The ultimate thread for info on timing belt replacement
I replaced my timing belt several months ago, and today had to sort of redo it because the water pump was leaking (or so I thought). I have found a lot of good info, so thought I'd compile it here. Also, I have some things to add that during this second go around I figured out. The first time it took me an entire day. Today it took me about 5 hours (and I did more work than just the timing belt).
First of all, here is a great write up that pretty much explains everything. I'll add my notes after it. This write up is by someone else (I don't remember where I got it from).
http://www.zubinchandran.com/timing_belt_change.html
Here are a couple other useful write ups I found. I found I sort of used them all at once as they weren't all perfectly complete.
Aveo DiY
Timing belt
These write ups pretty much sum it all up. Here's a couple notes that I wish I would have been told:
First of all, BUY THE DAMN WATER PUMP WRENCH. The first time I did this job I didn't buy it because it "wasn't needed". It took me over an hour to turn the water pump correctly without it. What a PITA. This second time around I ordered the tool, Lisle part # 13500 which is a 41mm crows foot wrench. Made the job a 5 second job instead of an hour job. Cost me less than $20 shipped to my door from ebay...
Secondly, I figured out a very easy way to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt. Sorry I don't have pictures but I can explain it well. Basically, I held the flywheel(located in between the engine and transmission) while loosening the crankshaft pulley bolt with a breaker bar. There is a rubber plug almost directly under the oil filter and if you pull this plug out you have access to the flywheel. I turned the engine by hand (with the timing belt still in place, before any real work had begun) with a breaker bar on the crankshaft pulley until I could see a small(about 1/4" or so) hole in the flywheel. I then stuck a small allen wrench through this hole and then use the breaker bar to loosen the bolt on the crank pulley. The allen wrench gets wedged against the engine block and keeps the flywheel and engine from spinning. Use the largest allen wrench you can(a REALLY small one may break). I did the same thing at the end of the job to torque the bolt down. I've done this both times I did the job and it worked great both times.
Third, I bought a DOHC gear holder tool, which did not fit and was useless. So, what I did was used several medium size zip ties to hold the cam gears to each other. This worked VERY well. I used probably about 6-9 zip ties, making sure the gears were really secured to each other. They have some wiggle room, but they will stay in about the appropriate position, and the when you put the timing belt back on and are aligning your marks, you can use a ratchet/wrench to slightly turn the cam gears to get them positioned correctly to match the belt(if needed).
Finally, I figured out a fairly easy way to replace the water pump. I basically did it how they did it in the write up, by skipping the part where you remove the cam gears and rear plastic cover. Follow the steps they tell you, remove the few bolts that hold the rear plastic cover so you can bend it out of the way. I did not remove the ones hidden behind the cam gears. Then slightly lower the jack that's holding the engine and this will give you much more room to bend the plastic and work the pump out. The first time I did the job I fought getting the water pump out and in for over an hour. The second time I did this job, which was today, a light bulb went off in my head and I lowered the jack, and I had the pump out in about a minute or less. It went in that fast too. The plastic sure feels like it's going to break, but I haven't broken or cracked it in the two times I did the job. If it makes you feel better, loosen the bolts behind the cam gears also.
Here are a bunch of torque values you need for the job:
Rear timing belt cover. Tighten the bolts to 89 inch lbs (10 Nm)
Idler pulley. Tighten the bolt to 30 ft. lbs (40 Nm)
Timing belt tensioner. Tighten the bolts to 18 ft. lbs (25 Nm)
Water pump bolts. Tighten the bolts to 89 inch lbs (10 Nm)
Upper and lower timing belt covers. Tighten the bolts to 89 inch lbs (10 Nm)
Crankshaft pulley bolt. Tighten the bolt to 70 ft. lbs (95 Nm) plus an additional 15°
I hope this is helpful. If I ever do this whole job again, I bet it only takes me about 2-3 hours.
