replacing a 94 chrysler concorde timing belt..

[Destroyer000]

so my sister experienced a crappy day Friday when her car just died on her.. we towed it back to her place yesterday an started to trouble shoot the possibilities of it not running.. well we found its not getting spark. so i did some research an possible cause for no spark on this car is bad cam/crank sensors. so we replaced the sensors an still no luck.. crank sensor was a bitch to get to as well.. don't know why we didn't check out the cam in the first place.. so today we pulled the cam sensor an cranked it an the cam wasn't moving which leads us to believe the timing belt crapped out on us.. the car only has 85k on it.. has any one replaced one of these on this style car? iam pretty mechanically incline an have the tools to tear it a apart an what not but its the middle of January single digit numbers outside. would this be a project i should let a garage do or whats your opinion on the subject?

 

[trevorus]

Chrysler cars are just a big PITA. I wouldn't mess with it unless you have a heated garage to do it in. If the cam isn't moving, you are very likely to have a timing belt. 85K on a timing belt is quite a lot. A broken belt is nothing out of the ordinary. It should be changed earlier than that, like 50K unless you drive hard.

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

What motor is it? The Concorde is the Chrysler version of the Dodge Intrepid, IIRC. It should be a 3.5 V6?

I believe it's a non-interference motor, so you should be ok on that front. It will be easier to do it somewhere warm. Remove the support panel above the radiator, and remove the fan(s) (this will give you tons of room). Take off the accessory belts and the crankshaft dampener. You will need a puller for this, there's a special chrysler puller that AutoZone rents. Remove the serpentine belt tensioner, the timing cover, etc. You should know the rest, the water pump and and timing belt are right there. It can be a PITA if everything's rusted.

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

Chrysler cars are just a big PITA. I wouldn't mess with it unless you have a heated garage to do it in. If the cam isn't moving, you are very likely to have a timing belt. 85K on a timing belt is quite a lot. A broken belt is nothing out of the ordinary. It should be changed earlier than that, like 50K unless you drive hard.

What cars call for a timin belt replacement at that mileage? I've never changed a timing on a car that needed it that early. I've got a timing belt book at the shop with all the manufacturer recommended mileages. Audi's call for 105k, believe it or not. Subaru's are 90k, Toyota's 95k, etc.

 

[trevorus]

What cars call for a timin belt replacement at that mileage? I've never changed a timing on a car that needed it that early. I've got a timing belt book at the shop with all the manufacturer recommended mileages. Audi's call for 105k, believe it or not. Subaru's are 90k, Toyota's 95k, etc.

Most of those cars are not in the same class as this Chrysler. And, I have seen a little 94 Ford Escort timing belt last over 171K, so you never know. I don't buy cars with timing belts if I can help it, chain only for me.

 

[Destroyer000]

well thanks for the help fellas.. looks like its gonna have to go to the garage... what kinda price should we be expecting for something like this?

 

[snake]

If you take it to a stealership they are going to bend you over big time. I'll bet $500 won't touch it. We've got a local guy around here whos been in business forever that will do it for $150 tax included. I don't see how he makes money at it to be honest. You can probably do the job yourself- I haven't done one on this particular car, but I'll bet I've done 75 of them over the years. All basically the same. It is lots easier if it hasn't thrown the belt, as timing them up can be a trick if the marks aren't very visible.

As far as how long the belts last, seems like the ones that use an open metal cover to keep your clothes from getting caught in it (old pinto, etc) don't last as long as those using a plastic cover that seals it up from the outside elements. I just did a 2001 toyota camry 4 banger with 106K and it looked almost new.

On any engine you generally remove the belts, front motor mount (support the engine with a jack) whatever accessories are in the way, the front harmonic balancer/dampner and then the timing cover(s). Line everything up on TDC and slip the new belt on. Most tensioners can be pushed over and tightened up which will allow easy belt installation. Once the belt is on, loosen the tensioner bolt and allow it to take the slack out of the belt. Then turn the engine whatever direction will put the slack of the belt on the tensioner side, allow the tensioner to take out the slack with its natural spring tension- then tighten the tenioner bolt down. Pay attention to plates or whatever configuration it uses to keep the belts on the pulleys and reinstall. Remember the crank goes around twice for every time the cam goes around once, so be careful it isn't 180 degrees off. (may not matter on certain engines). Also note that certain engines have other pulleys that need to be timed besides the cam and crank (water pumps, oil pumps don't matter). NEVER, NEVER crank the engine with the tensioner bolt loose!!

If you do screw something up you can move the belt around WITHOUT taking anything off but the top half of the cover and nothing else. In this case pop out the rubber plug in front of the tensioner bolt- then loosen the bolt a turn or so. Move the engine in the direction that puts all the tension on the tensioner side and hold it there. Tighten the bolt which will hold the tensioner in place and out of the way. The while the crank is at TDC, slip the belt off of the cam and turn the cam to the new position and reinstall. Then loosen the tensioner bolt again and turn the engine to put the slack side of the belt on the tensioner side and tighten the bolt back down. This trick will save you HOURS of labor if you made a mistake and got the damn thing off a tooth or 180 degrees... Let us know if you tackle it and how it came out.

