timing belt

[oltimmer]

I'm only 3 weeks in as an owner and was curious about the difficulty of changing the timing belt. I don't have any info on the last time or if it was ever changed.thanks

[707kevin]

Just did one last weekend.
Mostly easy if you take the time to do it. It sounds like more work, but drain the coolant and remove the radiator (takes all of five minutes) and the job is really easy.

Follow the numerous guides and service manual references found on here and it's a breeze.

you'll need a 38mm (1.5") socket to turn the motor by hand. No other special tools.
I did the cam seals & water pump at the same time.

[narfire]

OK young fella.... not a real difficult evolution really. It would be great if you had a knowledgeable Fiat spider person that has done it before come and do it with you for the first time. I trust you have a set of metric tools...
Perhaps if some cold installation fluid was offered , there might be a member nearby that has done the swap before.


Good call in swapping it out if the history is unknown. I see you are 3 weeks into the ownership gig... how are the brakes?

Chris

[oltimmer]

thanks for the info,the brakes seem to be good.i have a buddy that is a mechanic that is coming over possibly this weekend to have a look at the car and tell me what to attack. first for me is the timing belt. first thing I did when I got it home was change oil and check fluids

[azruss]

research belt install on this site understanding that the secret to the sauce is the tensioner. Before you even try to remove the belt, loosen the tensioner bearing and push it as far as you can toward the exhaust side (this will require a large screwdriver or similar pry bar) and tighten it in that position. You won't release it until the new belt is entirely on. The other tricky thing is the aux cam pulley. It may be unmarked, so rotate to TDC before removing the belt and note the position of that pulley. Finally the belt makes contact with both sides of the aux pulley so it is important that all slack is removed on both sides between the crank pulley and the aux pulley.

[4uall]

this might help

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13215

[bradartigue]

"a buddy who is a mechanic"

Educate yourself; read the service manuals and get an idea. There are more "buddy who is a mechanic" stories on this forum that I can count. Whoever these legions of mechanics are they sure can screw up a FIAT.

Some advice on Spider timing belt replacements:

Drain the radiator and block the night before.
Remove the hood to make things easy to get to (like pulling the radiator out)
If it seems difficult you aren't doing it right.
Alignment of the cam, aux, and crank wheels is critical and also easy
Don't mess with the ignition at all until you have it running again with the new belt