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Replacing the Timing Belt & Adding an AT Cooler


DoctorBill
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This will be added to as I do the work - and I am taking my time about it because

I am 66 and I am not in any hurry...and I'm going to have fun doing it ! Enjoy it !

 

Edited after finishing....(8/14/09)

If you are smart, and I know you are, you will read this entire diatribe BEFORE you

start the work - why ?

Because I made some (minor) mistakes. Don't make the same mistakes I did !

Know what to expect before you enter battle...reconoiter this thread first.... end edit (8/14/09)

Another after the fact edit....(8/21/09)

When I finished changing the Timing Belt (successfully), I found that my Oil Pump Gasket leaked.

Toward the end of this Thread, it goes into trying to fix that oil leak.

Do not loosen the Bolt that holds the Alternator Tensioning Bracket !

That bolt holds the Oil Pump on and farting with that bolt may make your oil pump leak.

Fixing THAT can cost you $800 ! Have to remove the axle to get at it.... end edit (8/21/09)

 

I'd like to acknowledge others who have gone this way before: (Have a look !)

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12828

 

Some things you will need to obtain if you don't already have them:

 

A Chilton or Haynes Manual to guide you - but lacks a lot of important detail.

 

A good flashlight - one of those small 9 LED kind work great in tight places.

 

Eye protection - glasses type or welders goggles to keep the crap from falling into your eyes!

 

A Metric Socket Wrench Set - must have.

 

A Metric Box Wrench set - must have - where a socket wrench cannot fit.

 

A rubbet Mallet helps loosen recalcitrant Bolts - hit the wrench.

 

A nice long ½ or 3/8 cheater bar to loosen tight nuts....lol

 

Gas pliers, a Torque Wrench, a "Puller" to remove the Main Crankshaft Pulley.

 

Various Strap Hose Clamps (8) to replace the crappy wire clamps Nissan used - that cut the hoses.

 

Phillips and Slot screwdrivers. Metric Nut Drivers with a screwdriver handle help enormously.

 

Cutters - to cut AT hoses if yours won't pull off - mine were frozen to the barbs.

 

A 27 mm (1 and 1/16th inch) normal depth socket wrench - to remove the Crankshaft Bolt.

 

Three or more 2 inch or longer M6 x 1.00 bolts to pull off the Main Crankshaft Pulley.

 

An Air Compressor and an Air Impact Driver helps enormously (Main Crankshaft Bolt...)

 

A full roll of paper towels - when draining the Radiator and AT Cooler lines and for greasy hands (see Postscript).

 

A large shallow pan to catch Radiator Fluid.

 

A big bottle of CHEAP hand lotion - see postscript !

 

A lot of cold Beer, cigars or ciggies if you smoke, a hat for the sun and a lot of patience.

 

So here we go.....

 

Removed all the front covers and the bumper.

 

First take off the parking lights.

 

Remove the two screws and pull up and out.

 

Unplug the leads to the lamp by squeezing the plug (Hard) and pulling

with a rocking motion.

 

RemovingParkingLights.jpg

 

Tape the screws into the Lamp with Scotch Tape on the backside.

 

Do it ! – Then you won't lose the screws !

 

Now remove the Flashers. Two screws in the grille portion and the one outside lamp

housing screw and the assemble pulls out. Unplug the connector by squeezing the plug

(hard) and pulling with a rocking motion. Again, tape the screws into the assembly.

 

RemovingFrontCovers-1.jpg

 

Using gas pliers, turn the five square plastic fasteners 90° and gently pull the grill

forward. When all five are disconnected, pull the grill up and out.

 

The Bumper is held in place with four nuts on either side. These nuts are not

easy to get at, but a small racheting nut driver (wrench) can be used to loosen the

nuts. The bumper pulls off the front end easily.

 

GrillBumperbacksides.jpg

 

Here is the Pathfinder with bumper and Grill removed showing the Air Conditioner

radiator with the Engine Coolant Radiator behind it.

