Miata Mailing List: April 1999, Message #168

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During our two-car timing belt changeout yesterday, Jeff Dofing came
up with a trick that seems obvious, but is not mentioned in the
excellent Timing Belt Change procedure published on Miata.Net. 
Perhaps it would be appropriate to add it.

Jeff wanted to replace the cam and crank oil seals on his '90.  This
required, among other things, removal of the timing belt sprocket from
the crank.  Naturally, it wouldn't come off.  The procedure warns that
a wheel puller may be required.  We had one, but it didn't fit. 
Here's the tip: After removing the 21mm crankshaft bolt, Jeff simply
reattached the crankshaft belt pulley to the "stuck" sprocket again
using the small bolts provided.  This afforded him the "handhold" he
needed to pull off by hand the pulley and sprocket together.

Some other things we think we learned that could be helpful:

Oil Seal Removal - The Miata.Net procedure suggests removal of the old
oil seals by carefully cutting the plastic and rubber and prying out
the seal with a screwdriver, using a piece of cloth to protect the
seal mount area from screwdriver damage.  Some contributors to this
List have remarked that removal of oil seals in this manner posed the
most difficult part of the project (I realize many will disagree,
saying the procedure worked fine for them).  Anyway, we used a
commercial pickaxe-type seal puller available for about $5 through JC
Whitney or any discount auto store.  After a bit of experimentation,
we found that applying the point of the pick into the middle of the
seal kinda tangent to the seal circle would easily pluck out the seal
with no damage to the mount area metal.  Bing, bang, bung... out they
came, no sweat.  We seated the new cam seals with a 36mm socket. 
Jeff's smaller crank seal required a 32mm socket - we had no 34mm as
suggested in the procedure.

Hose Installation - We found that applying a small amount of Meguiar's
#40 Rubber and Vinyl Protector to the opening of hoses lubricated them
and made slipping them onto nipples and pipe ends much easier.  We
rationalize that the Meguiar's is harmless to the rubber hoses,
whereas oil or grease may not be good for rubber.  We also hope that
the application may ease the next removal.

Drive Belt Installation - Sometimes after you've adjusted the
alternator or power steering pump for maximum ease of installing a new
drive belt, the belt is still barely too small to slip over the last
pulley.  Jeff stacked three layers of wide clear mailing tape and
wrapped the center of the tape around the belt, adhering the two tails
together to form a handle.  We slipped the belt over two pulleys, and
then used the tape handle to pull the belt over the third pulley. 
This is superior to use of a screwdriver or other pry tool which could
damage the belt or the pulley.  When the belt was on, we simply
cranked the engine using the 21mm socket until the tape was accessible
between pulleys, then cut it off.

We bumped Jeff's timing to 14 BTDC, and he was off for home.  I still
have an hour or so of work to install new hoses and belts before I'm
up again, 'cause I had some non-Miata chores to do.

Our task would have been infinitely more difficult without Miata.Net
and the Listserv as a resource.  Is this a great country, or what? 
:-)

Cheers.

--
Bill Gusky and Petunia
Red '91, license "MOMENTS"
http://www.totcon.com/users/moments
DeLand, Florida
"Too soon oldt, und too late schmart!"