Is adjusting the timing belt as labor intensive as replacing it?

Yes.

The belt has three lines on it which must all line up with indicator marks on 3 gears.

The way to "check the timing" is to loosen and remove the belt, put the gears in the proper position, then reaffix the belt.

This is so whether you put on a new belt or use the old one.

BTW, the indicator lines on the belt fade away pretty quick: if you cannot see them, a new belt is required, even if the old one is otherwise perfect.

The timing is easy to check, with a power timing light, but if it is correct and there is a loss of power, you need to check whether the timing belt is properly aligned with the three gears it controls.

The belt has three lines on it which must all line up with indicator marks on 3 gears.

The way to "check the timing" is to loosen and remove the belt, put the gears in the proper position, then reaffix the belt.

This is so whether you put on a new belt or use the old one.

BTW, the indicator lines on the belt fade away pretty quick: if you cannot see them, a new belt is required, even if the old one is otherwise perfect.

Thanks! Do you think I can easily remove the timing belt cover and visually inspect this without having to disassemble much?

I'm at work and don't have my Hayne's manual to determine this now.

IIRC, you must remove one or more drive belts before removing the t/c cover.

Thanks. I took a test drive with a buddy for lunch and we seem to agree that it appears less a timing issue and more like the tranny isn't upshifting into 1st gear. Even at a dead stop, if I manually shift to first, it still works hard to get going and then it seems to be OK after.

There are marks on the pulleys and covers which can be checked even with no white lines on the belt, but it does mean pulling the fan, etc. as needed to get the cover off.

If this is a red block engine, tension adjustment is just a matter of removing a cap from the timing cover, loosening a nut, then tightening that nut. This is supposed to be done ~500 miles after a timing belt change. I wonder how often it actually gets done!

You can also check the ignition timing with a standard strobe light.

Ignition timing and valve timing are two different things, but people often confuse them.

John

Thanks! This is good to know. I am thinking the issue is transmission related, but I want to check the timing too.

Does it have a ZF 4 speed transmission? Those are notorious for burning themselves up if the engine is revved in park.

Simply because you should never rev an engine in Park. That is what Neutral is for. In Park there is a very strong mechanical lock applied to the output shaft. On the ZF the internal pump is not engaged when Park is selected. There is nothing wrong with the ZF gearbox, any faults being caused by the person using it.

All the best, Peter.

No. AW70.

Thanks, Jamie

Nonsense, sure there's rarely reason to rev the engine in park, but that doesn't do much good once someone has done it now does it? A well designed slushbox will easily stand up to the abuse. There's a reason the AW boxes have a reputation of being bulletproof while the ZF's are notorious for being fragile.

Of course I hate slushboxes in general so this is pretty much a moot point.