 
> check by verifying the rotor is lined up to number one. There's actually
> 
> a scribe mark on the distributor to make sure its lined up right (of 
> course with my eyes and no inspection mirror that was a non starter...).
> 
> I had one issue with the white plastic shield over the hall sensor 
> partially disintegrating and interfering with rotation. A few drops of 
> Superglue gel solved that.
> 
> For those who have done one, the old belt had stretched to 6.1 inches 
> (spec is 131-133mm, about 5.1 to 5.25 inches). After eccentric 
> adjusment, the damper was 132mm. After tightening down the cam bolts and
> 
> running through 2 revolutions, it was 132.48mm. I got the dimwit award 
> when I tried to rotate the engine through 2 turns with the cam locks 
> installed... Doh!!! FYI - it will go about two thirds of a rotation 
> before finding a set of valves.
> 
> Parts NOT reinstalled: rear passenger side heat shield speed nut (if you
> 
> ever take it off, you'll know why!), one of 2 washers for the wiring 
> clamp that bolts the the alternator cover. Removing the passenger side 
> heat shield gives easy access to the alternator.
> 
> Advice not followed: radiator support assembly removal. Some recommend 
> this as an access aid. Its good advice for a northern car as it gives 
> direct access to everything. If you have a lot of corrosion issues it 
> could make or break the job. Since my car was a southern car all but its
> 
> first year, and the timing belt had been done 3 years ago I didn't see 
> the need.
> 
> Retrospect: I was trying to save money, and since I had done the water 
> pump, thermostat, cam/crank seals, rollers/tensioners 3 years ago I 
> figured I would be all right in not doing so. I should have gone ahead 
> and done them all again. Although everything spun smoothly (including 
> the oil pump bearing) - something is slightly worn in there. If it gets 
> worse in the next month I'll go back in and do the rest. Now that I've 
> done one I'm not averse to going back in there if necessary.
> 
> Time: I stretched this out over 2 days. Day one was disassembly/fitting 
> the timing belt, oil pump seal/bearing and setting initial length. Day 2
> 
> was cover cleaning, sealing and reassembly. Total time: about 11-12 
> hours. I could probably do it in 10 a second time, and maybe 9 or 8 with
> 
> help and an air ratchet. It would be hard to move much quicker - there 
> are just so many small things there that have to be done.
> 
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