 

BumperGrilloff.jpg

 

I will install an Automatic Transmission Cooling Radiator in front of the AC Radiator

the same as Precise1 has done on his Pathfinder.

DoctorBill

 

PS - I clean my dirty, greasy hands off easily & quickly without water or soap !

1. Get two (2) paper towels ready.

 

2. Plop a tablespoonful of really cheap HAND LOTION into your dirty hands.

 

3. Rub the HAND LOTION into all the dirty parts of your hands , fingers and arms (HARD!)

Take your time and rub all the greasy spots hard.

 

4. Once all the grease has dissolved into the HAND LOTION (it is an oil emulsion!), wipe

your hands with the first paper towel - get as much off as it will hold!

The oil in the HAND LOTION dissolves the grease and oily dirt...

5. Wipe your hands off with the second paper towel to get all the HAND LOTION off.

 

6. Now your hands will be CLEAN and sweet smelling so you can touch your significant other

and you won't get rejected for being a filthy dirty old car mechanic...

 

It works great ! Anywhere, any time. Trust me....I'm a Chemist with a PhD.

Edited by DoctorBill
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I drained the Coolant with some hassle as the system is not obviously designed

to be drained conveniently (a mess).

 

RadDrainCock.jpg

Opening the drain only got a portion of the coolant out – had to unhook the bottom hose to get the rest.

 

RadColntATHose.jpg

 

I tried to collect the coolant to filter and reuse it - but also to keep my cats from drinking

the stuff - had our favorite cat go blind drinking leaked coolant from my Jeep Cherokee!

 

CollectingCoolant.jpg

 

BTW - adamzan just told me, "you can remove the front bumper by removing the 2 bolts that hold those

brackets to the frame in the wheel well. Much much easier!" Oh well, live and learn !

 

More to come

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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Next I removed the Radiator as follows.

 

Hey guys! Some of you are probably laughing at the way I am doing this.

 

Never did a big vehicle like this before - I am an amateur, doing the best I can...

 

EDITED IN - After I was almost done......(12 August 2009)

The Fan Shroud is in Two Pieces and if you follow what is shown below - it comes out EASILY !

Otherwise it is a bugger !

ShroudisTwoPieces.jpg

 

From above reach down behind the Shroud about half way and push the clips on either side back toward the engine.

The lower part of the Round Portion of the Shroud falls off.

 

If you remove the upper hose, the Shroud now lifts out once the bolts holding to the Radiator are removed.

PullShroudOut.jpg

 

This allows you to access the Radiator to drain it, the Hoses, The Fan, the AT Coolant hoses, most everything.

RadiatorWithoutShroud.jpg

 

I found out when I was all done that my radiator leaked at the left side bracket where it is bolted to the Shroud.

Check the picture of the Radiator and Shroud together (below) - you'll see where it was leaking by the upper

coolant pipe. I missed that and it cost me a lot of time....

Had to buy a new Plastic/Aluminum Radiator for $65. The one shown here is all metal....they don't sell those any more.

 

In other words - don't be a dummy like me - check your radiator for leaks while it is out...or else !

 

Finished editing from much later on....

 

I removed the two bolts and grommets holding the Radiator in place and screwed them into the front of the nuts just to keep them

from getting lost - one of my problems - keeping all the parts from being misplaced. I put all parts in the vehicle or in back

by the spare tire.

RadiatorGrometClamps.jpg

 

This allowed me to remove the AT Cooler hoses.

 

They were probably the original hoses and consequently were frozen to the barbs at the bottom of the Radiator.

I had to cut the hoses with a big wire cutters and I plugged the hoses with bolts screwed in to the ends.

Then I split the hoses attached to the barbs with a hobby razor and they came off easily.

I got ATF fluid all over my arms!

 

Here are the ends and the barbs which had to be removed with a 13 mm Metric Deep Socket.

 

ATCoolerHosesCut.jpg

 

After removing the Barbs, I was able to juggle the Radiator around and pull it up and out.

