Timing belt

[Pilotpeat]

I'm getting ready to do the timing belt on my Baja in the next couple of months, want to have everything on hand to take care of it.

Is there a particular brand of belt I want to stay away from at all? I'm looking at a kit that includes a Gates belt, new idler pullys, tensioner assy and water pump. This is basically everything I'm planning on doing right now, all in one kit.

The only other thing I have on my list currently is to add a block heater while I'm working on the front of the engine.

Pete D.

[Ahzlon]

from reading other posts about gates they are a good brand. and the timing belt kit is really quite nice

[Pilotpeat]

Well, its on its way. The price worrys me a bit but it says its a Gates belt. Marked down from $400, I paid $215 + tax, free shipping from Amazon.

Pete

[PenguinSub]

Hmm... I'm always worried about things from Amzon / ebay / etc.... I try never to buy from anybody on there who doesn't have a magnificent track record. But as long as you're confident about it, I'm sure it'll be okay.



Post pics of you putting the timing belt on!!

[Pilotpeat]

I used to buy a lot of things off of eBay, these days I shop both eBay and Amazon and 9/10 times end up getting it on Amazon. Havn't really been burned unless its something obvious like "made in China" right in the description.

Pete D.

[Hawk296]

I just replaced the timing belt on my Baja turbo back in April. I used the gates kit. It's a great kit by an OEM supplier. I also added the block heater since the coolant had to be drained to do the water pump anyway. I used a new OEM thermostat while I had it all apart with new t-stat gasket.

Another thing I would recommend doing while you have the timing covers and belt off is to reseal the oil pump. Its an RTV seal around the perimeter, an o-ring on the back side and a front crank seal on the front side. They tend to leak over time. It's also a good idea to replace the cam seals while it is all apart for the same reason.



It's not a hard job, just takes some time.