I have some time but it is around the corner.

I am curious of what people think the difficulty rating on doing the 60k service at home.

I have installed most basic bolt-ons and done fluid changes on the Evo and have replaced water pumps and carburetors (yep old school stuff), starters and alternators on past cars.

I have a garage and a second car so time is not a real problem.

My question is what the difficulty rating is on doing the 60k service. I have looked at the write-ups and it looks difficult but also doable. However, I also know things can look more difficult or simple than they really are. I would like to do it myself not only to get to know the workings of my car better but to save cash and have the feeling of doing it myself. I do not though want to get in the middle of it and realize I am over my head.

So those who have done it what would you rate it in difficulty? Is it something the average garage tinkerer can take on with success?

Thanks.

Raist

 

From what I have read the timing/balancer belts and water pump are quite difficult to do for the average garage tinkerer. I would take it to a mechanic personally as not installing these parts correctly could mean some serious damage to your engine.

 

its easy enough if you have done dohc timing belts before. be sure to get the tool that holds cam gears in place and the one for the tensioner pulley. if you havent done a dohc timing belt before i dont think i would wanna learn on my evo. but if you have its nothing to difficult

 

Never seen a dohc timing belt

I have replaced plenty of other things on older rides and do a lot of jobs that take up to a day (6 hours) of relaxed (taking your time doing it) work.

I am just debating the cost of someone doing this (cash that could go for other parts) verses doing it myself. The write-ups make it seem doable. Of course I know that things can look different than actually doing it also

Raist

 

It's easier than most people make it out to be. I had never changed a timing belt before, and I did it the first try. I did read over the how-to several times to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing. It will also be much easier with these 3 tools:

http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/a...ment-tool.html

http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/A...oner-Tool.html

http://www.jayracing.com/index.php?m...products_id=48

And before you even ask: Yes, change every single thing that it tells you to.

-Water Pump
-Balance Belt Tensioner
-Balance Belt
-Timing Belt
-Timing Belt Tensioner
-Timing Belt Tensioner Pulley
-Timing Belt Idler Pulley

 

This 100%... I too had never done a DOHC timing belt before my evo, and went fine on my first try. Take your time, read the how-to's. One thing it will probably mention in some of the how-to's is that when you tension everything up, it might pull one of the cam gears a little ways, putting it slightly out of time so sometimes it takes a few tries to get it just right. Might have to advance/retard a gear a tad so that everything lines up when tensioned. When you think you're done, check ALL your timing marks, turn the engine over several times by hand, check all the timing marks again. It will be a great learning experience and save you a good bit of money

 

I found this to be a ***** of a deal to do myself. Me and one of my buddies did it. An extra set of hands makes this waaaaaay easier. I also eliminated the balance belt. Id say the 2 biggest factors were getting the belt to line up, (took us a couple try's) and having to go from under the hood to under the car 8 million times. Lift the car up, drop it down, up down up down up down. The lift got a serious work out. Its doable but, one of the harder timing belts ive dealt with. I can do a miata timing belt and w/p in about an hour, i can do an 1G or 2G DSM belt and w/p in a couple hours. This took 3 or 4 hours. Just a heads up.

I got all the parts from extremepsi.com just an fyi. Made it much easier then waiting for a dealership or paying their prices.

 

It wouldnt be a bad idea to have a friend with some know how give you a hand. With that said
if you follow step by step and double check everythingy you should be fine.

 

Timing isnt too bad on these cars. I was able to do a timing job on my old 1g dsm in like 1.5hrs. You do it so many times, it becomes as easy as changing your oil. I havnt done it to the evo yet, but i imagine its not n=much different than the dsms. I have also changed timing belts on my tacoma, v6, and my camry, 4cyl. Just take your time and read over the how-tos. It will save you a ton of money and like said before, its a learning experience.

 

Nothing differant about the belt vs. a SOHC belt just the fact that you're dealing with two cam gears instead of one of course making it a little harder than doing a job on a SOHC engine

I've done a few timing belt jobs in the past but not evo yet and I'm about to as soon as I get my tax refund so I can pay for the parts!! Def. get a helping hand someone who's done timing belt jobs before would be a wise choice of course but any extra set of supervised hands I would say is a must!!

 

Agreed. Save some cash though and just get all 3 pieces from Jays for 50. They work just the same and cost as much as one tool from AMS

http://www.jayracing.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=214

 

what does the dealer charge for the 60K ?

 

It's not that difficult. Just take your time and triple check your work.

 

I've been working on my cars for 20 years. I'm tired of doing all the work, however, I have trust issues. I'd happily pay someone $300 to $500 in labor, plus parts to do a complete T Belt job, which includes all of the idlers, not just the ones that are easy to get to. With that said, I did mine over Thanksgiving holiday. Ended up breaking a bolt on the o2 housing that connects to downpipe. Had to overnight a MaPerformance o2 housing .
The hardest part for me was the idler pulley behind the ps pump. Granted, it's not necessary to change it, but I'm glad I did. It was the worst one idler. And it was a b!t(h to get the ps bracket off. Other than that and the broken bolt it wasn't bad.
I found a tuner I trust, so next time I need work done it is going to him!!! Him btw is Tobz at Tobz Performance in Denver. He's over an hour away from here in Fort Collins, but definitely worth it IMHO.
I say do it at least one time so you can see how it all works and have some extra pride in your ride. At my old age, 36, it's worth it for me to have an expert tuner who I trust to do it. Plus I can have him put some upgrades in other areas and a tune without the "ball and chain" finding out

 

If you take your time and follow the How-to's directions you should be alright without any problem. I was worried before I changed my timing belt and swapped out cams and it was easier than I though it would be. Just make sure you take your time and follow all the steps...you've got this man