2001 neon RT timing belt inspection

getting my brother in laws new to him 2001 neon RT ready to turn over to him. tune up, brakes, fluid changes, filter changes, etc.

judging y the milage and general maintenance needed on this thing, im eorried about the timing belt. unknown when it was changed last. previous owner only had it about 6 months. he didnt change the belt. car has 220k. unknown maintenance history.

i REALLY dont want to change the belt for him. really, really, really dont want to. but it is my wifes brother, and i AM his role model....

anyway, is there any way to inspect the belt short of tearing it down far enough that by that time i might as well replace it? on my 97 DOHC, i can pull teh top timing belt cover and check it. this one, it seems like i have to pull all the accessories and the harmonic balance to get the cover off, at which point i might as well replace the damn thing for the extra hour it will take.

any ideas on how to inspect it easily for wear and condition? or is there sont one, and just sack up and do the job?

thanks Michael

I know the 2.4's have a split cover because of the front engine mount. 3-8mm headed screws and it's off....

I'll tell you that if you don't change it, Murphy will strike you dead and your outlaws will never let you hear the end of it....

Even inspecting wont tell you for sure if you can get away with out replacing it... Since its an interference motor, you better suck it up and do it...

Dusterbd13 wrote: anyway, is there any way to inspect the belt short of tearing it down far enough that by that time i might as well replace it?

No.

Chew on this - I've seen a lot of timing belt failures, and most of them were not due to the belt, but due to a failed pulley. You're not inspecting those unless you have them off the engine.

Belts that stripped teeth generally didn't look bad unless you folded it backwards on itself to really see the cracks. Again, not something you're going to see on the engine.

I've only ever seen one timing belt actually physically break. 2-liter Honda Accord with a distributor that siezed. So I guess that one should also fall into the realm of "external cause of belt failure"...

My dads had the water pump fail and break the belt, they didn't originally recomend changing the water pump at the same time. I think you need to just change it, there is no way to know just by looking.

Pull pass side motor mounts, acc bracket, and, crank pulley. Take top timing cover off. You're going to see the timing belt. Next is the most important step change the belt, tensioner, and, water pump. Put it back together. Shouldnt take more than a couple hours for those new to the neon experance. SOHC 2.0s are much much easier to do than DOHC 2.0 or 2.4s

Sorry guy. Just do it. I presume 220 miles, not 220 k km, which means it was likely changed around 100 k, so its now overdue again. At 220 km, its probably not been done, and is badly overdue.

Hint: Yes, you can jack the front of the engine high enough to get the front motor mount plate off a second gen Neon. It sure doesn't seem likely the first time you try, though.

Sometimes timing belts last a lot longer than they should, my friend bought a TDI vw that was on its second timing belt at 290k (should have been changed at 160k). But, you never know, so just do it lol.

The last time i did a SOHC 2nd gen neon timing belt, it took me like 2.5 hrs on a lift. I would say it was fairly easy but the lift was a contributing factor to easiness there. I agree with the rest.. you better just change it and get that behind you.

not what i wanted to hear, but what i needed to hear. guess me and the factory service manual will tear into it this week. i hate doing timing belts.

and it WILL get a new water pump while im in there.

Get the kit which comes with new pulleys and tensioners. Would suck to have the tensioner crap out a couple hundred miles after changing the belt

Toughest part is the crank pulley, but if you have done an older one, you know about the puller required.

the puller i got from advance sucked. any better options in rental tools from chain stores?

Besides spending the $120 on the "proper" puller, no. Although since my says "Snap-On" on it, I'm 99% sure I overpaid on it.

The trick...is to get a small 3 jaw puller, push against the bolt (after loosening it) and stick 3 bolts or something behind the jaws to prevent them slipping off the back of the pulley.

The proper puller works slick, pushes against a rod that runs through the bolt hole and bottoms in the crank.

A wee bit of heat on the center of the hub will let you slip the pulley back on without beating. Note the "wee bit". Don't melt stuff.

Ranger50 wrote: I'll tell you that if you don't change it, Murphy will strike you dead and your outlaws will never let you hear the end of it....

This....

Streetwiseguy wrote: A wee bit of heat on the center of the hub will let you slip the pulley back on without beating. Note the "wee bit". Don't melt stuff.

No heat needed. You slide the balancer on, thread the crank bolt in as far as it will go for right now, and hit it with an impact until tight. Never had one strip or fail to tighten up. Just have to have the right touch.

Ranger50 wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: A wee bit of heat on the center of the hub will let you slip the pulley back on without beating. Note the "wee bit". Don't melt stuff.

No heat needed. You slide the balancer on, thread the crank bolt in as far as it will go for right now, and hit it with an impact until tight. Never had one strip or fail to tighten up. Just have to have the right touch.

You should try the heat sometime. Slicker 'n' snot on a doorknob.