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Old 16th October 2018, 01:23   #7
Rich in Vancouver
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Having just finished doing the job this week all I can say is if you are competent at doing mechanical work and have all of the tools you need (Yes, including the proper cam locking tools) if things go well it can be done in a weekend. I really wouldn't attempt that unless I didn't need the car to get to work on Monday though.
In my case the job wasn't limited to the belts, but also involved changing a cylinder head. As always it was a challenge getting things apart but the head went on well along with a new water pump. Things went a bit sideways when I found excess play in the other intake cam and found that the last guy who took the engine apart had broken the ends of the camshafts then put the timing gears on regardless. I am sure he did the job without the cam locking tools. Changing the cams added pretty much a day what with sourcing parts and made me glad I had the full week off.
I also found it helpful to have all of the needed parts on hand to do the belts including replacement stretch bolts for the pulleys, and whatever else you may need. In my case that included an idler pulley and cam seals. My timing belt tensioner was OK as were my auxiliary belt and it's idler. Of course the engine gave me one last kick when the VIS balance motor died for my test drive.

Last edited by Rich in Vancouver; 16th October 2018 at 01:53..
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