Timing belt

[Antileon]

I do not know the service history of my 76 1800 spider and have decided to have the timing belt changed as it may be old.
I have 2 questions.

1. How high is the degree of difficulty, changing the belt, I am not experienced in repairs
2. I see that the belt is offered as a kit with some gasket and other bits and a waterpump is included. Why a new waterpump ?

Thanks

[zachmac]

Medium difficulty if you are mechanically inclined. Key factor is that if you get it wrong you can do a lot of damage, after all it determines when the valves open and close in relation to the piston travel. Not rocket science but you have to line up the crank marking, both cam markings, AND the aux shaft all simultaneously while installing the belt and keep it all in position while you release / apply the tensioner. Lots of posts here on how to do it. DO NOT forget the aux shaft as the lobe on the end of that shaft that is there to operate the mechanical fuel pump (whether you have one or not) can strike the #2 piston rod bolt with severe consequences if not properly timed (mark / hole in aux shaft pulley aligned ~1 o'clock / pointed toward the bolt for the tensioner pulley spring).

Not as scary as I've made it sound. Just find the step by step instructions, read them several times before you start and double check everything before you are done. BTW, the biggest PITA about it is usually getting the coolant properly refilled and all of the air out. Lots of posts about that here as well.

Kits include water pumps because you have to remove the timing belt cover, which means you have to remove the coolant tee where the radiator hoses connect up top (that's what the gaskets are for) so, as long as you've got that all off why not install a new water pump as you have to remove the same stuff to replace the water pump if yours (off unknown age and condition) craps out. Think of it as logical preventative maintenance that makes sense to do at the same time since it shares some steps.

Most kits will also include the tensioner pulley; same logic as above, why not do it while you are at it?

[Antileon]

Thanks for a very clear answer.

[joelittel]

This post helped me tremendously

http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic ... lt#p104132

[azruss]

may also want to replace the tensioner bearing while you are in there.