Timing Belt Change Hints and Tricks (Picture Warning!)
OK, so i decided to change my timing belt on my 02 Elantra GLS this past weekend as I am at 94,000 miles and had never changed any of the accessory belts let alone the timing belt. I decided I would change all three accessory belts (Power Steering, Air Conditioning and water/Alternator), the timing belt, the timing belt tensioner, and the water pump if I was going to have everything apart anyway. This should ensure I will not have to go back in there until I get rid of the car (should go another 94,000 miles). Note to those who would say I was negligent in not changing the timing belt sooner, belt wear is most often associated with age rather than mileage. Since recommended belt change is at 60K miles which based on the average driving rate of 12K miles a year, a timing belt should last 5 years regardless of mileage. (My belt still looked in great shape when I took it off).
I bought all Hyundai OEM parts which cost about 250 bucks from my dealer for the water pump, gasket, timing belt, tensioner, and three accessory belts. OEM is more expensive but nothing beets OEM in terms of guaranteed fit and function...they designed the car after all.
To anyone debating whether they can do this themselves, if you can turn a wrench and take your time, you can do it. This was by far the biggest job I have ever done and I only had hand tools (no air tools) and I was able to do this with only a few snags. Took me a day and a half to finish the job. This included stopping to celebrate St. Patricks day with some green beer and also replacing a wheel stud that broke off when removing the tire (Thanks to Dennis Hyundai of Dublin for crossthreading the damn lugnut when they did my alignment last month....F___kers!)
There have been several other installs posted so I'll hit the highlights (snags) of my experience and try to provide some tips.
1. Take your time and remove as much stuff as you can. It will take some extra time but the extra space to work in will make the actual timing belt job easier and quicker. I took out the entire radiator assembly (I had to drain coolant for the water pump any way) and the Alternator. I unbolted the P/S pump and pushed it to the side. See the amount of room to work in when this stuff is gone below:
2. Removing the engine mount: You have to remove this anyway in order to change the belt but you can also use this to your advantage. I put a jack with a large baord under the oil pan and took off the mount. However, once the mount is off, you can jack the engine up higher to access things easier such as the water pump pulley bolts or drop it all the way down (to the point the jack no longer supports it...it will not fall) to access the crack pulley easier.
Engine jacked up with Engine Mount Removed
3.First Snag I hit was trying to remove the Crank Shaft Pulley. I was able to get the crank shaft pulley bolt off easily by using this method. Put a socket with a breaker bar on the bolt and lay the breaker bar end on the forward car frame. Pull the Fuel Pump Fuse and quickly crank the engine with the ignition. Since the engine rotates clockwise, it should pop the bolt right out...mine did. However, once the bolt was out, the pulley would not budge off the shaft. After an hour of tugging, pulling, hitting and cursing... I posted in this forum for help and was told to use a pulley puller. Got one the next day and it came right off in two mintues....SWEET! Another tip for the crank pulley is for the reinstallation. Fitting the pulley back on the shaft can be tight. If you soak the pulley in hot water for 20 minutes prior to installing, it will expand enough that putting it back on the shaft and lining it up with the key will be a snap.
Gear Puller
4. People fret too much about screwing up the timing when replacing the belt. Just be careful and you will be fine. There is no need to place the engine at Top Dead Center as HMA and other people say. Just mark the cam sprocket, belt and engine block at the same place and then do the same to the crack sprocket. Take the belt off, tranfer these markings to the new belt making sure you have the same number of grooves between the markings, put the new belt on and line all the markings up again. The cam and crank sprockets DO NOT rotate easily...they will not just rotate out of place on their own. Also, before removing the old belt, take a picture of the timing belt tensioner. It has a center bolt hole with an offset keyhole for adding tension. By knowing where (i.e. 5 o clock) the offset hole is, you can set the tension on the new belt by rotating the timing belt tensioner to the same position so the offset hole is back at the same position.
Cam Sprocket Markings
Crank Shaft Markings
Old and New Timing Belt Tensioners (New is on the left)
Old and new Timing Belts (New is on the right)
5. Water Pump: This is such an easy thing to do while everything is opened up, it would be stupid not to do it.Once all the bolts are removed, just tap it with a hammer and it will begin to pop off. Have a bucket handy as the coolant that is trapped in the engine will drain right down the side of the engine. The old pumped looked in good shape but I'm sure it would not last another 94K miles. Use a drill with wire brush or dremel with similar attachment to remove old gasket material...this is important for good seal. Use permatex on both sides of the new gasket. This job is a piece of cake if you already have everything else opened up for the timing belt.
Coolant draing from Pump
Old and new pumps (new pump on right)
Mounting surface before removing old gasket
Pump and new timing belt installed
Everthing went back together as easy as pie. I would definately try this again if I have another vehicle requiring this.
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Originally Posted by BlackElantraGT
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