By kelly (64.12.101.171) on Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 02:18 pm:

yeah i feel kinda silly for asking but,
how do you change the timing belt in a 79 with the engine still in the car?
it seems that the crank pulleys have to come off with the cover also,
but what about the 2 tensioner bolts?
do i turn the crank bolt left or right to loosen, arrhhhggg.
i dont have air tools and my girlfriend will one day see the beauty in them but for now i need to get this car on the road.

thanks for all your help
kelly

By Nikolaj (130.161.173.76) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 03:07 am:

No need for those...
What I always do is tie a good piece of rope (wrap it around twice) to the pulley and the engine mount... You turn left for loosening! Watch for that little thing holding the pulley in one place. Take it off, along with the cover, oh, and put the engine on a jack, caus you'll need to take it off to get the belt out. Getting the belt in place without crank or cam moving is a pain but usually takes a few tries... Oh yeah, loosen the tensioner bolts, move the role to the right and tighten again....this will make it possible to fit the belt.. After fitting loosen them and tighten again, the belt is now tensioned (and usually the timing is a bit off after that)..
Good luck...

By kelly (205.188.198.24) on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 03:44 am:

thanks nikolaj,
i will try it today.

kelly