Postby Hook » April 3rd, 2010, 8:56 am
I'm realizing that 2nrs are either unwilling or unable to properly explain themselves to newbies... "Take off the cover and check it" without explaining what to look for..."buy ah good brand" without suggesting what brands to look for and which to stay away from.
Missing teeth are a sign of extremely advanced wear. But sometimes all teeth could be intact and the spaces between them may be cracked, in which case, you have to bend the belt in the opposite direction (hence having to take it out first) to see that.
psycostud666, if you never changed the belt and you're concerned about it's condition, then change it and ease your mind. Don't bother checking, just change it. Look for good brands like Gates and Sun.
Bear in mind that a timing belt should last about 100,000km, so if u plan on keeping the car that long (even if you don't it's good for the new potential owner to see the change interval..you would've like to see it yourself when you bought it, right?), put a service change sticker somewhere or keep it in a notepad or something the mileage on the odometer when you changed it.
Matter of fact, keep a detailed service history for information sake.
Changing the belt is easy, but it could get a tad technical and labour intensive if you never dig up in a car before. You hafta take off accessory belts, unbolt the main pulley, unbolt the engine mount, take off the rest of the cover, set to TDC, loosen tensioner, line up all timing marks, powder up de belt, put it on, re-tension it and then put back everything in reverse order. Sounds easy, but for a first-timer, it can be a daunting task...esp when you consider it may cost u if u do it wrong (I've heard the silvertops are non-interference, but I'm not willing to find out).
Best you let an experienced mechanic do it while u look on, asking questions etc.
Get a new tensioner and have it ready for the mechanic to change it one time while he has everything open.
