HOW TO REPLACE CAMBELT

[Guest]

hi there guys. my 100km just came up. its time 4 my cambelt to be changed. can sum 1 put up a how to on the legacy help thread please or anything along those lines. thnx cheers

[Jimbob]

+1 on that too

[DPI]

Step 1. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing...

[THUNDA]

Yup, its not easy, and very time consuming to do it right

you only get one chance to do it right, if your timing is out by too much, you'll fuck your engine, if your timing is slightly out, your engine will run like an old dog, because ej20s have 2banks the belt has to go around twice as many cam gears than a normal cambelt

im replacing mine next weekend, the belt itself is $160, will be doing waterpump and tensioners and all p/s / alternator / aircon belts too, i dont mind doing a write up with pics once ive done it, but its seriously not for the un-experienced mechanic

[ReubenH]

Best way is to watch and learn. Find someone willing on CS to come over and do it for you, help them out and watch how they do it.

[Koom]

Its pretty easy if you're mechanically inclined. First time I did one I was basically guessing but ended up finding a service manual for torque figures for the pulley bolts etc.

(I have written the mini guide below for your information only, I may have forgotten stuff and its up to you to decide if you have the ability to do this job and its not my fault if something goes wrong. If you have a general idea of what you're doing, you'll spot anything I missed)

Its easier if you remove the radiator, especially if the crank pulley doesn't want to come off easily.

So 1) remove the bottom hose off the radiator and drop the fluid out into a big container. Then remove the top hose, unplug fan plugs and remove brackets at the top. Pull the radiator out.

2) To take the crank pulley off you need to stop the engine from turning. This can be done by putting the car in 4th and getting someone to stand on the brakes or by taking the starter motor off and using something to jam up the flywheel (I use an old big end bearing stuck in the teeth of the flywheel).

3) Now undo the crank pulley and remove it. It could be difficult to take off and won't rotate until you've moved it out far enough to clear the key that locates it on the crank.

4) Undo the three front covers from the engine ~10mm socket. Now you should be able to see the cambelt.

5) Put the crank pulley bolt back in and rotate the crank carefully (using a powerbar) till the mark on the toothed crank pulley lines up with the mark on the bracket above it. This makes it easier to line everything up when putting the new belt on.

6) Undo the bottom pulley that is just above the oil filter, this takes the tension off the belt and allows you to take the cambelt off.

7) Now you can take the cambelt off. Now is the time to remove all the pulleys/tensioner etc and check the bearings for any play. If you're doing a full 100k service then just replace them all including the water pump and thermostat (factory thermostat's have a different sized orifice from aftermarket too)

8 ) Bolt the new pulleys and tensioner in place (after replacing the waterpump). The torque for the bolts with 14mm heads is 39 Nm (29 ft-lb) [if you have the old style tensioner (better IMO) they have smaller bolts with 12mm heads and these are torqued to 25 Nm (19 ft-lb).

LEAVE off the lower pulley (above the filter as this goes on after the belt) and LEAVE the pin in the tensioner!

9) Ensure the toothed crank pulley is lined up with the mark on the block. Then line up the double marks on each of the cam pulleys with each other.

10) To install the belt, you need to line up each of the marks on it with one of the marks on either the crank pulley or the cam pulleys. These MUST line up with every applicable mark or your timing will be out (by more than three teeth could cause valve to piston collision issues). The arrows on the cambelt show the direction of rotation which is clockwise when you're standing at the front of the car facing the motor (the direction arrow is normally printed on the belt next to the mark which lines up with the crank pulley).

11) Now that you have ensured that all the marks are lined up with the pulleys and the pulleys are located in the correct place (double marks facing each other) you can install the last pulley that goes just above the oil filter. This should tighten up the belt a wee bit.

12) Check the timing marks again and when you're 110% sure that all the marks line up and all the pulleys are tight, you can then remove the pin from the tensioner. The belt is now installed. I usually rotate the engine a bit with a powerbar to take up the slack in the cambelt and check that everything can turn easily.

13) Replace the front covers and the front pulley. The front pulley torque is 110 Nm (86 ft-lb).

14) Install the radiator and re-attach the hoses and fan plugs. Fill with coolant (run with the cap off when you initially start the engine to bleed the system).

Should be good to go.

[Koom]

 ReubenH said:

Best way is to watch and learn. Find someone willing on CS to come over and do it for you, help them out and watch how they do it.

Na dive in head first and give it a go. Means you only have one person to blame when stuff doesn't go to plan but also you get to keep all the beer to yourself afterwards when it works out perfectly

[DPI]

And, if you do F**K it up, you can drink all the Beer to drown your sorrows...

[Joker]

cos then you cant go out for a drive and get some more!

if paying for the service allow $800 +