When I bought the car from my dad, we didn’t know how old the timing belt was. So, to keep on the safe side, I decided to change it. The task seemed pretty daunting at the time. Like most cars these days, there’s a lot that needs to come out before you can get to the belt. It’s a good idea to change the water pump and some seals on the way; do some preventative maintenance while it’s all apart. The intention was to do the whole thing by myself and I kept mostly to that. My dad helped with getting some of the old seals out.

I might have been lazy about the project. For a first-timer, I’d imagine it should be done in one long day, maybe a weekend. It was stretched out for a few weeks. Some work got done here, some there. I definitely took my time.

There are a few different paths one can take changing the timing belt. I used a specialty tool to hold the crank in place while the crank pulley bolt was removed. A friend advised using a jack to get the necessary force to turn the bolt. It did the trick. I left the radiator in. Some online resources advised removing it, but it really just gives you a little more space to work. It wasn’t necessary. Using an impact, you might be able to bypass the need of the specialty tool, but you’d probably need to remove the radiator to get the gun in there.

All in all, it was a smooth operation. It was done at a relaxed pace. I gained a lot of experience. I also lost a little of the fear that I would mess something up beyond repair.