Timing Belt -- Need Opinion From Knowledgeable Folks

Hello All,

96 Corolla 1.6, 5 speed, 180 000 kms (105 000 miles), no AC. Is it realistic for a home mechanic to tackle replacing the timing belt on that ? Is it even worthwhile in terms of the savings vs taking it to typical dealership ? Any special tools required ? Does replacing the timing belt involve parts that can be seized in rust ? If I had to rate my skills in mechanic, 10 being a top mechanic and 0 being someone who can't locate the oil dipstick under the hood, I'd give myself a 5 or 6... I've replaced, rad, full brakes, O2 sensor, etc... smaller items but never had any problems doing so.... would timing belt be stretching it though ?

Looking foward to some opinions / advice on the topic.

Thks

You'll need a floor jack and a really good manual (alldata, not Haynes). You'll also need a 1/2" drive socket to remove the large bolt from the harmonic balancer. After that bolt is removed, the rest of the bolts are fairly easy. If you spend the $25 on alldata, it will walk you through every step. You can probably do it. As for savings. A shop usually charges around $300. You can buy the belt for about $50. Or, if you want to buy a belt kit that comes with a new tensioner, that goes for about $100. At your mileage, it's not a bad idea to replace the water pump at same time.

Thanks for your reply RickMN. I'll actually give it a try. Just guessing that my savings may be greater then the 300$ labor as I'm guessing the shop would charge me a fixed price for labor on water pump regardless of the fact that you have done a large chunk of the work to get to it when replacing timing belt. I checked out the library and they have the Chilton's collection... a lot more detailed then Haynes... they didn't have alldata...

they didn't have alldata...

It's available on-line through autozone's site.

According to Toyota, my 99 has a chain, not a belt. Double check that before you buy something.

Thanks... I wish I had the chain too... 96 is a belt... after my first 100K kilometeres, I had it done at dealer....

I did tackle the timing belt last week. The net of it - it can be done by home mechanic if you take your time and are patient. You also need to be meticulous.

96 Corolla - 192 000 kms - 1.6 Engine - 5 speed manual - No AC:

Here's the work I did:
Timing Belt
Timing Belt Tensionner
Timing Belt Tensionner Spring
Water Pump + pump to block O ring
Alternator Belt
Power Steering Belt
(new bolts on Timing Belt Covers)
Valve Cover Seal (you'll need to apply some RTV coumpound in 4 places - see Haynes)
Valve Cover Spark Plugs rubber seals
New coolant fluid
New O ring on oil dipstick

The above is all the parts and work related to timing belt. You don't have to replace them all BUT since you 'open up' the front of the engine and dig all the way down to the timing belt, it makes A LOT of sense to replace these parts that are probably fairly worn out anyways.

In addition to the above and since I had saved money on the timing belt + water pump, I did:
oil change
tranny fluid change
spark plugs
wires
distributor cap
rotor

Keep in mind this is aimed at a home mechanic from a home mechanic - here are the lessons I learned from doing the job:
1) Take your time. Pretty much anything you'll touch will be heavily corroded (my car has 'lived' in great white crazy winters - canada). The night before starting the job, spray penetrating oil on bolts and fasteners of the items such as timing belt covers, alternator, water pump, etc.
2) the crankshaft bolt isn't that hard to remove. spray it with penetrating oil (make sure you don't get any on the area on the pulley where the belt sits). I then put my car in 4th gear and had an assistant hit the brakes while I loosened the crankshaft bolt. It did the trick for me.
3) if you are using the Haynes manual, they say remove the startor motor and wedge a screwdriver in the flywheel in order to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt. I'm no mechanic but that seemed like overdoing to me... the above just worked well for me and I didn't dismantle the starter motor.
4) You'll need to put the engine on TDC (that's prior to removing the crankshaft pulley). The pulley may be fairly corroded to the point that it'll be hard to even find the little timing notch on top of it. To help you out, align the K on the camshaft pulley to notch at the top of the engine. Then check again on your crankshaft pulley and you should find the little notch on it. Pay very close attention to the TDC during the entire process.
5) Taking off (and reinstalling) the timing belt covers (especially the middle one) can be quite frustrating. What did the trick for me on reassambly is putting the bottom and middle one together at once.... you'll see what I mean when you're in the tight area right behind the water pump pulley. I guess you could try removing the water pump pulley to get better access to timing belt cover but I think that wouldn't be easy as very tight in this area.
6) the bolts (especially on timing belt cover) were corroded beyond recognition. I bought new ones. On all fasteners, take the time to apply a generous coating of anti seize coumpound at reinstallation... should make your life easier next time you have to touch them.
7) the timing belt tensionner was seized in place. ever after removing the bolt on it (there's only one) - I had to 'gently' hammer it back. I installed a new one, and put anti seize compound on the pivot - so next time should be easier.
8) as you take any components or bolts out, systematically label everything. this way you won't have to start guessing at reassembly.
9) the engine mount shouldn't be too hard to detach. make sure you spray penetrating oil and use a decent wrench to do so. you don't have to remove the mount neither from the engine nor from the 'fender'. just take out the 3 bolts and you can slide the belt off and in.

good luck

I will suggest is that next time you change the belt you also change out the seals for the camshaft, crankshaft, and oil pump. Also consider replacing the water pump. Congrats!

Its a toyota, if its not leaking don't worry about it. Except maybe the water pump!

Thanks for the pieces of advice gents. I did replace the water pump. I also considered the crankshaft seal and oil pump but decided on not 'pushing my luck'. I'm hoping they'll last to 300 000 kms cause I ain't dismantling that thing again before I have to ! Can you comment on whether a special tool is required on pulling the crankshaft seal and especially reinstalling a new one.... it seemed pretty tightly crammed in.

Ah, didn't read your note good enough abt the water pump. My suggestion was to replace the seals on the next go-around since the seals tend to start leaking around the 150k to 200k mile mark...240k to 320k km for you. And by that point they should be good and brittle.

Replacement is not too difficult, but there is some finesse involved. The crankshaft seal is removed after removing the crankshaft pulley, lower cover, and keyed timing gear...hardest part being the pulley itself.

Finally, while one would think that a regular seal puller tool will do the trick, it was too large to fit in those cramped spaces. I resorted to using a box cutter blade to poke through the seal rubber between the sealing lip and metal back then use a screwdriver to pry it out. A large socket can be used to drive the new ones in. Hope this helps next time!