You guys are not gonna belive this.

[Moloch]

A week or so ago I asked you guys for advice about the T-belt job on my Eclipse. I listened and ordered the parts online, even reluctantly the water pump too. Today in the morning I was going to work when I heard a hissing noise, I pulled over and looked my water pump was spraying coolant all over the place!
Guess its time for a Water Pump and timing belt replacement. Any of you know what tools im gonna need besides wrenches and sockets, Im gonna be working with several pullesy and was wondering if Im gonna need any tools for that and also im gonna have to priong my No.1 piston to TDC and keep it there, I dont know how to.
Wisdom and adice greatly apreciated.

 

[labman]

Aren't you glad you ordered the pump?

Since it seems most of the manufacturers have difficulty building water pumps that last the lifetime of the car, why have they moved them to the top of the engine? It is true many of the old fan belt driven ones took out the radiator too when they went, but that is nothing compared to the damage they can do now. It used to be reasonable easy to see the first sign of leakage and not near the pain to change. Any real reason for the current practice?

 

[Moloch]

Well my moms Ford 500 has water pump running off the camshaft, its right there and can be changed real easy. I guess a water pump is considered a wear items, in my car it is reccomended to replace every 60-70k miles along with the T belt.

 

[NJC]

You'll need a torque wrench for putting the crankshaft pulley nut back on.

And some way to stop the engine from rotating - the Haynes recommended jamming the ring gear on my Honda with a large screwdriver but I had to use the "rope trick" instead (use at your own risk). Scroll down this page for ref:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=002660;p=3

You don't need to find TDC if you are replacing an intact belt. Just ensure you don't move crank or cam pulleys and then install new belt. Once you've tensioned new belt THEN go and verify #1 cylinder is at TDC and both pulleys are aligned (at their marks).

 

[Moloch]

Unfortunatley Ill be replacing the crank pulley too so thats not an option.

 

[sxg6]

best resource for dsm owners
http://www.vfaq.com/

more specifically what you are looking for here:
http://www.vfaq.com/FAQlocator-engine.html

not sure how much you know, basically 1g means 1990-1994, 2g is 1995-1999. T stands for turbo. although im pretty sure on the 1g's its the same for turbo and n/a

 

[glennc]

A good trick to get a crank bolt off is to get a breaker bar on it, nestle it against some solid thing in the engine bay, and bump the starter. Assuming the engine turns the right way (check first, most do) it'll pop loose immediately.

- Glenn

 

[andyd]

MAybe apples and oranges, but when I replace the timing belts on my 528es, I always start with the engine at TDC in #1 cylinder. This way all the reference marks line up. The final test is if you turn the crank shaft 2 full turns. YMMV

 

[FowVay]

The last time I changed a timing belt on a Mitsu Eclipse I was able to improvise on the special tools.

It takes a two pronged wrench to tighten the belt tensioner which is exactly like my Volkswagen uses except the spacing on the prongs is different. I used the shank of two #40 drill bits which fit perfectly and I made my own tool.

There is a balancer shaft belt that also has a roller/tension which needs to be replaced. it was very simple and straight forward.

Mitsu specifies a tool to set the tension on the automatic tensioner but I used a piece of .150 shim stock to preset the clearance and then simply slipped everything into place. When I removed the tensioner pin it extended to the .150" clearance specified by Mitsu and it seemed to work fine.

Now that I think about it, I suggest you get a service manual and preview the job before starting it. It isn't hard but it is more involved than the average Accord or Camry belt swap.

 

[NJC]

The crank pulley should be on a keyway so it can't be put on incorrectly.

But yes, it's probably better to align TDC and both cam/crank sprockets first.