This was a hassle. As I said, the shroud is a big problem !

 

Here are both the Shroud and the Radiator. I plugged the Radiator pipes and engine pipes with paper towels

to keep dirt and Yellow Jackets out.

Where I live, we are inundated with Yellow Jackets...

 

I will buy some brass plugs to screw into the threaded AT Cooler connections to plug them up.

Later in this thread, I will install an aftermarket AT Cooler radiator in front of the AC Radiator. Bought it at Schucks for $59.

 

I put the Radiator Drain Plug back into the Radiator so as not to lose it.

 

RadiatorandShroud.jpg

 

After the Radiator was out, I removed the plastic Fan with a 10 mm socket wrench.

 

FanandBelts.jpg

 

Now for removing the Belts and so forth....but first - a beer with my cigar...I'm tired.

 

More to come.

 

DoctorBill

 

PS - Precise1 says, "Remove the fan/clutch first after loosening the shroud, then everything can be removed

including the radiator without removing the hose barbs." You may want to do it his way.....

Edited by DoctorBill
How about I just make them invisible? Poof...
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The Fan Bracket was removed by taking out the four 10 mm bolts attaching it to the pulley.

 

As the bolts were tight and the pulley rotated (belt slipping), I used a rubber mallot to loosen

the bolts by inertia - i.e. - tapping on the wrench - the pulley won't turn.

 

LooseningFanMount.jpg

 

The Power Steering (PS) Belt was removed by placing a large screwdriver thru the pulley holes

to stop rotation and loosening the Nut with a 19 mm Long Box Wrench (Nut was on tight !).

 

I then loosened the tightening Bolt and then the Clamp Bolt (12 mm) so the PS Pump could be rotated.

You have to get at the tightening bolt from underneath.

 

PSTighteningBolts.jpg

 

ReleasingPSClampBolt.jpg

 

The PS Pulley was pulled off and the Belt came with it. Put the nut back on the PS Pump !

 

At this point the AC Compressor (ACC) belt was loosened by turning the Tensioner Pulley Bolt at

the top of the AC Tensioner Pulley Bracket.

 

The Tensioner Pulley Nut (14 mm) was loosened and the Belt slackened immediately.

 

I took the Pulley off, removed the Belt and put the pulley back on the Tensioner Bolt so as to not

lose any of the parts (I have a tendency to do that....).

 

ACTensionerPulley.jpg

 

Three different sized bolts hold the AC Belt Tensioner onto the engine block. These were loosened

with a 12 mm scoket and the bracket removed.

 

ACTensionerBracket-F.jpg

 

ACTensionerBracket-B.jpg

 

The bracket is heavy and strong. The longest bolt goes on the bottom, the medium bolt on the left,

and the shortest bolt was put back into the block so as not to lose it...

 

All the Belts look fairly new and are Nissan belts - I'll bet the Timing Belt was changed not very many miles

(25,000) before I bought the vehicle ! Oh well - peace of mind is worth all this fun stuff.....

 

There are two Clamping bolts to loosen - one on the top and one on the bottom of the Alternator.

Then the Tightening Bolt must be loosened all the way to the end of the bolt.

 

AlternatorTensioner.jpg

Note from later on (8-20-09): The far left Bolt seen in the picture above of the Alternator actually

holds the Oil Pump Front Plate in place !...It is the Bolt holding the Tensioner Bar to the engine at

the middle left....and keeps the Oil Pump Gasket Tight - if not tightened to 12 ft-lbs, the Oil Pump Gasket

can leak. This is important. End of note.

 

Time to take a Cigar and Beer break ! It is 95° day today - so I wait until the Pathfinder is in the shade...!

 

TakingaCigarandBeerBreak.jpg

 

The Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket (I am cheap ! I keep everything !) is nice to put odd parts into - won't get lost.

 

Now comes the fun part - removing the main Crankshaft Pulley. Oh Lord !

