Rep Power: 209

i am doing a timing belt/water pump/tensioner job for a friend, i have done the job many times so its no problem for me to do,

but my concern is the cold weather,

previous timing belt jobs i have always done during warm weather i would say 70F+

i will be doing this job when the outside temps are around 0F, i will be inside a garage but its not insulated and not heated, so not much warmer than the outside temps

i am assuming threads and bolts are alot more fragile at these temps and my concern comes when torqueing down key/large bolts, as an example the timing tensioner bolt,

i am terrified at the possibility of stripping the threads out of the block,

so i guess my question is.....would it be worth while to heat the threads and bolt up a bit before installing the bolt with something like a hair dryer? or is it safe to assemble it in these cold temps as is???

 
Rep Power: 518

Never had issues with torquing at different temperatures, nor do I recall ever reading info pertaining to the subject.

However, if you are dealing with a car that uses a locking tensioner, the timing belt tension is greatly affected by engine temp. Tensioning is supposed to be done at room temp (~70*F).

If you are doing a 7th gen, this is irrelevant because the tensioner floats all the time. (Remember, I do not unbolt the tensioner at all on these until it's time to replace it.)

HTH