 

[Roger]

I've done this. It isn't really all that hard honestly. In fact, MOST of this job can be done resting on your knees. Well, I did and I'm 6'3". PLEASE, replace the waterpump while you are in there, as it will likely go bad after you put in the new belt. That has been my experience with the Chrysler 3.0 in the minivans and the 3.5 in the Concorde. And yes, I did it to a 94 'Corde.

I strongly suggest looking at the pics I took. All here at my site. http://www.geocities.com/phatfoto/repair.html Just click on the Chrysler 3.5 info...

And yes, the 3.5 is NON interference. I blew the timing belt at 5000 RPM... And, if the old belt IS shredded, do a thorough job of cleaning all the pieces out. I didn't and had to reset the timing a couple days after doing the initial belt replacement at my friend's house. Seems a piece of the old belt got stuck between the crank pulley and the new belt and let the belt slip.

 

[Destroyer000]

ROGER THANK YOU SOOO MUCH that helps out a TON! gonna have to break out the carhatts an gloves an crank the wood stove an get rollin..

 

[Roger]

No problem brother, glad to help out! If this will be your first time doing this, get some cardboard to put between you and the radiator after you pull the fans. Might be real easy to put a tool through it if you are wearing gloves, you just might not feel it.

It really isn't that hard, not near as hard as doing the same job on my old 3.0 Caravan motor... And when you're done, you'll have earned a brew or three. SHOULD only take a couple hours when warm, 3-4 since its cold.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Go to www.lhforums.net.

There are some great people there that can help you out. the timing belt is not that difficult, just time consuming. I have an intrepid, and as much as the car aggravates me, it is probably one of the easiest cars I have ever worked on.

Tell them intrepidhero sent you



AJ

 

[97RangerXLT]

I've done this. It isn't really all that hard honestly. In fact, MOST of this job can be done resting on your knees. Well, I did and I'm 6'3". PLEASE, replace the waterpump while you are in there, as it will likely go bad after you put in the new belt. That has been my experience with the Chrysler 3.0 in the minivans and the 3.5 in the Concorde. And yes, I did it to a 94 'Corde.

I strongly suggest looking at the pics I took. All here at my site. http://www.geocities.com/phatfoto/repair.html Just click on the Chrysler 3.5 info...

And yes, the 3.5 is NON interference. I blew the timing belt at 5000 RPM... And, if the old belt IS shredded, do a thorough job of cleaning all the pieces out. I didn't and had to reset the timing a couple days after doing the initial belt replacement at my friend's house. Seems a piece of the old belt got stuck between the crank pulley and the new belt and let the belt slip.

Also, replace the tensioner!!! This is an item that goes bad in these cars. so while you have it apart, might as well replace it.

AJ

 

[dploth]

I have just replaced the timing belt and the water pump in my 94 Concorde. I went to your site Roger and I have followed the directions you listed. They matched the repair guide also. I am now getting spark. However the engine will still not start. I am thinking about starting all over again and verify that I am at TDC. After I replaced the belt I rotated the engine 2 X's per the manual and the timing marks lined up. Any other suggestions please let me know. Thank yo so much.

http://www.geocities.com/phatfoto/repair.html

 

[Ozwynn]

I did a SOHC Toyota V6, make sure all your timing marks are lined up and follow all the directions in the haynes manual. plus remove anything that is in the way. if you can change a serpentine belt you can change the timing belt. it is not as complicated as it looks.

 

[snake]

I have just replaced the timing belt and the water pump in my 94 Concorde. I went to your site Roger and I have followed the directions you listed. They matched the repair guide also. I am now getting spark. However the engine will still not start. I am thinking about starting all over again and verify that I am at TDC. After I replaced the belt I rotated the engine 2 X's per the manual and the timing marks lined up. Any other suggestions please let me know. Thank yo so much.

http://www.geocities.com/phatfoto/repair.html

This thing doesn't have a moving distributor, does it? If so, line it up on TDC and then pull the cap and see where the rotor is pointing- should be #1.

Remember that the crank pully goes around twice for every time the cam gear/s go around once- so even tho the marks line up it could be 180 degrees off.

I would pull a sparkplug out, put it back into its wire, and have someone else crank the engine while you have a finger in the open sparkplug hole while watching the plug fire. This is a crude test to see if the ignition timing is close or not. It should spark just before the compression blows your finger out of the hole. The compression is kinda hot, so be prepared for this. It won't burn you but might freak you out. If it does, dump a little gas in and see if it fires, because the spark is fine. Also check the firing order...

It could have also jumped time if you didn't adjust the tensioner properly.