 

TheFunBegins.jpg

 

I took the Water Pump Pulley off and laid it in the vehicle and put the four bolts in the KFC bucket.

 

More to come tomorrow.

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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Allow me to point out a few things?? You can edit/include as you see fit and I'll delete this post. My Message inbox is almost overflowing due to traffic.

 

Yes, the radiator drain thing doesn't seem to work right for anyone and is almost impossible to get to; just pull the bottom radiator hose and be done with it.

 

I got ATF fluid all over my arms!

 

Yes, unavoidable. Bring rags!!

 

After removing the Barbs, I was able to juggle the Radiator around and pull it up and out.

This was a hassle. As I said, the shroud is a big problem !

 

Remove the fan/clutch first after loosening the shroud, then everything can be removed including the radiator without removing the hose barbs.

 

I will buy some brass plugs to screw into the threaded AT Cooler connections to plug them up.

The right way to do it. I used 2x2" sections of hose, 2 dowel pins and 4 hose clamps to cap them.

 

B

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Today I hit a brick wall.

 

I have an Air Compressor and a 1/2 inch Air Impact Hammer and went out this morning

thinking that I'd have the Main Crank Pulley Bolt off lickity split.... HA !

 

I do not have ANY socket wrenches big enough for that Bolt. It is bigger than 1 inch.

 

Such is life....

 

My 26 mm long metric Box Wrench is too small !

 

I used my Digital Calipers (for my Reloading) and measured 26.6 mm - so it must be a 27 mm bolt.

 

Chilton does not mention the wrench size needed.

 

So - I have to drive 25 miles to town and buy some 1/2 inch Metric Wrench Bits in one

of the local pawn shops where buckets of them reside for 50¢ each.

 

Might as well buy 27, 28, 29 and 30 mm - whatever I can find.

 

You can never have too many tools !

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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It is a 27mm socket. I had to buy one too!

 

Thanks for telling me that....I was hoping someone would volunteer that information !

 

If I can find all the different sizes I don't have cheap in a Pawn Shop Socket Wrench bucket,

I will load up anyway...26, 27, 28, 29 mm etc.

 

I had to buy some huge size socket wrench for the '86 Suburban I once owned.

A huge mother ! Never have used it ever again. Cost me about $14 !

I could use it as a catapult missile in the next Crusades...

 

...or maybe as a boat anchor !

 

I'm wondering if my Air Impact Wrench will loosen the bolt w/o me having to

remove my starter and block the flywheel.

 

Hope so...

 

DoctorBill

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I'm wondering if my Air Impact Wrench will loosen the bolt w/o me having to

remove my starter and block the flywheel.

 

Hope so...

 

DoctorBill

Mine did, you'll also need a puller to get the pulley off. I rented one and actually didn't need it, the pulley just came off by hand. But if I hadn't gotten one, I would've needed it!

 

Oh yeah, when I did my timing belt and all that stuff it was under the watchful eye of my grandfather, he made sure I lost nothing!

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If you think a 27mm is big, I used a 6" open end wrench, with a three foot handle on a heidelberg 4 color lithographic press.....that sucker was BIG!

 

Looks like you having fun, personally, if i were to do the whole timing belt junk, i'd spring for an e-fan to make things that much easier in the future, and clean up the area a bit, but thats just me...

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It is almost time for me to drive the 25 miles into Spokane, WA to buy that 27 mm Socket -

in my little toy Geo Metro that routinely gets 49 mpg....

 

I've got an air compressor and impact hammer (1/2 inch) and I bought a Pulley Puller from

Harbor Freight to take the Crankshaft Pulley off. Should be all set !

 

This Pathfinder has ~167,000 miles on it when I bought it used from a guy in my small

country town (360 population) who's father owned it (the father lives in Spokane).

 

Taking off all the belts has revealed that they look quite newish...I'll bet the TB will be rather

new and I didn't have to do all this for 50,000 more miles !

 

The Bozo who owned it supposedly didn't keep records ! Can you believe that !?

