My recent acquisition has 160kmi on the broken for years odometer. I got the odometer rolling again and set my sights on the timing belt. I dont have the parts to work on it yet but I took off the cover to see how nasty a job it was gonna be. Two observations when I got the cover off... first the part of the inner timing cover with notches for aligning the cams is broken off so no help there. Second there is oil in the lower rear portion of the timing belt area.

On the plus side the belt is a contitech and looks good for what its worth and if the serpentine belt was replaced at the same time its in fine shape. I dont see any evidence of coolant leakage (to be honest I didnt locate the weep hole since I was distracted by the oil, thinking it might be coolant).

Is it worth replacing the inner timing cover or is it more cost and trouble than its worth?

Does oil in that area mean anything to anyone here? I didnt linger too long since there was no shade so I cant say for sure it wasnt coming from the crank seal or oil pump. I didnt see anything that made me think it was coming from the cam seals

Thanks

 

Well I have the old belt off and now see that the top inner portion of the cover is not at all hard to replace. Just dont know about the cost yet, gonna happen next time I guess. The water pump is shiny new! I just grabbed a cheapo Gates belt to make sure I dont mash up the valves while I gather up and install the interior parts (seat belts and air bags). Looks like all the oil is coming from oil cooler lines, so Ill have to figure out what is needed to put a stop to that. Im sure a search will turn up the answers there.

This is the easiest timing belt as far as access goes that I have done so far with one caveat, the little guide under the crank sprocket did not want to let me get the belt out! I hope its friendlier going back in.
Ok break time is over, Im running out of daylight

 

Done! 5 hours including 2 breaks to eat and look for tips. The serpentine belt took me half an hour of searching to figure out why it was way too long though. At least I know I have another 60k miles of engine catastrophe free driving. Wifey even came out to help put the tensioner back in

 

I just did one for the first time myself too, and found it to be fairly easy. I cut my belt to get it off the crank sprocket. It was easier to put back on that it was to take off.

 

So yesterday I spent a few hours scavenging parts off another 850. Got my airbags and seat belts. Also got a cup holder, glove box, and the upper timing cover with the marks. Car is coming along nicely. I just need to check and see if my PCV is causing the oil leaks. From what I have read so far its the single most common leak. Iin addition to being expensive parts wise it also looks like several hours of screw dropping fun, heh.