Assistance needed. Who has changed their timing belt?

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Hi Guys /Girls
I have a 1998 3.4 V6. 150K on the clock. I wish to change the timing belt. Has anyone done this themselves? I am a competent home mechanic. Is there any specific tools or knowledge neede to achieve this? I was quoted $170 for a "timing belt kit" from my local dealer. This apparently contains a belt and 2 tensioner pulleys, I am assuming these are included instead of replacing the bearings in the originals.

If anyone has the "How to" details of how to change the timing belt they would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Ian

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Hi Ian,

Can't help with the mechanical stuff... as I ain't a reasonably competent mechanic ops:

But, grab yourself a copy of the Gregory's manual... #518. Seems to have all the info you're asking about.

[damonat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close damonat]

i have years ago, but what i remember is





horrible horible time consuming job,
and your best to replace the water pump
and idler, as they rarely last another 100-150 thou

[mycruiser Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close mycruiser]

Re: Assistance needed. Who has changed their timing belt?

first off remove the plastic grill and the bash guards from under your truck drain the radiator of coolant and remove the fan shroud unbolt the radiator and remove (you dont have to but since you are going to be replacing the coolant anyway, may as well reverse flush the radiator and the engine)
remove the thermo fan and the plastic guard the covers the top of the timing belt
the hardest part is getting the god dam nut off the harmonic balancer a mechanic mate showed me the secret after i strugeld with it for hours stick a socket on the nut with a long enough breaker bar atached so you can stick it under the chasis rail then crank the motor over then all you need to do is have a set of harmonic balancer pullers to get it off.
remove the lower plastic cover of the timing belt so it is fully visible make sure the timing marks all line up the bottom crank should be on 0 when the top marks are lined up(the crank mark is on the harmonic balancer and the 0 is on the plastic cover)
losen the tensioner to release some slack the timing belt should come off now replace all your pullys then slide the new timing belt on ensure you keep the timing marks alligned cause you dont want a piston to break a pushrod.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Assistance needed. Who has changed their timing belt?

first off remove the plastic grill and the bash guards from under your truck drain the radiator of coolant and remove the fan shroud unbolt the radiator and remove (you dont have to but since you are going to be replacing the coolant anyway, may as well reverse flush the radiator and the engine)
remove the thermo fan and the plastic guard the covers the top of the timing belt
the hardest part is getting the god dam nut off the harmonic balancer a mechanic mate showed me the secret after i strugeld with it for hours stick a socket on the nut with a long enough breaker bar atached so you can stick it under the chasis rail then crank the motor over then all you need to do is have a set of harmonic balancer pullers to get it off.
remove the lower plastic cover of the timing belt so it is fully visible make sure the timing marks all line up the bottom crank should be on 0 when the top marks are lined up(the crank mark is on the harmonic balancer and the 0 is on the plastic cover)
losen the tensioner to release some slack the timing belt should come off now replace all your pullys then slide the new timing belt on ensure you keep the timing marks alligned cause you dont want a piston to break a pushrod.

I found this out when my rattle gun would not loosen that bloody nut. Breaker bar was the only sure way to loosen that sucker.

[Robo76 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Robo76]

Re: Assistance needed. Who has changed their timing belt?

also, have fun with one of the 10mm timing cover bolts on the lower half. From memory i had to pull off A/C compressor and bracket to get to it when doing one for a mate a few years back.