 

He is just being a rectal opening because I got him down to $1,000 on the price and no one

was driving out 25 miles to look at it - so they got desperate or tired of trying to sell it.

 

So I'll bet he thought, "Screw that bastard! I won't give him my records...that'll do him !"

 

Still, even if this wasn't exactly necessary, I won't be listening for the "Big Bang" when the

TB breaks ! I am always listening for ticks and pops and scraping sounds to the point of having

it drive me crazy!

 

Listening to Rush Limbaugh is necessary so that I can't hear all the little noises the engine,

transmission and drive train make....after Rush comes Bill O'Reilly...by then I am insane !

 

I don't drive a whole lot of miles each year (20,000 at most), and especially not in this gasoline

hog. I will probably die before the TB gets near 100,000 miles on this Pathfinder....

 

Off to the Pawn shop - I'll probably find some treasure and spent 100x more than I intended.

 

Oh well...it's OK as long as it it tools....Imagine the tools at the Caterpillar maintenance shop !!!

 

DoctorBill

 

PS - "...Looks like you're having fun,..." OldSlowReliable

 

Actually, I am having a Ball ! I piss and moan a lot, but this is more fun than a barrel of Liberals !

 

Add in a cigar and several beers - you can't beat that ! I'm too old for substituting sex.

Edited by DoctorBill
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I went to town, did the Boss'es "to do list" and stopped by two Pawn Shops

in Spokane.

 

Got a "Snap-On" 1 & 1/16th Deep Socket for $3 and a Craftsman 1 & 1/16th

(27 mm) and a Craftsman 1 & 1/8 (28 mm) regular socket for $2.50 each. Ha !

 

Then I got a long 1/2" Cheater Bar at Harbor Freight for $10 on sale.

 

PawnShoprSockets.jpg

 

The Cheater Bar made the engine turn over, so I put the Craftsman 1 & 1/16th

socket (27 mm) on my Air Hammer and the Bolt came out INSTANTLY as if it

the threads had been buttered up....

 

The Vibration loosens bolts & Nuts like nothing else can - Buy an Air Compressor if you can !

 

BoltOutFast.jpg

 

Damn - that Air Compressor was one of the BEST PURCHASES I ever made !

 

The Pawn Shops had buckets of socket wrenches, box wrenches, tools of every

sort - all at 1/4 or less than the price at any store - and some are good name brands !

 

They had used Air Compressors, also - compare their prices to new prices - even at

Harbor Freight. garage sales are good places to buy used tools, too !

 

DoctorBill

 

PS - The Main Crankshaft Pulley (as you can see) is apparently two larger back pulleys

screwed onto the smaller front pulley with M6 x 1.00 bolts - none of which come with

the Puller Unit I have.....off to the Hardware store - AGAIN !

Edited by DoctorBill
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I found some 100 mm (4 inch) M6 x 1.00 metric threaded rods in my town's tiny hardware store !

 

So off came the Crankshaft Pulley. No worries, mate!

 

RemovingCSPulley.jpg

 

I put the Key back in the slot in the pulley, took off the puller, replaced the three bolts and stored it in the vehicle.

 

CrankshaftPulleyOff.jpg

 

I took out the two bolts holding the Breather Tube on top of the engine block, unclamped the left side (mine) hose

clamp, pulled the tube off the metal tube and rotated the whole thing out and up as shown in next photo.

 

I put paper towels into both ends to keep dirt out.

 

MovingBreatherTube.jpg

 

The Timing Belt Top Cover has eight bolts holding it in place.

 

RemovingtopTBCover.jpg

 

The upper inside middle bolt was missing on my TB Cover.

 

TopTBCoverOff.jpg

 

See next post - too many pictures in this thread - getting error messages...(?)

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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Continuing on....

 

I had a close look at the NAPA Timing Belt that I found...it looks in damned good shape !

 

Has some oil on the edges of the belt.

