So, I found a puddle under my T4R and discovered the water pump was leaking. Well that can only mean one thing: Timing belt time!! This worked out well because I currently have 136k on the clock and don't know if the timing belt has ever been done. I have also needed to replace the radiator for some time now. It has crack a few times and I've done the JB weld temporary fix special. First the disclaimer: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!! MESSING WITH YOUR TIMING SYSTEM CAN DESTROY YOUR ENGINE. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING THE TAKE IT TO A MECHANIC. I MYSELF AM A BACKYARD MECHANIC NOT A REAL MECHANIC. That being said, on to the DIY.
First remove the battery from the engine bay. This will allow you more room to work. Next drain the coolant I tried to use the drain valve not the radiator but it was stuck and broken, so I removed the lower radiator hose from the radiator and let gravity do the work.
After all of the coolant had drained I removed the upper radiator hose and the two transmission cooling lines that connect to the bottom of the radiator. When you remove the transmission line be ready for a little transmission fluid to come out. If you can remove the and get them up above the bottom of the radiator you should only lose a few drops. TIP: Use the cheap foam ear plugs to plug the transmission cooling lines. They don't break down in the fluid and they expand as they soak up the fluid trying to leak out creating a good seal. Then remove the coolant reservoir. You will need to disconnect the small hose going to the radiator from the reservoir before you take the reservoir out. The reservoir is only held in by one 10mm bolt. And Finally remove the upper water inlet and studs. They are 10mm bolts holding the water inlet on. You may need a set of vice grips to remove the studs. YES, you have to remove the studs to get the timing cover off.
Picture of upper water inlet:
After the hoses have been removed from the radiator you will need to remove the belts for your A/C, power steering, and alternator. To remove the poet steering pump belt loosen the 14mm tension adjustment bolt on the front bottom right of the power steering pump, then loosen the 14mm bolt on the back side of the power steering pump. Lightly push down and to the left on the PSP to create slack in the bet so that it can be removed.
Tension adjustment bolt:
Bolt on back of PSP (hard to see):
Now loosen the 14mm bolt on the top of the alternator:
And then loosen the 12mm tensioner bolt on the bottom of the alternator and push down on the alternator to create slack in the belt for removal. Hard to see bolt in the pic as well, but its the one on the bottom right of the pic, right behind the belt.
Now climb under the vehicle again and loosen the tensioner pulley for the A/C belt. First loosen the nut on the face of the pulley and then loosen the tensioning bolt. Both are 14mm. Remove the belt. Sorry, no pics of this. I can take and post some if you really need them.
Next, remove the 4 bolts (12mm I believe) holding the fan shroud on and remove the shroud, followed by the same size 4 bolts holding the radiator in, and remove the radiator. Now remove the 4 bolts holding the fan to the fan assembly(?) and remove the fan. Now remove the 4 bolt holding the fan assembly(?) to the fan pulley. To do this I wrapped the belt around the fan pulley and held in tight to keep the pulley from turning while I cracked the bolts loose. (Sorry I did not take pictures of this either.)
Now that everything in front of the engine is out of the way its time to start taking everything else off the motor. Remove the Thermostat housing (lower water outlet) and thermostat (be ready for a heavy rush whatever coolant is still in the engine block). Also, make sure you note which direction the thermostat is facing so it can be replaced the same way it cam out. I would recommend replacing the thermostat and gasket while you are doing this as it only costs about $7 total. There are 3 studs that hold the t-stat housing on and I believe they are 14mm.
Next remove the timing cover. It is held on by no less than 4.2 billion 10mm bolts, all of which are easy to access. It should now look like this:
Remove the pulley from the front of the harmonic balancer. You should be able to use a pry bar or screwdriver to pop it off. Now comes the important part. You need to turn the engine over by hand to get it to TOP DEAD CENTER or TDC. Using a 19mm Socket on a breaker bar or long half in ratchet turn the motor so that the tick mark on the harmonic balancer is lined up with the "0" on the plastic cover. Once it is lined up with "0" check you cams gears and make sure that the arrows(paint marks if you have them) are lined up with the tick mars on the plate behind them. If they are not, continue to turn the engine over by hand until they all line up.
Harmonic balancer lined up (hard to see):
Passenger Cam lined up:
Driver side Cam lined up:
Remove the fan pulley(?) Now its time to remove the Harmonic balancer. The bolt for this thing can be a real pisser. The way I got it off I DO NOT RECOMMEND. I put a piece of pipe on my breaker bar and let it sit against the ground, I then turned the ignition key on to bump the motor over for a quick second in order to break the bolt free. Again, I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS. Make sure that everything is still lined up on your tick marks. Now, that the bolt is off you will need a puller which you can rent from an auto parts store to remove the balancer. Once the balancer is off remove the plastic cover that has the timing marks on it, loosen the tensioner and remove the belt.
