[V8] Timing Belt notes

[Mike Arman]

Having just completed the timing belt job on my V8, here are my notes 
and impressions:

1) First time, definitely pull the bumper and radiator support. More 
parts, yes, but overall this will save time and skinned knuckles 
because you can see what you are doing, and you will have some room to work.

There are six nuts holding the bumper on - the outer four are "easy" 
to get at, the center-most inner two are a bitch. Disconnect the 
Kostal connector on the right frame rail (another contortionist job), 
and pull the bumper. It may be stuck, a helper makes a big 
difference, and if you drop it, it will get scratched.

The radiator support is also a jigsaw puzzle. The plastic wedge 
mounts for the headlights are usually broken, so have some spares on 
hand - I am told they are a MB part (and even have the MB emblem 
molded in). I needed four of them. The headlights will have to be 
re-aimed after assembly.

Use small zip-lock bags for each GROUP of hardware as you take off 
parts. This bag has ALL the bumper nuts, this one has ALL the 
radiator support bolts, this bag has ALL the headlight mounting 
hardware and so forth. That way you KNOW where fastener X goes, and 
won't have left-over parts.

2) The A/C condenser and oil cooler *will* slide part way under the 
front of the car. Be gentle on their plumbing, and don't drop 
anything on them as you are working. The tranny cooler lines to the 
driver's side of the radiator are sealed with O rings - when you take 
the radiator assembly off, the lines flop down and make a mess - use 
some mechanic's wire to keep the lines UP while you are working, this 
keeps them from leaking all the fluid onto your work space. I like 
the suggestion of laying sheets of cardboard under and on the A/C 
condenser and oil cooler to protect them as you work.

3) HAVE THE MANUAL!!!! (or at least a photocopy of it) and refer to 
it frequently - "when all else fails, read the destructions".

4) HAVE THE TOOLS!!!! You will need the cam locks and the crank lock, 
while it may be possible to "kludge" a way around this, you are 
betting your engine that this will work . . . be safe and do it 
right. Other helpful tools are a caliper to measure the timing belt 
shock length, the thin wrench and pin wrench for the fan, and a 
seriously big 3/4" breaker bar for the crank bolt - that sucker is 
TIGHT and has to be put back TIGHT too.

5) Take your time. This is not an especially complex job, but there 
is a lot of it. I took about 12 hours total over two days - and part 
of that time was cooling myself off because I did it in the heat of 
the summer, outdoors (not a good idea, BTW).

6) Removing the bumper and radiator paid off for me because three of 
the water pump bolts broke off. They would have been impossible to 
remove with the bumper and radiator in place. Two came out without 
too much cussing, one had to be drilled. As I removed the last one, I 
fumbled it, and it fell into the water supply gallery to the pump, 
which was still full of anti-freeze. (Insert choice expletive here.) 
I fished it out with a coat hanger and a magnet since leaving it in 
would have resulted in disaster when it got sucked into the pump. 
Took about half an hour of sweating and profanity, but necessary.

The new water pump bolts got a dab of anti-seize on them, as did the 
thermostat bolts. These are Torx fasteners (#25, I think) and an 
Allen wrench will NOT remove them. They also strip easily, so be careful.

7) If you use the crank lock and cam locks, you will KNOW everything 
is correct, there will be no guessing on the cam timing, and you can 
set it spot-on, which is where you want it. This is a complex engine 
and does not tolerate sloppy assembly. Remember that the cam 
sprockets are NOT keyed to the cams - they can each go on in 359 
wrong positions, but the cam locks will insure that you find the one 
right position.

8) Take notes - you'll be listing parts that need replacement later, 
and parts that broke (my overflow reservoir did this!) when you 
looked at them funny. I still have to get my w/s wipers working again 
- they flat refuse to squirt! I also discovered that my distributor 
rotors are the glue-on type, and that I should start thinking about a 
set of distributor caps. Finally, I found a large, bright green 
feather inside the air filter housing - I have no idea where the rest 
of the bird might be . . . and I don't remember hitting a parrot.

9) Wash your hands frequently during this job. You are not as likely 
to slip and hurt yourself or damage something if your hands are 
clean. The short break also gives you a chance to think "Where am I, 
what's next?" instead of just ripping things apart and then wondering 
how all this stuff goes back together again later.

10) Make notes as to what you did and when you did it. I have a Dymo 
tape label on the driver's side belt cover that says "TB changed 
8/05, next 210K or 8/10" so I, or the next owner of the car will know 
this job is due again at 210,000 miles or in August of 2010. I also 
have a list of what parts were changed, again, so I know where I am next time.

This is about $800 in parts, more or less, plus anything that breaks 
or falls apart as you progress (like my coolant reservoir), but since 
I have no car payment, I can rationalize this as saying, OK, I just 
made two payments, and now I won't have any more for a while, instead 
of having another one next month, forever.

Do it right, do it once. And by the way - it runs SO well now, 
strong, smooth, quiet - I fear for my driver's license!

Best Regards,

Mike Arman
90 V8Q
It isn't just a car, it's an ADVENTURE! 


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/117 - Release Date: 10/3/2005