 

You can see one of the Timing Marks at the 4 O'Clock position and the indentation in the rear shroud at the

1 O'Clock position (someone had made a paint mark above it).

 

LeftCamPulleyandBelt.jpg

 

I loosened the 14 mm bolt holding the lower coolant pipe and removed it, Put the bolt back in it's hole.

 

BottomCoolantPipe.jpg

 

This allowed me to remove the Bottom Timing Belt Cover - BTW, the right upper inside

bolt was loose and just barely hanging in place - would have lost it in time.

 

BottomTBCover.jpg

 

and behold the Whole Ball of Wax....Old Timing Marks visible, too.

 

THETimingBelt-1.jpg

 

Picture of the Crankshaft TB Sprocket where I have to somehow find the Timing Mark on

it and the Engine Block AT THE LOWER RIGHT SIDE about 4:30 position...(fun).

 

CrankshaftSprocket.jpg

 

and the Thermostat Housing

 

Thermostat.jpg

 

I think it is time to pull the Spark Plugs out......and maybe do a little "Gunking" of the grease on the bottom - to find the timing

indentation and mark the Camshaft Pulleys and Crankshaft Sprocket with white paint.

 

More to come.

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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The plugs were all pulled (I hate that upper back plug - Lord !) so that I can turn the crankshaft.

 

I slipped the Main Crankshaft Pulley back on so that I could turn the engine enough by hand to line

up all the various marks.

 

Both the R3 and L3 pulley line up perfectly.

 

CamMarksLineUp.jpg

 

I degreased the Crankshaft Sprocket and outside area with a gasoline soaked paper towel and found

the marks (thin lines) on the shroud and the punch mark on the Sprocket. Painted them.

 

That big keyed washer in front of the lower sprocket even had a paint mark on it in the correct place.

 

Everything lines up ! Holy Moley....this stuff works !

 

TBSprocketMarksLineUp.jpg

 

Since I will have to toss the used NAPA Timng Belt (wouldn't ever use it again !), I think I will

"Gunk" the whole front end area then use hot water from my 3 gal weed sprayer to degrease it.

 

It is quite filthy. Filthier than a sheep's bum in the Fall....

 

If I remove the Cam Pulleys, are they keyed ? The scary part comes next.

 

I need to replace the Camshaft Oil Seals....

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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Can you use the nut off the crankshaft and a cheater bar and turn to your proper marking instead of taking out the plugs: not criticizing just trying to find all the easy ways of knocking it out. Hell, right now your my motivation of trying to do this KEEP IT UP!!!! :happy:

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I took the plugs out because of several reasons.

 

1. All the Forum Threads that I have ever seen tell you to do that.

 

2, The Chilton Manual says to do it.

 

3. It makes sense - it is reasonable because:

 

....A. Why fight the compressions and vacuums created in the cylinders?

 

....B. If the valves seal well enough to hold either compression and vacuum, when I go to

remove the Timing Belt and eventually the Camshaft Pulleys, the engine will probably

rotate and mess up the positions I tried to set.

 

....C. With all the cylinders open to the atmosphere, turning the engine by hand with

the main pully is easy enough...even for someone lightweight or older than dirt like

myself.

 

4. I complain about the plugs because I cannot even see the upper back two plugs !

The upper back plug is a bastard to get the socket wrench over - I have to use a mirror

and flashlight while stooping over the engine.

May the engineer who designed that have to change them for eternity - wherever he winds up at.

 

I have several questions for anyone who knows the answers...

 

 

A. Do I have to use Aluminum or Copper pipe to connect the AT to the aftermarket AT Cooler?

Would just the rubber tubing suffice? If not, why not ?

 

B. If I do, what diameter tubing (and how many feet) do I buy ? And where do I buy it ?

 

C. Can I drain the AT without removing the AT Pan ?

 

D. Will it hurt anything to Degrease the front end with "Gunk" (or equivalent) before I proceed?

 

E. How do I pull out the old Oil Seals ? How do I install the new ones ?

 

F. Do I use any gasket sealer on the Water Pump Gasket ?

 

G. I am considering NOT replacing the TB Tensioner Stud...if I screw the pooch (break it) ,

that sucker is a real bastard to remove. I can take the chance it will break later on - but what chance ?

