2001 Timing belt/Water Pump
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From: Canada
2001 Timing belt/Water Pump
I just finished replacing the timing belt, tension pulley, water pump and front brake pads on my daughters 2001 Neon. I was quite impressed with the timing belt durability as the car had been neglected and has 192,000km (120,000m) on it and the belt while showing signs of fatigue was still in fairly good condition. However, I would not recommend leaving them this long.
The one major issue with changing the belt is the lack of clearance especially when removing the front engine mount plate that mounts through the timing belt cover. After jacking the engine to multiple locations to remove the bolts you, must then find the exact engine height and remove the mount, belt cover and the rear bolt all at once. This involves the chanting of more than a few choice 4 letter words as well as the holding of the tongue in just the right position. I would suggest taking a photo of the engine position at this point to refer to during reassembly. If there are any Dodge/Chrysler engineers out there ¼” more design clearance would have been great. Once out the rest of the job is quite easy just make sure you have the correct puller for the Crankshaft pulley.
Tips
1) If you’re removing the cam sprocket, (required if you’re changing the water pump) crack the bolt loose before removing the timing belt, less chance of turning and damaging valves.
2) When reassembling use standard blue locktite the water pump bolts, rear timing cover bolts, tension pulley and mounting bolts as well as the hydraulic adjuster bolts. These bolts are not accessible after reassembly and can cause major damage if they come loose. I also used it on the camshaft and Crankshaft bolts.
3) You will also require several Band-Aids to patch up the scrapes and scratches on your hands.
With the proper tools and some experience this would be about a 3-4 hour job, for a first timer, allow a full day. Difficulty rating I would say a 5 or 6 out of 10 but do some reading ahead of time.
The one major issue with changing the belt is the lack of clearance especially when removing the front engine mount plate that mounts through the timing belt cover. After jacking the engine to multiple locations to remove the bolts you, must then find the exact engine height and remove the mount, belt cover and the rear bolt all at once. This involves the chanting of more than a few choice 4 letter words as well as the holding of the tongue in just the right position. I would suggest taking a photo of the engine position at this point to refer to during reassembly. If there are any Dodge/Chrysler engineers out there ¼” more design clearance would have been great. Once out the rest of the job is quite easy just make sure you have the correct puller for the Crankshaft pulley.
Tips
1) If you’re removing the cam sprocket, (required if you’re changing the water pump) crack the bolt loose before removing the timing belt, less chance of turning and damaging valves.
2) When reassembling use standard blue locktite the water pump bolts, rear timing cover bolts, tension pulley and mounting bolts as well as the hydraulic adjuster bolts. These bolts are not accessible after reassembly and can cause major damage if they come loose. I also used it on the camshaft and Crankshaft bolts.
3) You will also require several Band-Aids to patch up the scrapes and scratches on your hands.
With the proper tools and some experience this would be about a 3-4 hour job, for a first timer, allow a full day. Difficulty rating I would say a 5 or 6 out of 10 but do some reading ahead of time.
Thread Starter
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 401
Likes: 0
From: Canada
The only real issue is the clearance to remove the timing cover and engine mount plate. You have to jack the engine around almost to the point of thinking something will break. The proper crankshaft puller is a must and a longer bolt with the same thread as the crankshaft bolt to press it back on.