Yes, the timing belt is done. Yes, the tractor runs, and runs better. I have to admit that I've been dreading doing this for awhile; we use the tractor almost daily, and it would be a big hit not to have it in service. Having never done it before on this engine, I was a little concerned about what I might be getting myself into. In actually changing the belt, the instructions that Woodlandfarms posted are very helpful. (Have a look at my minor suggestions above.)
It probably took me five hours. I could probably do it now in about two, including the valve lash adjustment. Not understanding that the camshaft turns at half the speed of the crankshaft slowed me down for awhile, especially as the darn pin didn't fit well. The other slow bit was figuring out how to take the hood off and where to park it. I ended up using a sawhorse and the rear tire, with the hood on its left side, angled out from the tractor at about 45 degrees, because you need to get to the front left (camshaft pin) and right rear (crankshaft pin) of the engine for the two timing pins.
1) Yes, I removed the hood. I suppose that you could change the timing belt with it on, but it would have been a lot harder. Getting the XXXX#! TS-30 security torx screw out from the bottom of the timing belt cover was...challenging. It is bad enough that it is a security torx, but then to have it in a large channel where you are trying to seat the tool by braille, while reaching around backend of the tub is definitely in the "take a deep breath..." department.
2) I guess we both had trouble with the camshaft pin. The crankshaft pin went in smoothly. I couldn't see the "machined surface" mentioned in the manual on the crankshaft because the level of the tub keeps you from looking straight into the hole, but once you know that there is a stop, it was easy to find. (Thanks for that pointer!) I think that I had the problem of sludge in the cam shaft bore, but I couldn't get it out; I tried Qtips, a 9/32 drill bit (very carefully) and nothing seemed to come out. It had some surface roughness, as it tore up the Qtips pretty heavily. In hindsight, I probably should have blasted a little PB buster or brake cleaner in there, but I didn't think of it at the time.
3) Yes, the weird wrench is the one for use on the hex sided camshaft washer, not the crankshaft. I rather regret not measuring it, so that I could look for one more generically. Your suggestion to make sure that I had a 32mm hex head socket was really helpful for turning the crankshaft- especially after I adjusted the valve lash (big increase in compression effort).
Thanks again for pointing out that the manual does recommend changing the belt every five years at a minimum. Mine was at 10 years of service, and noticeably stiffer than the replacement.
As an aside, I did notice that the 2011 that I have doesn't have the belt cooling option that is supposed to lengthen the life of the belt by 50%.
Thanks again to everyone here. I know that I would be in such a pickle without your help. It is so nice to have the tractor running smoothly.
All the best,
Peter