What are the odds.... Does everyone replace it...?

 

H. Where did all the oily dirt inside the TB area come from? Bad Oil Seals ?

 

I. Will I need to retime the engine when I am done with this ? (Timing Light)

 

DoctorBill

 

PS - "Hell, right now your my motivation of trying to do this..." Blackspawn

I was very timid about doing this, even tho I rebuilt my Geo Metro engine, Fuel Pump, Front Wheel Bearings,

cleaned the carbon out of the Throtle Body, etc - on the Geo Metro portion of AUTOMOTIVEFORUMS.COM.

 

Each time I started a project, I was scared to death...but each and every project was actually not bad at all

once I got going.

 

I finally decided that it is like learning to swim - either jump in or go back to the farm and do something else !

 

That old saying, "Just Do It !" is quite true. Kind of like the first time you asked a girl out....

Well maybe that's not a good example - look what it leads to....Kids, a house, a job, etc. Lord !

 

Aw Hell - Just Do It ! How bad could it get....? (Don't answer that !)

Edited by DoctorBill
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I have several questions for anyone who knows the answers...

A. Do I have to use Aluminum or Copper pipe to connect the AT to the aftermarket AT Cooler?

Would just the rubber tubing suffice? If not, why not ?

 

B. If I do, what diameter tubing (and how many feet) do I buy ?

 

C. Can I drain the AT without removing the AT Pan ?

 

D. Will it hurt anything to Degrease the front end with "Gunk" (or equivalent) before I proceed?

 

E. How do I pull out the old Oil Seals ? How do I install the new ones ?

 

F. Do I use any gasket sealer on the Water Pump Gasket ?

 

G. I am considering NOT replacing the TB Tensioner Stud...if I screw the pooch (break it) ,

that sucker is a real bastard to remove. I take a chance it will break later on - but what chance ?

Does everyone replace it...?

 

H. Where did all the oily dirt inside the TB area come from? Bad Oil Seals ?

 

I. Will I need to retime the engine when I am done with this ? (Timing Light)

 

DoctorBill

 

Good work so far...

 

A. rubber tubing will suffice.

B. same diameter as the rubber tubing the stock A/T cooler uses, I think its 3/8"

C. You can do a flush by disconnecting your A/T lines and turning on your car until the fluid sputters. Then refil and repeat a couple of times. But to change the filter you need to drop the pan.

D. No idea

E. To remove the old ones you can carefully punch through them and then hook them out. To install them you can use the old ones to help tap the new ones into place. There is more in depth information on this somewhere.

F. I have never used gasket sealer on the water pump, and I wouldnt recommend it.

G. Not sure...

H. Sounds like a seal issue.

I. Yes, you will need to hit it with a timing light.

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I used gasket sealer on the water pump gasket. It was the blue rtv stuff. I was told by slick to do it, and well all know how intimate with a pathy she has been!

 

It's been a year now since I've done the job and there are no leaks or funky smells/noises.

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After "Gunking" the front TB area and spraying with Hot Water with my Pump Up Garden Sprayer,

I loosened the Tensioner Pulley Nut and rotated the Pulley clockwise to lessen the tension.

 

Took the Belt and the Pulley off. I put the two washers back on along with the nut.

 

TBandTensioner.jpg

 

At this point, time to remove the Camshaft Pulleys....went after L3 first.

 

TBOff.jpg

 

Keeping L3 from turning was a "bugger all" situation ! I found a hunk of plate steel in my "crap pile" in my garage

and "jammed" it between the Pulley "gear' teeth and the engine block tried by hand.

 

No way, Jose...would not budge !

 

Out came the Air Hammer and Air Compressor....popped right off ! May God Bless Air Hammers !

 

L3OffPlusBolt.jpg

 

It has a short bolt but look at the rust on the threads ! Same with where the bolt came out of...

 

LeftCamPulleyOff.jpg

 

This is why I smear grease on all bolts going back into threads on automobiles - water gets EVERYWHERE !

 

Now the fun began - R3's Bolt refused to come out. Hammered away for minutes at a time....finally "Kroil'ed" the bolt.

I bought two cans of "SiliKroil" (you have to order it - worth EVERY penny) and use it when nuts and Bolts are

recalcitrant...

 

StuckBoltR3CamPulley.jpg

 

Let it set for about an hour and tapped on the bolt with a hammer periodically. Hope this works...

 

Nope.... Time for "more power...uuh, uuh, uuh" like Tim taylor says on Home Improvements "Tool Time" !

 

So - out came the 30 foot half inch Cheater Bar I bought at Harbor Freight....!

 

DoctorBill

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The R3 Pulley Bolt would not come out with the Air Hammer !

 

I now (later) know why...my Compressor was set to 70 psi 'cause I use it mostly for filling tires !

Oh well - Live and Learn. Thanks for the Head's Up, guys!

 

I had to brace the Pulley even further ! The metal plate wasn't quite wide enough.

 

JammingtheCamPulley.jpg

 

So, as a last resort (?), I opted for More Power.... notice the huge arm muscles...

 

MorePower.jpg

 

I recently bought that 1/2 inch Cheater Bar from Harbor Freight...it just paid for itself !

 

...and...to stop the rust, I greased the Bolts and inner Threads on the Cam Shaft.

 

Off came the shroud covering the Cam Shafts - four Bolts and some of the Outer Shroud Bolts hold it on.

I put those bolts back so as not to lose them...I now have a butt load of "things" laying around...

I keep them inside the vehicle - which ain't goin' no where...

 

StoringParts.jpg

 

The Inner Camshaft Shroud.

 

InnerCamshaftPulleyShroud.jpg

 

Once the Inner Shroud was off, I found the reason for all the oily dirt mess !

 

CamShaftOilSeals.jpg

 

Now, I am thankful that I spent the money to buy the ENTIRE replacement kit from Courtesy Parts.

 

By The Way - WHAT is that recessed BIG Hex head nut at the 4 O'Clock position under the R3 Cam Shaft for ?

 

more coming....

Edited by DoctorBill
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The Timing Belt Sprocket just pulls off of the shaft..and has a big washer behind it - has a "key" also !

 

Remember that one side has the Punch Mark on it - "Time to dress that up, Private !"

 

TBSprocketRemoval.jpg

 

...and reveals the Crankshaft Oil Seal

 

MainFrontOilSeal.jpg

 

All the rust I am seeing pisses me off ! A DoctorBill truism...A clean engine is a rusty engine !

 

I am going to coat the driveshaft itself, the sprocket and big pulley holes with axle grease when I re-assemble it !

Taking all these pictures, running into use my computer to resize them, crop, dodge and/or burn them on Photoshop LE,

then annotate them, then upload them to Photobucket, then write the text immediately so's I don't forget the important details,

get the image files and paste them into the text, then go into this Forum and add a reply (or edit) - takes me about 10 times

longer to do this repair than it normally would.

 

But I am having a Ball ! I teach Chemistry at Spokane Community College (have a PhD in Biochemistry from U.C. Davis, CA)

and actually like to teach...I suppose because I can't do anything else, Huh?

 

Not true! If you can't do anything else - become a Marketing Manager ! Or maybe a Congress person or President of the USA...

 

More to come - after a snack, a cigar and a beer in my lawn chair - while I enjoy this nice summer day....I'm pooped.

 

It is almost 8 PM. Looking closer at the R3 Oil Seal, I found that it is broken (rubber edge loose).

 

TheR3OilSeal.jpg

 

Question to throw out - will I have to drain the oil before I pull out the Crankshaft Front Oil Seal ?

Am I going to get oil dumped on me?

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
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