Hi, just wondering if its possible to have a go at swapping the timing belt and rear spark plugs without a mechanic?

Would you require special tools?

Thanks,
John :happy:

Am interested in responses here as I've had these done and they were expensive. I haven't tried but would be inclined to do so next time.

If your mechanically minded there are tutorials on here on how to change the rear plugs, but I don't recommend doing the timing belt yourself. There are some special tools required and if not done correctly it will cost twice as much to fix if you do something wrong.

Done both myself.

Steps:
(1) Read the manual.
(2) Visualise the steps involved.
(3) Make a list of parts and tools required. At this stage you need to decide if you really, really are ready to tackle this yourself.
(4) Buy tools and parts.
(5) Plan your time, you need plenty of it. A Sunday afternoon when you need the car for work Monday morning is not sufficient.
(6) Get stuck into it when you feel ready. Expect problems where you have to refer back to the manual or come back here and say "How the @#$%$# do I do this?"

Realize that if you stuff up your car can suffer some serious damage and will be off the road for quite a while.
If you don't feel confident find a mechanic who has done this before and swallow the cost. Not cheap due to the time factor.

Rear spark plugs fairly easy, timing belt a lot more complicated.
No special tools or knowledge required to change the rear plugs, but special tool(s) & knowledge needed to successfully change the timing belt.
With the rear plugs the 'complication' is removing the intake plenum, but it's easy if you take your time and carefully note how everything undoes and where it goes, so you know how to put it back together & do it up again. Really just a few hoses, clips & bolts. Be careful you don't over-torque the plenum bolts and strip the thread(s), easy to accidentally do and a trap for young players.

[QUOTE=TreeAdeyMan;1548050 Be careful you don't over-torque the plenum bolts and strip the thread(s), easy to accidentally do and a trap for young players.[/QUOTE]

Yep, a trap for young players (and old players) without a torque wrench that is. lol
Plenum bolts only do up to 20 Nm as they thread into the alloy of the lower intake. Same for the bolts across the back of the plenum.
You need a torque wrench for the spark pugs, 25 Nm, anyway. $50 from eBay. People who "guess" torque on bolts always get it wrong, and go way over. Trust me on this, checked other people's work by running a torque wrench over bolts they tightened by hand.

I would not attempt ANY job on the engine without knowing the torque wrench settings or using the torque wrench. Recipe for major frustration and tears if you don't use one. Don't cheap out on this tool.

Yep, a trap for young players (and old players) without a torque wrench that is. lol
Plenum bolts only do up to 20 Nm as they thread into the alloy of the lower intake. Same for the bolts across the back of the plenum.
You need a torque wrench for the spark pugs, 25 Nm, anyway. $50 from eBay. People who "guess" torque on bolts always get it wrong, and go way over. Trust me on this, checked other people's work by running a torque wrench over bolts they tightened by hand.

I would not attempt ANY job on the engine without knowing the torque wrench settings or using the torque wrench. Recipe for major frustration and tears if you don't use one. Don't cheap out on this tool.

So how exactly did you check because.....

If you do a bolt to say 40nm, you then want to do it to 45nm the drag of the bolt will then require you to use much more than 45nm to get the bolt to crack and move

If you loosen it and then retighten it then you will not really know where it was

Op, to be frank, if you are asking these questions then perhaps just pay to get it done, I have corrected many mistakes for ppl one recently where the tensioner pulley was tensioned the wrong way and was almost folded back on itself

So how exactly did you check because.....

If you do a bolt to say 40nm, you then want to do it to 45nm the drag of the bolt will then require you to use much more than 45nm to get the bolt to crack and move

If you loosen it and then retighten it then you will not really know where it was

Op, to be frank, if you are asking these questions then perhaps just pay to get it done, I have corrected many mistakes for ppl one recently where the tensioner pulley was tensioned the wrong way and was almost folded back on itself

I checked by setting the torque wrench to the appropriate setting, then put it on the bolt/nut. If it clicks without moving, I back the bolt/nut off a bit, then use the torque wrench to tighten it.
Agree with the bolded bit above, lots of "gotchas" for the careless.

The one you quote is an all time classic though.
I find this picture from the manual very useful at that stage. lol

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac19/rons105/idler_zpsbd021663.jpg

Someone before I owned the car seemed to have used a rattle gun on the plenum bolts with my Verada... :\

Someone before I owned the car seemed to have used a rattle gun on the plenum bolts with my Verada... :\

My lower intake manifold has a thread stripped due to previous owner or their mechanic being a little too careless with it.

I find the plugs very very easy to do, timing belt for me however, Id rather leave that too the mechanic.

It's my opinion that if you haven't done a timing belt on a few others cars, a Magna should not be your first. It is more dificult than other cars and you do need a few special tools, some of which can be fabricated by yourself. If you are going to do the belt you should do the crank and cam seals (which are normally included in the kit) but as Mitsubishi has not provided a stepped recess for these like other manufacturers you have to be extra extra careful in how you install them. A 3/4" drive socket for the crank bolt is a big help too.