NA8 Timing Belt Change Progress Report .. and some questions

Postby **NitroDann** » Mon May 28, 2012 3:54 pm

You know my thread has a full pictorial walkthrough for this?

Dann

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Mon May 28, 2012 4:10 pm

You mean this one

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=47747&hilit=NitroDann+timing+belt&start=135

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Mon May 28, 2012 5:46 pm

One more thing. Before I took the lower timing belt covers and crank pulley off I lined up everything to TDC and the marks on my pulley looked like image B below. When everything I read suggests it should look like image A. The car was running fine. What could be wrong. BTW, I borrowed the image from another post.

TAS1981 · Postby **TAS1981** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:14 pm

This is making m think twice about doing my own cambelt / waterpump....

Good luck and keep plugging away but to be honest if it is going to be this much hassle on my NB8A and take me this long I don't think I can stomach it! Please someone tell me its not that bad and can be done in a day!?!

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:36 pm

Pic B shows the setting at static TDC so your car is correct.
Pic A is what you see with a timing light when the engine is running when set to 10 degrees BTDC.

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:08 pm

JBT wrote:Pic B shows the setting at static TDC so your car is correct.
Pic A is what you see with a timing light when the engine is running when set to 10 degrees BTDC.

Phew, thats a relief. Thanks !!!

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon May 28, 2012 8:33 pm

the trouble with how to do's by amateurs which applies to most of us is that ultimately some things are not right and other things end up with contradictions. In the Mazda workshop manual for the later car the instructions are very informative and written by engineers. Read an aftermarket manual plus the Mazda instructions and it should all be there.

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:20 pm

LATEST UPDATE:

One of the things I was fretting about is done, the crank bolt is off as is the boss, sprocket and key. It was not as hard as I was led to believe. I had a Sidchrome socket a good quality breaker bar and a long pipe. The harder thing was getting the boss and the sprocket off. Someone had used glue or loctite to lock the boss on to the sprocket (it beats me why). Anyway a long rod did that then I took out the key and then the sprocket.

The seals and the water pump are now the only things remaining. Would you recommend I remove the power steering pump out of the way or can I get the two side bolts for the inlet without it. One of the bolts for the inlet is facing down at a funny angle.

I need to buy some more 12mm sockets. My 12mm no name sockets both broke as did a 3/8 to 3/16 drive adapter while trying to take off the water pump. I need better quality tools.

Anyway I can see the halfway mark ahead

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:28 pm

TAS1981 wrote:This is making m think twice about doing my own cambelt / waterpump....

Good luck and keep plugging away but to be honest if it is going to be this much hassle on my NB8A and take me this long I don't think I can stomach it! Please someone tell me its not that bad and can be done in a day!?!

Its not that bad and can be done in a day :lol:

If you have done it many times before, have all the right tools including power tools and maybe have some extra help. This is probably the biggest project I have ever done. I once took a head off a mercedes but never put it together because the repair or replacement head would have been more than the value of the the car so it went off the a breaker yard. Once this goes together it will have been the biggest job. The main reason it is taking so long is because I am checking and double checking everything and then stopping and asking questions....

I'll let you know when its all done if I would do it again.

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue May 29, 2012 1:11 am

Ive done it in 2 hours.

But then Ive had practice.

But it CAN be done.

I locktite everywhere, Because I dont like doing it twice.

Dann

TAS1981 · Postby **TAS1981** » Tue May 29, 2012 5:22 pm

Well I think I am going to try it anyway. Worst case I don't have the car for a week!

I have done my own brakes overhaul, hoses/discs/pads/bleed. I do my own servicing, fitted add ons. Replaced steering pumps, auxillary belts lots, re-fitted new cam covers/gaskets (my old V1 WRX STi, a pig to get off as boxer engine).....so I'd say I am "relatively competent"....I have what i would call a hobby mechanics basic setup, full 1/2" socket set, spanners, trolley jack and axle stands...I need a breaker bar and a torque wrench though.

Mostly i am worried about the crank shaft bolt, pulley bolt, sodding up the timing by knocking a sprocket or shaft while a sprocket is off....I don't have any power tools that I reckon would help, no compressor etc...I do have the Haynes manual.

Think I am going to check some guides and see what other tools I need before I start! Is it essential to have a tool like the Mazda/flyin miata one to lock the crank when undoing the crankshaft bolt or can you do it some other way...ie in gear, handbrake on...

A mate uses a breaker bar with a short elbow on the end with a socket, ie you whack the end of the bar and it in turn applies rotational force to the nut .....like an impact wrench would....anyone seen one of those?

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue May 29, 2012 5:52 pm

What your mate has can be done with a short breaker type bar, a length of pipe on the end of the handle, and a hammer.
Thats what I use.

Dann

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Tue May 29, 2012 6:59 pm

TAS1981 wrote:A mate uses a breaker bar with a short elbow on the end with a socket, ie you whack the end of the bar and it in turn applies rotational force to the nut .....like an impact wrench would....anyone seen one of those?

...or you can do this which works every time for me.

Put socket on the bolt and breaker bar into socket so that it is pointing to about 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock as you look at the car from the front. Put car in gear and firmly apply park brake. Use a floor/trolley jack to apply some tension to the end of the breaker bar in the anticlockwise direction by just raising the breaker bar end about 20 - 40mm or so. Now sharply tap the socket end (at the crank bolt) with a hammer and the bolt should release. The car will come down by however much you raised it, so make sure nothing vital is going to land on the jack. I've used this technique successfully on several cars.

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Tue May 29, 2012 8:56 pm

Honestly it was the one thing I dreaded the most and it was almost an anti climax. I used a good socket a good breaker bar and a long extension pipe and bracing myself pulled. I had a bracing plate installed to prevent the crank from moving.

Anyway in terms of progress I now have reached the half way mark. The water pump is off. I have cleaned the surface of old residue. The pump that came out actually looks quite new.

The next step is installing the new pump and the new crank seal and then the crank sprocket.

snshami · Postby **snshami** » Wed May 30, 2012 12:37 am

Ok the pump is in, the o ring on the heater hose pipe is installed. I had to unbolt the power steering pump to get proper access but once I did it it was easy. The power steering pump is back in place.

I have pushed the seal in and am not sure how much it should go in. I have some images here can you please let me know if it should go in a bit more. The way it is sitting now I can just get my finger nail onto the edge of the seal.