Changing my own timing belt.... any big Warnings?

With all the talk about the big bucks they want to change the timing belt,
I'm thinking about doing my own. I've done a few in past lives... a couple
Mazdas, Geo Prism (that one had the motor mount through the belt like the
Hyundai)... not a fun job, but for $1000 I may do it myself. Anything
extraordinary about the Elantra that might kill me here????

Seems like I saw a post a year or so ago about there being multiple belts
for the '02 Elantra, and that I may need to match it up to the engine
serial. True story?

 

There should be only one timing belt choice for the '02 Elantra. If you're
comfortable you can line the cam and crank up properly, you should be able
to do this job. Just make sure it's lined up properly and tensioned
properly (otherwise you could have engine damage). When I do one of
these, I usually press the tensioner pulley against the belt with my left
hand while I tighten the bolt with my right. That usually gets it about
right. For comparison purposes, I look at the position of the Allen hole
in the tensioner before I loosen the retaining bolt and make sure it's
about the same when I'm done.

I'd also strongly recommend buying a factory belt, especially if you're
the original owner. That'll keep your warranty in force until it runs out
(10/100 on the belt for the original owner as long as it's replaced at the
proper interval).

 

Thanks for the info and tips. As far as the factory belt goes, just in case
there is a difference, saving a few bucks isn't worth it on a timing belt.
I'll be sure to get the belt from the dealer. As far as lining up the cam
and crank.... what I've always done is mark the two sprockets and the belt
before I loosen anything up with tire chalk or something similar. Then,
after I take the belt off, I line up the marks, mark the new belt, and align
the marks again. Any problem with that approach? I couldn't see a problem
unless the cam or crank spins on me... what's the likelihood of that
happening? I haven't had a problem before, but then again, have I just been
lucky?

- Steve

 

This one's pretty straightforward. Once you have everything set at tdc, it
shouldn't move even after you remove the timing belt. If you don't have an
account at www.hmaservice.com, you may want to get one. I belive there are
some nice pictures regarding the alignment marks in the shop manual section
there.