Timing Belt Change

[etlsport]

bart, arent the idler and tensioner pulleys on the outside of the engine anyway? they could be done in a few hours without having the top of the engine off?

same with the radiator hoses, but with them you need to drain the coolant so it makes sense to do them with the water pump

[nfpgasmask]

bart, arent the idler and tensioner pulleys on the outside of the engine anyway? they could be done in a few hours without having the top of the engine off?

same with the radiator hoses, but with them you need to drain the coolant so it makes sense to do them with the water pump

No, don't confuse the "drive belt" (serpentine belt) pulleys with the timing belt pulleys. Furthermore, the serp belt and all of the outer pulleys do need to come off to get to the timing belt chamber, which by the way is on the front of the engine, not the top. Take a look at my how to. I go through everything on there that I removed.

http://www.nofuture.com/myvx/how-tos/tb/tbelt.htm

(Please tell me if anything odd happens when you visit that link, I had a problem with my ISP that should be resolved now)

I did remove some things that I didn't ultimately need to remove, but by doing so it made things much easier. The push tensioner MUST be removed to change the timing belt. And as illustrated in the video instructions, can be reused by compressing the tensioner rod in a vice, and then inserting a pin to hold it in place (which your mech will have to fabricate if he doesn't have one sitting around). The push tensioner is the part that keeps your timing belt taught on all the pulleys. If that part fails, BLAMMO! Your belt will come loose and bad things will happen. The water pump, being the main device that pumps coolant through your engine, is in my opinion a no brainer to change. Keeping your VX properly hydrated is VERY important. Furthermore, being that it is a possible source for leakage, should be changed and tightened up. To me, preventative maintenance is worth every penny. I would rather swap working parts out than struggle through and pay for fixing damaged parts. Not to mention the breaking down, getting stranded, getting towed, and getting taken to the cleaners by a mechanic who has to deal with your lack of preventative maintenance.

Seriously, not trying to scare anyone, just stating that there is a REASON why it is recommended to change these parts. I do not believe it is simply to make you spend more money. Am I talking outta my bunghole here?

Bart

[etlsport]

gotcha.. never been inside an engine (yet) makes sense that those are found inside the engine as well.. im with u on the preventive maintenance though, when my time comes (late in the summer probably) ill most likely be doing replacing most of the stuff u did.. sadly.. plus my thermostat which is stuck open

i wonder if it would be okay to order parts though napa, i can get them at cost though work.. but i REALLY dont want to have something fail on me..

[nfpgasmask]

i wonder if it would be okay to order parts though napa, i can get them at cost though work.. but i REALLY dont want to have something fail on me..

I bought OEM for one reason alone: I my VX. For my Trooper, it's Napa all the way. Still, I think it would be 100% better to install aftermarket new parts rather than NO new parts. But that is just my logic. With my VX I have never used anything but stuff shipped to me directly from our main man, Merlin. I know there are timing belt and water pump kits out there that are considerably cheaper.

Bart

[tom4bren]

The main reason that it is highly recommended to change the tensioner is that several members noted that the tensioner was no longer functioning (which could cause timing belt failure).

[VXR]

I thought that our VXs had a non-interference engine. So if the timing belt went it would not cause engine failure. Can anyone clarify

[nfpgasmask]

I thought that our VXs had a non-interference engine. So if the timing belt went it would not cause engine failure. Can anyone clarify

I am 99.99% certain you are correct. Engine damage from a broken timing belt would most likely NOT occur. However, I don't want to find out what does happen when something goes wrong under there.

Bart