Changing your timing belt is not a small task, and it will not be identical to your car
Step 1 Background Parts and Tools
First off, this is a non-interference engine design. That means that the lowest point that the valves reach is HIGHER than the highest point the piston can reach... A pretty nice idea because if your timing belt breaks for some reason, you'll avoid the cost of new valves and tearing down the head.
I did not have to replace my T-belt, my water pump died and because replacement involves removing the T-belt, I did so as a precaution.
Tools and Parts:
# New Timing Belt
# New (or reman) Water Pump
# Tensioner Spring
# Tensioner Pulley (if higher mileage)*
# Idler Pulley (If VERY high mileage) *
# VC Gasket*
# Gasket Scrapper
# Torque Wrench **
# Jack, Stands, Wood Blocks
# Black RTV sealant (I do not recommend "Ultra Black")
# Metric Allen/hex Key set (Or 1/4" - may require sanding to fit)
# Plastic Baggies and Sharpie
# Piece of Cardboard
# Feeler Gauge Set ***
*If you have the ability, wait and see if the old one is still good - I changed at 74K miles. My tensioner had play in the bearing but my idler was in great shape.
** Highly recommended.
*** Perfect time to check your valve clearance for you guys with solid lifters (98+)
The 93-97 model years used hydraulic lash adjustment (HLA) as opposed to solid lifters used in the 98-2002 design. Both work just fine, but HLA's can clog easily causing valve tap. Its just cosmetic and several frequent oil changes clear it up.
Step 2 Prep work -- DO READ THIS
Make sure you have a lot of time (like a weekend). If you are changing the water pump, flush the system with water - do't forget the heater core. You want only water in the cooling system because when you remove the water pump, you probably will have a mini flood eject from the block. DO NOT change the oil (yet) - if any debris falls into the system, you want to catch it early (and not 3K+ miles later). Allow the engine to completely cool down.
Use the plastic baggies and sharpie to mark EVERY fitting you remove. This will save you a great deal of time.
I had to wait for a part from the stealership (1 stripped waterpump bolt). It took 4 days (I was leaving for school on the 5th day). Because of the organization, I was able to fully reassembly (minus setting the T-belt on the cams) within an hour (maybe slightly over).
Raise and support the vehicle on jack stands. I supported my car on the frame of the car just behind where the front unibody attaches to the main beams of the car (sorry, not sure on the technical wording of that). You'll see it, just two bars about the same width as your jack stand cups. That is not oil from my car - that was from replacing the timing chain on a '93 saturn SW2, what a mess it was.
+++Remove the Right wheel. Remove the splash guard (note the rust from using 100% water for about 600 miles). Tip Put the Lugs back on the wheel to protect the threading and to keep track of them.
Step 4 Removing the belts
Sorry I neglected to take pictures of this - but I can offer help if you don't know how. First the PS/ac belt. Remove the PS belt guard with a philips screw driver head, there are two bolt/screws.
If you look just in front / below the PS pump, you will see a long threaded bolt. That is the bolt that apples tension to the PS pulley. Just below the PS pump is another bolt like thing. That locks the PS pump to the tensioner track. First you need to loosen that bolt with a 14mm wrench. Once it is a little loose, look at where the PS bracket attaches to the head. There is another 14mm bolt that goes through the head and attaches to the PS pump support bracket. Loosen that a few turns. Now, with a 14mm wrench, begin the slow process of loosening the pump by turning that bolt. Once enough tension has been relieved remove the belt.
Now, without disconnecting hoses, remove the PS pump. Again I am sorry, I forgot to take pictures of this step. Don't forget to remove the two bolts that secure the hose to the VC.
DO NOT DO WHAT I DID. I removed the belt before dealing with the pulley. It is near impossible to take the pulley off without the belt holding it in place. Using a 10mm wrench, loosen the 4 WP pulley bolts. You may have to turn the crank by hand in order to access all of the bolts.
I went a little out of this order to make pictures easier That bolt hole in the top right of the picture is where the PS pump pivot bolt goes.
Once the pulley bolts are loose, we now can remove the belt. It took me a little bit to find the alternator pivot bolt because its hidden for some odd reason. Again, I did not take pictures for this step (related to the last step). But behind that arrow a little bit, you'll find a bolt on a bracket. Use some common sense to make sure you found the right bolt. Its gonna be connected to the alternator somehow. Loosen that bolt, then loosen the tensioner bolt on the alternator (again, 14mm)
Take a block of wood and put it on top of your jack. Lift the engine (place the jack on the oil pan) a tiny bit (as soon as you start seeing the engine going up). Using a deep well socket, unbolt the two block-mount bolts. One of the bolts has a ground, make sure to keep the washers and place the ground wire off to the side. If a stud comes up too, don't worry - just place it in the baggie. Next, remove the bolt that goes right through the whole mount/support bracket. Using a long extension is very usefull if you go UNDER the power steering hose. Remove the bolt and take the mount out by lifting up - be carefull around the a/c lines if you have them
I am pretty sure all of the bolts use a 10mm wrench. Start with the top cover. Remove all bolts pull the cover away from the head (there are metal guides to keep it aligned) and lif the cover straight out.
Remove the crank pulley bolt. Place your wrench on the bolt and wedge it into the ground, if its too high off the ground, use a length of pipe as a cheater bar. Now, blip the starter for a second. This will break the bolt free and make your job 2000% easier wink.gif Once the bolt is off, remove the pulley. Be patient, its on a keyway and is a very low tolerance item (tight fit). Wiggling back and forth a lot will help it come free. DO NOT use a lubricant as you may get it in the T-belt area place biggrin.gif Careful, that pulley is heavy for its size.
Now, we can remove the lower T-belt cover. Again remove all bolts. Tip For this bolt, use a deep well socket wink.gif It makes the job easier. Remove the cover though the bottom.
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Now we are all ready to go about our business of taking the pump and/or T-belt off.
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