Timing Belt

[Heraclid]

I got a rush out of seeing a F-14 go over today, in the process of the wings sweeping in. Woo hoo! What's cool is that every year the Blue Angels come to town (originally founded here) and they come right over my parents' house lots of times practicing the week before the show. Just about don't need to go see it at the base. :-)

Last year when we had the annual airshow at NAS Jax, a few days later I was at work and I swear I saw a Su-27 go over very slowly. I pointed and told one of the women I work with that it was Russian, and her eyes got big and I think she thought we were under attack or something. LOL! I'm sure someone brought it in for the show and was taking it back to wherever.

What got me into helicopters was the slick Bell 222 in "Airwolf". I used to get in trouble for drawing it in class. Then I took a ride in a JetRanger over the Smokey Mountains and we were going along and came over a ridge, just over the trees, and wham - it dropped off beneath us and we went from just over trees to having nothing beneath for a long ways down. Very cool, especially with the clear floor panels. That really hooked me. Now I do it any time I get a chance. Most recently NYC with Liberty Helicopters - that was real cool by air. Poignant too, seeing the WTC site and all. Next time I'm there visiting my bro, I want to fly at night. That must be something to see. Would love to see Las Vegas that way too. Heck, any excuse to get in the air works for me... I don't care where. :-)

Ever seen Showcopters perform? They take a R-44 (not exactly the fastest helicopter around) and race it against a nice and fast Walter Extra 300S stunt plane flown by aerobatics star Patty Wagstaff, a Jacksonville area resident. The helicopter wins every year.

[kpaske]

Originally posted by Randy
I just did this job... When you do it, be sure to also change the water-pump, timing belt belt tension plunger, radiator hoses, radiator cap, and serpentine belt.

Whoa, I thought the serpentine belt was the same thing as the timing belt. This sounds like a pretty involved job. Is there a decent HOWTO around anywhere?

[Francesco Rizzo]

I'm in NE US and everyone here wants to change the plugs and timing belt at 60K but I wouldn't let them.. Ithought they were just trying to drive the price of the tune-up up. I'm at 75K now and will be getting it done, do you think it might help the gas milage?... I also am suspecting the fuel filter to be bad.

fixed wing all the way, a second engine is always nice to help you reach your crash sight.

[kpaske]

Yeah, they do that in Maryland also. Fortunately when I lived there I had a mechanic who would only replace the parts that were worn, usually cutting the cost of my maintenance in half.

The manual says the plugs and timing belt should be changed at 100k under normal driving conditions, but doesn't mention the fuel filter. Plugs and fuel filters are cheap and easy to replace, so I change mine at 60k and 30k, respectively. I'm at around 90k now and getting ready to replace my timing belt.

When I changed my plugs at 60k, I noticed some improvement in performance, but the improvement in gas mileage was minimal. Supposedly belt slippage can also cause modest losses in gas mileage, though I suspect the amount is negligable. I've never noticed any difference changing my fuel filter, but it just gives me piece of mind.

[Tone]

Fuel filters are scheduled much more frequently see manual - about 10-15K miles at the very most IMHO.

Serpentines typically can NOT slip due to the constant pressure the tensioner keeps on them and was one of the main reasons manufacturers switched from the old slippign v-belts of old.

Timing belt can't slip since it is cogged or if it did, you wouldn't be driving! Engine is NON-INTERFERENCE so if you put it off and it goes, it won't trash engine but again you won't be driving. Water pump and timing belt tensioner are must replacements when doing the timing belt. Oil pump can also be replaced at this time I believe and is a good investment.

Replacement procedure is documented on the Workshop CD (downloadable from my site) but is more than I would be willing to do - a LOT of things have to come off the front of the engine and an another member has already found out the hard way, it the belt is not put on correctly (even ONE tooth off), everything will have to be dissassembled AGAIN to resolve it. If you have replaced timing belts before, should not be a problem, but definitely NOT for the new do it yourselfer.

[Rooster]

Thanks for that CD BTW Tone!

Just to clear something up though, the CD says Timing belt replacement is 100k, I see people posting 60k. Whats the real deal?


BTW, is their a 2001 CD? Or will the '00 work just fine..?

[kpaske]

Tone -

I've scoured the manual and the CD and can't find anything about a recommended fuel filter change interval. I've been going with 30k to be on the safe side, but if you think 10-15k is more reasonable, I'll go with that. Hell, it's cheap and easy, so why not?

As for the oil pump, do you mean the power steering oil pump or is there another one?

Rooster -

The recommended interval for timing belt replacement is 100k under normal driving conditions, or 75k under severe conditions (as defined in the manual - heavy offroad use, towing, frequent short trips, etc). I believe 60k is premature for such a labor intensive procedure.

The '00 and '01 VXes are exactly the same, so the manual is for both model years. The only mechanical difference with the '99, to the best of my knowledge, was with the climate control system and perhaps some accompanying A/C parts, so the CD manual really applies to all VX models.

[Rooster]

Thanks for the info. Guess I have to call the dealer (as I bought the vehicle at 58,900 miles) to see f they repacked the front wheel bearings. If not, looks like a job I'll have to do in the spring as it is currently -8* F here...

[cascabel3]

My manual shows that fuel filter gets changed at 60k service which I had just done by Isuzu, and they did change it along with all fluids and pcv valve etc.