First remove the battery from the engine bay. This will allow you more room to work. Next drain the coolant I tried to use the drain valve not the radiator but it was stuck and broken, so I removed the lower radiator hose from the radiator and let gravity do the work.
After all of the coolant had drained I removed the upper radiator hose and the two transmission cooling lines that connect to the bottom of the radiator. When you remove the transmission line be ready for a little transmission fluid to come out. If you can remove the and get them up above the bottom of the radiator you should only lose a few drops. TIP: Use the cheap foam ear plugs to plug the transmission cooling lines. They don't break down in the fluid and they expand as they soak up the fluid trying to leak out creating a good seal. Then remove the coolant reservoir. You will need to disconnect the small hose going to the radiator from the reservoir before you take the reservoir out. The reservoir is only held in by one 10mm bolt. And Finally remove the upper water inlet and studs. They are 10mm bolts holding the water inlet on. You may need a set of vice grips to remove the studs. YES, you have to remove the studs to get the timing cover off.
Picture of upper water inlet:
After the hoses have been removed from the radiator you will need to remove the belts for your A/C, power steering, and alternator. To remove the poet steering pump belt loosen the 14mm tension adjustment bolt on the front bottom right of the power steering pump, then loosen the 14mm bolt on the back side of the power steering pump. Lightly push down and to the left on the PSP to create slack in the bet so that it can be removed.
Tension adjustment bolt:
Bolt on back of PSP (hard to see):
Now loosen the 14mm bolt on the top of the alternator:
And then loosen the 12mm tensioner bolt on the bottom of the alternator and push down on the alternator to create slack in the belt for removal. Hard to see bolt in the pic as well, but its the one on the bottom right of the pic, right behind the belt.
Now climb under the vehicle again and loosen the tensioner pulley for the A/C belt. First loosen the nut on the face of the pulley and then loosen the tensioning bolt. Both are 14mm. Remove the belt. Sorry, no pics of this. I can take and post some if you really need them.
Next, remove the 4 bolts (12mm I believe) holding the fan shroud on and remove the shroud, followed by the same size 4 bolts holding the radiator in, and remove the radiator. Now remove the 4 bolts holding the fan to the fan assembly(?) and remove the fan. Now remove the 4 bolt holding the fan assembly(?) to the fan pulley. To do this I wrapped the belt around the fan pulley and held in tight to keep the pulley from turning while I cracked the bolts loose. (Sorry I did not take pictures of this either.)
Now that everything in front of the engine is out of the way its time to start taking everything else off the motor. Remove the Thermostat housing (lower water outlet) and thermostat (be ready for a heavy rush whatever coolant is still in the engine block). Also, make sure you note which direction the thermostat is facing so it can be replaced the same way it cam out. I would recommend replacing the thermostat and gasket while you are doing this as it only costs about $7 total. There are 3 studs that hold the t-stat housing on and I believe they are 14mm.
Next remove the timing cover. It is held on by no less than 4.2 billion 10mm bolts, all of which are easy to access. It should now look like this:
Remove the pulley from the front of the harmonic balancer. You should be able to use a pry bar or screwdriver to pop it off. Now comes the important part. You need to turn the engine over by hand to get it to TOP DEAD CENTER or TDC. Using a 19mm Socket on a breaker bar or long half in ratchet turn the motor so that the tick mark on the harmonic balancer is lined up with the "0" on the plastic cover. Once it is lined up with "0" check you cams gears and make sure that the arrows(paint marks if you have them) are lined up with the tick mars on the plate behind them. If they are not, continue to turn the engine over by hand until they all line up.
Harmonic balancer lined up (hard to see):
Passenger Cam lined up:
Driver side Cam lined up:
Remove the fan pulley(?) Now its time to remove the Harmonic balancer. The bolt for this thing can be a real pisser. The way I got it off I DO NOT RECOMMEND. I put a piece of pipe on my breaker bar and let it sit against the ground, I then turned the ignition key on to bump the motor over for a quick second in order to break the bolt free. Again, I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS. Make sure that everything is still lined up on your tick marks. Now, that the bolt is off you will need a puller which you can rent from an auto parts store to remove the balancer. Once the balancer is off remove the plastic cover that has the timing marks on it, loosen the tensioner and remove the belt.
Last edited:
