Working on this now (finally). Stuck at the step where I'm supposed to remove the crankshaft pulley. Only two of the holes seem to be threaded to be used with a harmonic balancer puller, and they run up-down instead of on the sides, which means that I can't maneuver a bolt into place (bolt is too long, and the pulley is too close to the side of the car where that hole is located). I could fit it on if I rotated the crankshaft, but then it would no longer be at TDC.

Can I rotate it away from TDC, finish the replacement, then rotate it back into place after I've put the crankshaft pulley back on, and before I put the power steering and drive belt back on? Or will that just mess things up? Not sure how to proceed!!

 

You can rotate the pulley (holes) to any orientation you need to but the crank needs to be at TDC to install the belt.

 

Okay. So just to clarify and make sure I'm understanding correctly:

Right now the timing belt is "off" but still "on" (because the lower cover is on and preventing me from removing it entirely). I can rotate the crankshaft to gain access to the holes to remove it, then continue with removal of lower timing belt cover, replacing timing belt/pulleys/water pump etc. Then after timing belt and lower cover are back on, I can replace crankshaft, rotate back to TDC, then slip the belt over the correct pulleys, tighten, etc, and proceed with putting everything back together.

Correct? Thanks so much!

 

You are stating the upper cover is off, but the lower one is still on because the pulley is still on.

Your procedure is correct to a point which you may already know, but for review.

If you rotate the crank with the timing belt still installed the camshaft pulley will also rotate. Thus after you have accomplished all the repairs and time to install the belt you will need to rotate both crank and the cam pulleys back to the TDC position.

As you know there are marks on the cam pulley to align it to TDC thus no problem here.

Just realign the crank and cam pulleys independently to TDC then install the belt. Once installed, always recheck the alignment by rotating the crank 2 times CW and making sure the marks again line up again.

 

Working on this right now. Got the crankshaft pulley off! Now I have the lower cover off but I'm stuck again... instructions just say "remove the tensioner pulley and spring." The spring's easy enough, but I don't know how to remove whatever's holding the pulley! I took the bolt out entirely, and it looks like there's one additional bolt holding it in place, but it's perfectly round. Not like it's been rounded off, but as if it's meant to be round! Do I need a special tool to remove this? It doesn't seem to be in bad condition, but I have a nice shiny new one sitting right here that I'd like to put on.

 

The round head bolt should be a dowel pin to keep the tensioner aligned. If you removed the bolt in the center of the pulley the tensioner should be free to pull off the pin.

The pin should be the same diameter as the hole in the tensioner frame allowing the tensioner to slide off. Is the end of the pin damaged?

 

I removed the bolt in the center of the pulley, but wasn't able to pull it off of the pin for some reason. It looks like it may have somewhat rusted over.

I ended up getting into a time crunch and deciding not to spend any more effort on it since it seemed to be in good condition.

As far as the rest of it goes though, everything was a success! I drove the car to work this morning and it seems to be doing fine. The idle speed is still a little inconsistent, jumping between 700/800 and 1000 occasionally. I'm a little worried about having spilled some coolant on the belt area while I was replacing the water pump, but I think I cleaned up the majority of it okay. Now I've just got my fingers crossed that I sealed everything up properly and won't have any leaks to deal with! It was a satisfying feeling to have done this myself, but my sore body and cut up hands wouldn't be looking forward to having to go in there again anytime soon!

 

Great job!

If the idle does not settle down try cleaning the IAC valve and throttle body.

Also check the ECT sensor which tells the computer the coolant temp.

And check for vacuum hose leaks.