How to Change the Timing Belt on a 1982 Through 1994 2.2 Chrysler Laser

There is no recommended time or mileage to replace the timing belt on this vehicle, however it has been an accepted trade practice to replace the timing belts at 60,000 miles. From 1993 on, the manufacturer placed a recommendation that timing belts on these vehicles get changed at 90,000 miles. This particular engine has been identified to be a freewheeling engine in which there is little chance of damage to the engine in the event the timing belt should fail.

Things You'll Need

• Set of ¼-inch drive sockets and ratchet
• Set of ½-inch drive sockets
• ½-inch drive air gun
• Set of metric wrenches
• Floor jack
• Jack stands

Instructions

1. Raise and support the vehicle on jack stands. Place the floor jack under the engine oil pan and raise just enough to support the engine. Remove the right hand side engine mounting bolts and raise the engine just slightly.

2. Remove the right hand wheel and inner splash guard. Remove the accessory drive belts. Remove the air conditioning compressor but leave the lines attached. Remove the air conditioning idler pulley and the water pump pulley.

3. Turn the crankshaft pulley with the ½-inch ratchet and socket until number 1 cylinder is on top dead center. To accomplish this turn the crank clockwise until the line on the pulley lines up with the 0 mark on the timing cover. Make sure the small hole in the front top of the timing cover lines up with the small hole in the camshaft sprocket. Adjust with crank pulley as necessary to align both marks. Remove the crankshaft pulley.

4. Remove the upper and lower timing belt covers. Loosen the bolt in the tensioner and move it away from the belt and loosely tighten the bolt. Remove the timing belt.

5. Align all marks. The crankshaft sprocket has a small hole on the outer edge and the intermediate shaft has a groove on the outer edge. The two of these must align at an angle of 2 o'clock. Put the intermediate shaft groove directly above the hole in the crank sprocket and you can not go wrong. Make sure the camshaft sprocket is lined up properly. The small oval hole in the cam sprocket should be in the vertical position and the two large to either side should be lined up with the edge of the head. Caution should be exercised to keep these in this position as the belt is installed.

6. Install the timing belt starting at the crankshaft, then the intermediate shaft sprocket to the camshaft sprocket to the tensioner pulley. Make sure that the timing belt is tight on the opposite side of the tensioner.

7. Loosen the tensioner bolt and using the wrench move it in to apply tension on the belt and tighten to 20 foot pounds. Turn the engine over using the proper size ½-inch drive socket on the crankshaft bolt two turns and check that all timing marks are still aligned.

8. Loosen the tensioner bolt again, then push the tensioner against the belt and tighten the bolt to 45 foot pounds. Install components in the reverse order of removal. Torque the crankshaft bolt to 23 foot pounds.