Replacing the timing belt ZAZ Forza

The gas distribution mechanism of the ZAZ Forza car is driven by a toothed belt. With its help, rotation from the crankshaft is transmitted to the camshaft, which controls the opening and closing of the engine valves.

When to change the timing drive in ZAZ Forza

The nominal service life of the timing belt in the ZAZ Forza is 40 kilometers. It can work a little longer, but you should not rely on it. If you miss the moment and wait for it to break, the result will be a blow of the valves on the pistons. And this will already result in a serious repair of the cylinder-piston group and far from cheap expenses.

Along with the timing belt, it is worth replacing its tension roller, as well as the generator and power steering drives, since their service life is approximately the same.

In addition to the camshaft, the timing belt is driven by and. It serves an average of 40 ... 50 thousand kilometers. Therefore, it would be absolutely logical to replace it at the same time.

Disassembly

1. Remove the right front wheel and jack up the car.
2. We dismantle the plastic protection, if any.
3. We drain the antifreeze if it is planned to dismantle and replace the water pump.
4. We loosen the two bolts (red arrows) that fix the power steering pump in the guide rail - you will need it.
5. Weaken the tension of the power steering belt. Turn the adjusting bolt counterclockwise (green arrow).
6. Remove power steering belt.
7. Next in line is the generator drive. To loosen it, you need to turn the tensioner, which has a special protrusion.

   Perfect fit . We put it on the protrusion of the tensioner, insert a large screwdriver or other suitable tool into the head and turn the tensioner forward (in the direction of the car). While holding the tensioner, remove the belt from the alternator pulley.

8. We dismantle the upper part of the plastic protection of the timing drive. It is fastened with two bolts, for which we use a 10 wrench. 
9. We unscrew the bolt that secures the attachment drive pulley to the crankshaft. Here you will need an assistant who will set the 5th gear and apply the brake. 
   
    
10. We remove the pulley. If it sits tight, you need to pry it from behind with a pry bar and swing it a little. Also use WD-40.
11. We remove the lower half of the protective casing of the timing drive by unscrewing the two bolts by 10.
12. In order not to knock down the valve timing, you will need to set the crankshaft to the service position, in which the piston of the 1st cylinder of the engine is at TDC. We return the gearshift lever to the neutral position, screw the additional equipment pulley bolt into the crankshaft and use it with a wrench to turn the shaft clockwise. The inscription FRONT on the pulley should end up at the top, and the arrow should point to the risk on the body.

    However, this pair of marks can coincide not only at the TDC of the 1st cylinder, but also at the TDC of the 4th. Therefore, it is important to match another pair of labels as well. There is a triangular protrusion in one of the holes in the camshaft gear, which should align with the round hole on the cylinder head bearing cap. 

    If the protrusion on the gear is at the bottom, it is necessary to turn the crankshaft one full turn.

13. Now you need to dismantle the timing belt tensioner. It is secured with two 13mm bolts.
14. By removing the tension roller, we thereby free the timing belt. Now it can be removed.
    
    !!! When the timing belt is removed, the crankshaft and camshaft cannot be rotated. Violation of this rule will cause a shift in the valve timing and incorrect operation of the power unit. 
15. To dismantle the water pump, you will need to unscrew the four bolts.

Do not forget to substitute a container from below, as a small amount of antifreeze remains in the system.

Assembly

1. Install and fix the water pump.
2. We return the timing belt tensioner to its place, screw it in, but do not tighten the bolts yet.
3. Make sure that the camshaft and crankshaft marks are not misaligned. The belt itself must be installed so that the inscriptions on it are not upside down.
   
   Put the timing belt on the crankshaft pulley, then on the water pump and camshaft pulleys and put it behind the tension roller.
   
   Again, pay attention to the labels.
4. To tension the roller, we use any suitable tool as a lever, for example, a long powerful screwdriver. 

   Tighten the roller mounting bolts. Normally, the timing belt is rotated by hand by about 70 ... 90 °. A loose belt can slip, and over-tensioning will increase the risk of belt breakage.

5. We fasten both halves of the plastic protective casing.
6. We put the belt on the generator pulley and the attachment pulley, we install the latter on the crankshaft axis. We ask the assistant to turn on the 5th gear and squeeze the brake and tighten the bolt securing the pulley to the crankshaft. 
7. We put in place the power steering pump drive. Adjust the tension with the adjusting bolt, and then tighten the fixing bolts. Do not over-tighten so as not to put undue stress on the pump bearing. If the belt whistles during operation, it needs to be tightened a little.
8. We fix the protective plastic and fasten the wheel.
9. It remains to fill in antifreeze and make sure that the unit is working properly.

In the Chinese online store you can purchase timing belts for ZAZ Forza - both original parts and analogues. Here you can also choose