OEM 2002 Jeep Liberty Timing Belt

2002 Jeep Liberty Timing Belt Parts and Q&A

• Q: How to Replace a Timing Belt and Sprocket on 2002 Jeep Liberty?

  A: Start by taking off the air cleaner upper cover, housing and clean air tube, next raise the vehicle using a hoist and remove the accessory drive belts. Then, come to the crankshaft vibration damper and next you need to remove the air conditioner/generator belt tensioner and pulley assembly. First, undo all the bolts connecting the timing belt lower front cover to the engine, remove the cover, lower the car and undo the bolts for the upper front cover before taking that cover off. It is important to rotate the engine by the crankshaft, making sure the oil pump mark lines up with the crankshaft sprocket. Apply a 6 mm wrench to the belt tensioner and fasten it with a 1/8" or 3 mm Allen wrench turned counterclockwise. When the timing belt has been removed, next disconnect the negative battery cable and use special tools 6793 and C-4685-C2 to remove the crankshaft sprocket. Do not use a cleaning agent on the timing belt; if the belt picks up dirt, change it. Wash your sprockets with a proper solvent. Special Tool 6792 should be used when installing the crankshaft sprocket for the proper depth. Set the crankshaft sprocket at the arrow on the oil pump housing and adjust the camshaft timing mark so the exhaust camshaft sprocket sits 1/2 notch below the intake, with both arrow-marks facing the same way. Set up the timing belt at the crankshaft, moving to the water pump sprocket, then through the idler pulley and camshaft sprockets and tensioner. Turn the exhaust camshaft sprocket which is already on the engine, against the rotation of the engine until the marks align and the belt slackens. To adjust, place an Allen wrench into the upper part of the tensioner pulley and spin it counterclockwise until the setting notch matches the spring tang. Then tighten the tensioner lock nut to 30 Nm (22 ft. lbs.). Once you've removed the tools, rotate the crankshaft two complete revolutions clockwise to fix the belt and make sure the timing marks are right. Ensure that the spring torsion is within range, if it is not, repeat the tension adjustment steps. To complete the job, put in the timing belt front covers and bolts, the air conditioning/generator belt tensioner and pulley, the crankshaft vibration damper, the accessory drive belts, the drive belt splash shield and the air cleaner housing, upper cover and clean air tube.