Subject: Timing Belt
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 12:06:32 -0400
From: pabloantoine
To: ozbrick

1995 850 na, 75K
I used the information from Janusz and it was very helpful, but I want
to add my own experience to help others stay on course during the
operation.

I can't emphasize how crucial to the operation is to identify corectly
the marks on the sprockets (they are as thin as some random scratches)
and the one on the crankshaft pulley -sprocket -the hardest to find. I
started the operation and everything went fine until I discovered that
the marks are extremely hard to find and identify. Some "M" letters
nobody mentions appeared to be the markings, but they weren't.

I stopped everything and checked for more information. I found some
blurry pictures on Bay 13 which guided me at least to continue to search
for the real markings. It's so easy to mistake them for random scratches
on the sprockets and the crankshaft one is effectively hidden on the
side of one notch of the pulley-sprocket, (towards the engine -you can
only guess it's there!). You need a good flashlight for all this
investigation. If you could manage TO NOT DISTURB the alignment when you
remove the belt, that would be great, but you also have to find the
marks properly. Also, note that the 3 marks align once every other turn
of the crankshaft, which it took me also time to figure.

All said and done, for me the operation was an adventure, knowing the
stakes and discovering that available information is confusing (Haynes
manual) or fragmentary. The real test before taking chances to start the
engine is to crank by hand more than 10 turns the crankshaft after
installing the new belt (without sparkplugs it will be easier because
the compression escapes through their holes). Thus you won't have enough
power in your hand to bend a valve anyway, you'll just encounter sudden
stiff resistance. Just back up and redo the homework (the alignment).
 

Good Luck
Pabloantoine