Re: 84 5kS timing belt

[jdouglas@mitre.org (jason douglas)]

>The timing belt in my (her, whatever) 84 needs to be replaced.  The manuals are
>kinda vague on this.  I've been told that to get to it you have to pull off the
>front bumper and the grill, which is no big deal.  I've also been told that if
>you are replacing a belt that has not slipped or broken, you don't have to futz
>with the timing marks, just pull the old belt off and install a new one.  Is
>this true?  Can I just pull off the old belt and slip a new one on (assuming
>the belt doesn't snap on the way home today)?

Presumably, you know about the need to remove the crank pulley and all that
entails.

>  I'm really not looking forward
>to screwing up the timing on that thing! 

How will you know if you moved the valve timing?  Bentley tells you what
marks to look at.

> Anything else I should do while I'm
>in there, other than replace the water pump and valve cover gasket?  TIA.

Well, since all the "accessory" drive belts will have to come off, this is a
good time
to replace them (unless they're already new).  One interesting point about
the alternator belt
is in order. My alternator was apparently replaced with a dealer supplied
rebuilt alternator some
 years ago.  Of course it is not the exact one for my car :-(  Apparently,
there is more than pulley size because the owner's manual specified belt is
too small on my car, and I had to make do with the old till I could get a
bigger one.

I guess this means my alternator offers less load and is making less juice
at idle than it should!
------------------------------------------------------
Jason Douglas
MTS Dept G057                        
MITRE Corporation