When I got my 97 it had 78,000 miles on it. It now has 117,000. I figured it was time for the timing belt to be changed. I have'nt worked on cars since birth or anything. I have changed my spark plugs and oil and the usual easy stuff. Luckily I have a relative who is a certified genius. He would come out to the garage and help me whenever I got stuck or needed another pair of hands. The toughest part of the job was the crank bolt. We opened the flywheel case and jammed a crobar in there. It was'nt going anywhere. We had a breaker bar with a 24 inch pipe cheater. The bolt wouldn't budge with both of us pulling on it. Next round: blow torch. Got it red hot let it cool for a bit. Again did'nt budge. Last resort: disconnected ignition. Propped the breaker bar and pipe against the concrete. Turned the key. The crank rotated and lifted the car off the ground. It came up a good 6 inches. He had the better view I just saw the front of the car go up. Finally we got it rigged against the frame. It was the way to go. Had I known I wouldn't have had to take the radiator off for the impact wrench. The impact wrench did'nt touch it either. So after all that my car now has a new water pump, timing belt, thermostat, drive belts, 2 new idler pulleys and a new tensioner pulley. It's running quieter than ever. Thanks kids.
Did timing belt this weekend.
- Thread starter Tx2Runner
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CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
That's a big job! Congrats! I start Liquid Wrenching the crank pulley a week or two ahead of attempting to get it off. I don't care that it contaminates the fan belt 'cause I put a new one on when doing the timing belt. As you know timing the cams is critical. If you're careful and willing it's amazing how much $$$ you can save.:bigok:
greasefingers
New member
Great job. I will be attempting this as soon as it gets warm. I was wondering about that crank bolt!!
