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Here are my suggestions and general overview of the procedure. First, how many miles are on your waterpump? If it's close to or over 100k, then seriously consider replacing it while you're doing the belt. And if you're replacing the waterpump, you might as well replace the thermostat and radiator hoses too. Next, are there signs of oil leakage at the bottom of the timing belt covers? If so, consider doing the cam and crank seals as well.
Once you have ALL the parts you plan to replace, you can begin the process by first draining the radiator and disconnecting the radiator hoses and overflow tube. Then disconnect and find a way to close off the ends of the tranny hoses so your ATF doesn't drain out or get contaminated. Next remove the 4 bolts to the upper radiator retainer brackets and remove the radiator from the car. Next you should remove the charcoal canister bracket on the passenger side as it tends to get in the way of removing the timing belt cover. Then remove the two accessory belts and the PS pump bracket and AC belt tensioner. Now you'll probably need some help to remove the crank pulley as it is usually on very tight. There are various methods of holding the pulley still while you loosen the bolt without stressing the rubber between the inner and outer parts of the pulley, but I took the easy way and used a strap wrench anyway.
With those items out of the way, you can begin to carefully loosen the bolts to the left and right timing belt covers. Go slow as these have a tendency to rust to the nuts, which are just set into the back cover and break the plastic. If you break too many of these, you'll have a problem tightening the cover back down. Once all the covers are off, you can try and slide the belt off one of the idler pulleys, or just loosen the tensioner bolts and remove the tensioner since it has to come off later anyway. Now you can either go on to replace the other parts like the waterpump and seals or start aligning the pulleys in preparation to installing the new belt. Get a large C-clamp and compress the timing belt tensioner down to where you can lock it in place with a small allen wrench, making sure that the bent end is pointed away from the engine so you can pull it out later, then reinstall the tensioner. Next, slide the new belt on and align the crank and two cam marks on the belt with the corresponding marks on the pulleys. Once you're sure the timing marks are aligned properly, pull out the pin on the tensioner. At this point, you may want to put on the crank pulley and test start the engine to make sure you got the timing marks aligned properly. It will save you tons of second guessing and wasted time reinstalling and removing everything later. You don't need the accessory belts to start the engine, just don't let it run for more than a few seconds. Once you're sure the engine is running properly, you can reinstall the covers and everything else in reverse order. After reconnecting all the hoses, refill the radiator until the coolant is up to the neck of the radiator, which should between 1.5 to 2 gallons. Then start the car and let it idle while you look for any leaks in the hoses.
KuoH
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