A light thwapping noise can be heard from inside my timing belt cover.  Like the belt is ripped or something....it worries me slightly.  I have a new timing belt, along with all the other belts.  The other belts are starting to show wear too...so time to change them I think.

I read some stuff about changing the T belt.  Supposed to be "easy"....but it looks quite complicated.  With false timing marks and stuff.  And I have to take out the radiator?  Take off the fan....the water pump...the valve cover....loosen all the valve adjusters...what the hell?

Also...do I need to buy a new idler and tensioner for the timing belt?  Or can I just put a new belt on?

And it also says I need to make sure alllll the little screws and stuff are properly torqued to exact specifications.  That doesn't sound easy at all...   

Can someone explain this procedure in english for me?  Thanks!

It's pretty easy actually, and you don't have to pull the radiator but it makes things easier.  You do need to pull the shroud though.

You don't have to pull the water pump, but most people replace it while they are in there, since it doesn't take much more effort and they usually don't last that much longer then the timing belts.

Acks Faq used to have the manual, that explained things pretty easily but that appears to be down.

Make sure you replace the front seal at the same time, once again it isn't much more effort then the timing belt and worth it if it blows out on you 2 days later and does unrepairable damage to the bottom end of the engine.

Front seal??  What front seal?

And I was thinking....while I have the front of the motor off to replace the belts...what else should I replace while I'm in there?  I have a couple hundo I could spend if I needed to....  should I get the idler and tensioner?  Water pump?

Do I have to loosen the valve adjusters?  I don't know how to do that...sounds difficult.  I'll probably take the valve cover off to replace the gasket, as it's sprung a leak...but I don't want to mess with anything if I don't have to.


I was also wondering about removing the A/C.   It's empty...blows warm air.  I could get it recharged....but there's also this nifty folding roof that can be completely removed when it's warm out...so wtf is the air conditioning for anyway?!  LOL!


So....gimme some good tune up info!  Injectors?  I already did the spark plugs/wires...and I just ordered a Calmini air filter...and the exhaust is Calmini.   

For the idler pulley you can often just send it down with sandpaper to even it back out and that fixes the problem with the timing belt walking after you put a new one on.

The front seal is behind the gear on the front of the crank shaft.  It's a good idea to change it now because if it does start to leak later you need to tear everything apart anyway.

For the valve adjustments you just need a good feeler gauge.  The FSM comes in handy for instructions on what to look at.  No loosening is required unless your valves actually need to be adjusted.

Your not loosing much power to the AC if it's not actually on.  You could rebuild the compressor and turn it into an on board air setup. 

oooooo on board air!  that would be sweeet!

I also read that the 8 valve engine is a "free spinning" engine or something....so it doesnt bend valves when the timing belt breaks.  So what exactly does happen then?

It stops...and when it does don't try to re-start it.  Simply put, think what would happen if the chain on your bike snapped.  Same thing would happen here.

It stops...and when it does don't try to re-start it.  Simply put, think what would happen if the chain on your bike snapped.  Same thing would happen here.

a bike chain?  isnt that more of a drive issue?  i could still pedal all day long...i just wouldnt go anywhere....i dont see how this could be true of a broken or missing timing belt....

Well, you can crank the engine over all day, but without the valves opening and closing to give you gas it isn't going to go anywhere. 

Good...well as long as it isn't catastrophic, then I'm not terribly worried.



Breaking news!  Literally, lol.   The a/c compressor tried to eat the power steering belt today while I was out driving around.   So the noise I was hearing must have been the pwr steering belt and not the timing belt.  Cool.

Also..I took some bolts out of the timing belt cover, and pulled it back as far as I could while it was running.  It's smooth...no cracks or wear...looks good.  So I'm not going to replace that yet...just the other belts and see how it runs then.....listen for any strange noises.

Acks Faq used to have the manual, that explained things pretty easily but that appears to be down.

Ack's FAQ is, indeed, alive and well! Since the beginning, Ack's FAQ's site downtime can be measured in hours rather than days...

Here is an explanation of the illusion of "site downtime":

Over the years, a number of folks have tried to post direct links to a page - usually the results of a search - from Ack's FAQ in a thread only to create a broken link!  This gives the unfortunate illusion of the site being "down". 

The broken links are caused by the design features of the website that allows the user to do keyword searches. because of this, any link to Ack's FAQ that contains the ".php" filetype will fail. A page that is the result of a search rather than an actual webpage containing a forum thread or an article is the prime example.

The best way to access Ack's FAQ is through the home page: http://www.acksfaq.com.  Once there, you can do a search for a link to the specific information that you are looking for.  In this case, a search for fsm will connect you to the 86-87 Samurai FSM, the 88 Samurai FSM, the 90-92 FSM Supplement and the '96 Tracker FSM Project.

I have also reworked the website to reduce (but not eliminate) the chance of turning up bad links caused by overuse of those pesky dynamic ".php" pages.

I hope that this helps!

Most Sincerely,

Ack 
Ack's FAQ Webmaster

Quote from: Drone637 on April 09, 2009, 04:39:01 PM

Acks Faq used to have the manual, that explained things pretty easily but that appears to be down.

Ack's FAQ is, indeed, alive and well! Since the beginning, Ack's FAQ's site downtime can be measured in hours rather than days...

Ah, I meant the FSM was down.  Not the site itself. 

How many miles you got on that timing belt anyway? Doesn't matter how it looks, 60k it's should be changed out for safty sake. I'm not sure about the 8 valve engine but the 16v is a NON INTERFERENCE engine, ie: nothing will hit anything else, valves, pistons and such, if the timing belt is broken or removed and the engine spun over. I probably wouldn't do it for very long or very high rpm though. 

Dunno how many miles are on the T-belt.    Probably WAY more than 60k.  I'll change it eventually.....


But I was wondering....Since the power steering belt is chewed up and walking itself into the A/C pump....can I drive around without power steering if I cut the belt off??  Would be for a couple days until I get some stuff straightened out so I can put a new belt on it.

If not, I'll find some other means of transportation......but I can't see it doing any damage.  How wrong am I?   

Please don't just read this and say..."OMGZORS!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!"   I'd like some educated responses if that's not too much to ask for. 

Kthnx!

You should be ok, as long as your water pump and altenator still have a good belt running them.  Your steering will just be a little heavy.

Yeah....the alt belt looks a little old too....but it's not frayed or torn at all yet.   I'm going to change them both very soon.