tencc

Day 2 after the work done, so far so good. No leaks strange noises and no cel. Although I had to install dynamat in some areas of the interior to take care of some new rattles. The engine does sound different to me.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Nice.. whacchya got in the fridge?

tencc

Howzit! I'm approaching 1K mi. after the timing belt/stage 1 cam/header install, I'm happy to report no problems so far. The cam is the single most significant upgrade to performance. The car wants to rev and in the 3-5k RPM range you can definitely feel the difference. Gonna change the oil and adjust the valves again. I don't plan on boosting so later on down the line I'm going to try a stage 2 cam, but thats much later. Have to save for K pro and tuning. Tuning here in the islands go for $500 and up. For now I'm very happy with this set up. Again thanks to this forum, the timing belt change went smoothly.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Glad it went well

cvguy

Bumping this older thread to say that I got this job done by standing on the shoulders of giants - Reddawnman, Creaker2, and a guy on UT called Bigdave. These guys are giants, not because they did this job successfully - they stand tall because they took the considerable extra time and effort to write up their work in detail, along with some great pics. There is no way that an amature mechanic like me could have done this job using Haynes (just basically a high-level summary of the steps). I don't know if any of these guys are still on the Civic forums, but if you happen to read this THANK YOU SO MUCH
Just a couple of things from my job to pass along.
1) This has been mentioned a number of times previously, but I'm going to add my .02 that the best way BY FAR to get the crank pulley bolt off (and on) is to use a long metal pipe that will slide over your breaker bar with as snug a fit as possible (ID of the pipe just slightly larger than the OD of the breaker bar), along with a jackstand for leverage. I used a galv fence pipe, but almost anything will do. Get the longest pipe you can work with (up to 9' or so) - you may have to deal with garage clearance issues - consider doing the work outside if you don't have the head room for a good sized pipe. It makes all the difference in the world - ONE turn with the pipe and the bolt broke loose for me - can't get any easier.
2) Another thing that I've seen written before - put idiot marks on the old timing belt and matching marks on the crank and cam pullys (I used 2 marks on the cam and 1 on the crank). Then transfer those marks on the old belt over to the new belt (count teeth to be certain of the placement). I did both the careful TDC alignment, and also used the marks to double check my work - probably completely unnecessary for anyone with lots of experience, but really helpful for an amature like me.
3) Most of the write-ups said they turned the cam pulley bolt to do the rotation after the new belt is on in order to recheck TDC. Well I tried that, and almost immediately the cam bolt breaks loose. I don't know if the other folks took out the plugs in order to make rotating easier - I didn't and maybe that's why my bolt broke free. With a torque of 27, seems like it doesn't take much rotational force to break it loose. So, after re-torquing the cam bolt back (glad to have the idiot marks to be sure nothing moved), I hung the harmonic balancer back on the crank and used th 50 mm tool to turn the crank instead of the cam.
4) If you're thinking about doing this job, and have not done lots of this stuff before, allow LOTS of time. I allowed lots of time, used it all up, and then used lots of extra time. Many moving parts, and none of them are user-friendly for a non-professional

terry s

Having done a few timing belts before I am finishing up my 2003 Civic 1.7. It is not particularly hard but it does take some time. At 109,000 miles my cam and crank seals were not leaking. Since I plan to keep the car a long time it was cheap to put them in now instead of having them start leaking later and risk breaking the belt. In the past I nicked the crankshaft on my son's prelude which caused the new seal to leak. I was trying to use a screw to remove the seal. I got one of these off Amazon for less than $15.00. I highly recommend getting one. Even if you only use it once it makes getting the old seals out very easy. It worked for me just as in the video. [autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1436& transactionid=1378953904-70943437&posted_by=_www.civicforums.com&youtube_vi deo_id=BtsGU2nLrJg[/autostream]
It was tricky to get the plastic wiring harness off the back of the water pump without breaking it. I used 2 small screwdrivers to release both tabs on the plastic piece at the same time and it popped off. You have to look very close to see them.
I also replaced the cam plug on the passenger end of the head as the o-ring will eventually start leaking. I found a video on how to pry out the old cam plug. I pried it out very carefully and depressed one of the plastic hooks. I was fortunate that only 1 plastic hook broke but did not come off so I did not have any of the plastic hooks go in the engine. The original was not leaking and had no sealer so I chose not to use any sealer which might make removal more difficult in the future.

cyphertech

Ok So question... I pulled my grenade pin prior to slipping the belt on. I got the belt on by pushing the tensioner counter clock wise with and alen key. then did the 2 full rotations of the crank shaft. and the timing marks all line up. is that a problem should I take the tentioner off and re-install the pin and do it again. or is the pin there just to make it easier to install? please help. and thanks in advance.

terry s

Someone else may reply but I think you are ok. However it would not take long to remove the tensioner and install the grenade pin just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.

