Timing Belt Removal and Installation

[davidricardo86]

I'm going to be doing this soon to my ca18det so i thought maybe i would share this information with everyone.

If youve got the S13 FSM (ca18det) this is found in the "Engine Mechanical" section of the FSM. If you dont know what youre doing, i would suggest reading it through a few times and then trying it for yourself. If possible ask for advice or help. If youre incapable of doing this, then its better to have a trained professional do this type of work as it is time consuming and rather difficult. If something is done incorrectly, you could possibly end up doing more bad than good. Always use good common sense when doing anything and think before you act.

[r34 gtr]

ipd (volvo/subaru tuning company) sells a really cool little tool that locks the cam gears when changing the timing belt so you dont have to re-time the engine afterwards. its only like, 20 bucks and im thinking about buying one to test it out/modify if it doesnt work right. either way, the timing belt shouldnt take more than an hour. there is no need to drain or remove the radiator, or (if youre really cool) the lower timing cover.

good luck with it, dont let those cam gears jump around on you (they will sure as hell try). have fun getting that crank pulley off as well, it can be quite the pain if you havnt done it recently.

- Tim

[c-rad]

LOL, the FSM didn't help me for ****. I followed the FSM EXACTLY and I was still a tooth off.

[datsunboy]

my best advice to this would be to IGNORE the "number of teeth between...blah blah" COMPLETELY!

All you need to do, is line up all the pulleys/crank with the proper marks, and install the belt.

as "R34 gtr" said, the cam pulleys, wont want to sit lined up with the marks naturally, they will want to sit just off, so you will need to make sure they are held in position properly as you put the belt on.

If you do all this, then it should work perfect first time.If you start thinking about the number of teeth.....it will just get you confused.

[f s t caz]

i must have realigned my cam gears atleast 10 times both times i put my timing belt back on. always a damn tooth off on one gear or the other.

[davidricardo86]

I agree! Yeah the best thing i recommend also is just to line up the timing marks. This is usually the easiest thing to go by but its always a good idea to see how Nissan recommended. Good to see that a lot of us here already kind of had experiences with this.

[knightrider]

the easiest way is to have a second person to hold the cam gears in place, and hold the belt to the cam gears in the right place.

[davidricardo86]

the easiest way is to have a second person to hold the cam gears in place, and hold the belt to the cam gears in the right place.

Yeah yeah yeah same difference. You could also look around for automotive tools and try to find a cam gear "holder" that will hold the camshafts at their timing marks to hold from the resistance of the valve springs. They dont cost too much and are usually made out of metal and/or plastic.

Anyways back to the illustrations, they tell you the number of "cogs," or teeth. Some say what if its in between teeth? Well the Timing Marks are there for a purpose and the Number One cylinder is rotated to Top Dead Center of the Compression stroke. Thats it! Pull the tensioner aside and put the belt on correctly. Relax tensioner. Reassembly Belt and Cam Gear Covers. Done!

[rico05]

Let us know how that tool works for you Tim. I am with everyone else here....took me FOREVER and 3 sets of hands/eyes to finally get my belt right. GGGRRRRRRRRR...

[r34 gtr]

you know, ive got a slightly higher lift exhaust cam and its nowhere near as bad about jumping around as it used to be. anyone else notice this?

david, sounds like youve got it under control. the only thing youll have to worry about is the crank pulley, as they can sometimes be damn near impossible to get off. let us know how it goes!

- Tim

[NismoBgt]

I bought a timing belt from advance auto parts. The belt came with the correct markings on it. Put the mark on the belt on the marks on the gears and WALA! Belt was like 29.50

[davidricardo86]

you know, ive got a slightly higher lift exhaust cam and its nowhere near as bad about jumping around as it used to be. anyone else notice this?

david, sounds like youve got it under control. the only thing youll have to worry about is the crank pulley, as they can sometimes be damn near impossible to get off. let us know how it goes!

- Tim

Ill just have to rent me a puller and and use a lot of elbow grease. Shouldnt be too hard. Ive done similar on different engines. At school.

[capwred]

air impact works great with the puller.

[davidricardo86]

air impact works great with the puller.

Got the IR(600ft lb) gun, and the SUNNEX/craftsman 3/8-1/2 sockets, need the ratchet and the compressor.

You can never have too many tools!!!!!!!!!