I watched my buddy do this (not an Evo, but a Miata 1.6 DOHC engine).

-He cut the OLD timing belt in half (on car)..didn't see this part.
-Slid the new on on half way.
-Cut away the rest of the old belt.
-Install new belt fully.

This sounds appealing to me as I'm a little worried about messing up the timing marks, but will it work for an Evo?

Also, Miata is non-interference, so if he screws up his way, it doesn't matter, but for an Evo (scared!). I can handle all the other stuff and I have a helper who gives 0 *** (but I care).

 

sounds more difficult than just doing it the right way... I'm not sure what you're asking exactly though. Cutting it in half which direction?

 

Are you cutting in half longways?

 

Yes longwise Otherwise it would just fall off.

Cutting it up isn't an issue I'm told. How much 'slack' can you give the old timing belt?

 

I still see room for error here. It's not a full proof plan. Why not just do it the right way or take the time to learn to do it the right way? It's not that hard.

 

Turn the engine until all the timing marks line up. Paint a white mark on each sprocket and onto each belt. Without turning any sprockets, remove the belts. Transfer the paint marks to the same places on the new belts. Install.

Just as important as installing a new belt is adjusting the tensioner. The tensioner now is overextended due to the timing belt stretching and if not reset will allow the new belt to become loose.

 

The tension will change on a new belt. I'm not sure how easily the hydraulic tensioner will compress with just the belt pushing on it seeing as how you have to use a vice to recompress it once it's removed.

 

When I read the thread title I thought someone wanted to cut the new belt in half width-wise to put it on then somehow reconnect the pieces back together

 

I'm trying to imagine how you'd cut a timing belt down the center all the way around. That doesn't sound like an easy way to me.

 

Sounds like a PITA, just do the job the correct way and be done with it. Taking shortcuts generally leads to errors and having to do it all over again...hopefully not wrecking anything in the process.

 

You should be replacing the autotensioner and main tensioner as part of the procedure, plus the new belt will not have stretched like the old one. So no... This is a stupid idea.

 

That plus I doubt all new belts are exactly the same size.

 

yeah that's where the confusion for me came in, if you replace the parts that are recommended, then you can't do it this way anyways... Even if you successfully did the swap, it wouldn't be tensioned right and you would need a new motor shortly after the install

 

Tell 'em how you really think!

 

Thanks for the responses, I see how it wouldn't work on the Evo. I don't think my friend changed the tensioner on the miata (or it might be different).