Also I don't know what happened to the picture I posted of the seal puller. It worked great and I have used it on other seals for cv axles and even a Briggs & Stratton crank seal The tool is a Lisle # 58430. Well worth a few $ it cost.

nekocj

So can anyone, having already done this, recommend an extension bar for my breaker bar for breaking off the crank bolt? All the impact extension bars I find are too short, and the non-impact, like 20-24" extra longs all look super weak. Thanks!

nekocj

What is the 190-220ft-lb that you are torquing?

terry s

I just used a standard 1/2" x 20" no name long extension. I supported the end of the extension on a jack stand then used a piece of pipe over my 1/2" x 17" craftsman breaker bar. When the crankshaft bolt broke loose it made a loud pop but nothing broke. I'm sure the extension must have twisted some due to the amount of force it took but it was fine. I have broken a breaker bar before but never an extension.

nekocj

Awesome thanks! What about daisy chaining two 10-13" impact extensions? Think that will hold?

terry s

You should not have any problem with them holding the torque. I'm not sure if they will try to flex at the connection and cause a problem. Give it a try and see.

mikey1

i used 1/2 inch drive extensions and breaker bar, i wouldnt trust 3/8 drive, i have heard of people snapping them,

i believe i used two 12 inch extensions then a jack stand to support them at the end,

then i used a 1/2 drive 18 inch breaker bar with a 6 foot long pipe slipped over it, it still took quite a bit of force to snap it loose even with a 6 foot bar,

i was more worried about the socket snapping rather than the extensions, but it held up perfectly fine,

take your time to set it all up properly and then give her hell

nekocj

Cool thanks all! I planned on getting an impact socket so I'm not too worried about that breaking. I thinking I will try a couple of impact extensions too. But if I have to resort to regular extensions then I feel more confident doing so thanks again!

mikey1

i was thinking about doing that also,

but my standard socket and extensions held up fine

bachands

Excellent Write-Up!! Used this, AllData, and the Chilton's manual. It was really nice to have most of it condensed in this one thread.

I went a few steps farther to replace that small oil pump o-ring. Oil pan and pump had to come off.

I like how the first step is to loosen the crank bolt. Makes total sense to me. Luckily I was able to crack it loose without breaking anything. I honestly don't see how anything but IMPACT sockets and extensions could do this. My extensions/adapter must have been flexing over 45 degrees before it popped. Had to check all my stuff to make sure nothing broke. I took a nice smoke break to "celebrate".

But honestly, I think removing the two long bolts in the recess of the motor mount/alternator bracket was almost worse. NO ROOM for a socket and extension. Could only fit a 14mm box wrench in there and the top one would only turn about 10 degrees at a time. Took forever to remove and install the it. And to make it worse, when I re-installed it I realized I forgot to put the long alternator pivot bolt back in. Had the upper and lower timing covers back on too. Had to take it all back off and re-install. I cussed up a storm for a good twenty minutes in disgust

And for those of you who have ABS like I do, prepare to be very cramped anywhere near the upper timing cover. I hate ABS

Attached are some pics of what I used to loosen the crank bolt. EVERYTHING I used was impact. The breaker bar is a 3/4" drive. The adapter is 3/4" to 1/2". The socket is from a flip socket set for removing lugnuts. There were four extensions. The pipe is 5' long. Everything there can be purchased at Menards at reasonable prices. That's where I got most of it except the flip socket.

mikey1

I did it with standard sockets and extensions and breaker bar the exact same way you did.....but everything was 1/2 inch drive not 3/8

i think i used a deep socket....but its been awhile

BrotatoChip

One of the first ones I tried was with a regular 19 mm socket (1/2" drive), ended up splitting it down the side. Granted it was a socket set from Harbor Freight.

Every since then I have always used a 19 mm 1/2" drive impact socket, 4" 1/2" drive impact extension, 3/4" to 1/2" drive impact adapter, 16" 3/4" drive extension, then a 3/4" breaker bar with a six foot cheater pipe. It hasn't let me down yet.

mikey1

that is when a set of these comes in handy.........