Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
how do i easily visually check the timing belt?
First, remove the two screws indicated in this picture by red arrows:
You'll have to wrestle the cover a bit to get it off around that metal tube.
Do not try doing this with the engine running! Make sure that the motor is stopped! Here's a picture with the cover removed, and the belt exposed.
You may run the engine with the cover removed, but make sure that the engine is stopped before you try to remove or reinstall the cover. WIth teh cover removed, and the engine running, make note of how much the top of the belt ??flaps? up and down between the two cam pulleys. When I got my Mystique, the belt was flapping abotu an inch or two, causing it to hit the top of the cover. This was is most likely due to the fact that the tensioner pulleys needed to be replaced. With a new belt, and new tensioner pulleys, it flaps by only about 1/4 or 1/2 an inch at most.
