honestly that belt looks fine! i persnoally would not change it. there are not major shavings in the cover or around the belt. and as long at it feels tight then dont worry about it... check it again in 6-8000 miles.

as for timing light... HA no. you can not use a timing light on this engine. to time it you need to have #1 pistion at TDC and use the cam flat tool. from there you tighten the belt rotate 360* and then do the rear cams. then tighten and your done. ofcourse i skipped all the fun stuff in the middle for changing the belt.

for information on changing the belt go to 60degreev6.com they have writeups on it. and there are also some threads runing around about setting a new cam timing for a little more low end... it is called the 13* timing mod. the only issue is the majority of people have done this mod for 5spd's and it doesnt work as well on an auto. i have yet to hear a good set of cam settings for auto.

as for other timing settings... the others here were refering mainly to spark timing. the only way to adjust this is with a computer tuner. I am one of the few people who have a tuner that will tune this engine. I also have plenty of tuning experience with it aswell. if your close by florida and want tuning let me know and we can work something out.

 

That's why you are a part of this forum Phoenix. LOL. Good post. I'm from the school of better safe than sorry and with no experience with timing belts other than on my Aveo I used to have, I'm not much on the informative side. LOL. Keep up the good posts.

 

Timing is a critical element of tuning. The amount of advanced or retarded Spark determines how well the car will perform.
If you are going to check your own timing ... hook-up the Timing Light to the Number-1 Plug Wire and read the mark on the balancer.

As for those Belts:
When in doubt ... Replace the Belt.
If the Belt fails on you it will result in a catastrophic damaging of the motor parts immediately.

There are manufacturers recommendations for the intervals those belts need to be replaced.
Check a maintenance schedule for your Model and if replacement is overdo ... get some new ones on there.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. Z34Phoenix I wish I was even remotely close to Florida- I'd drive a half dozen hours for a good tune, but Florida is a bit far for me. I have been browsing 60degreeV6 for a little while now- it's a very informative sight, and I still have a lot of reading to do.
I'm a little paranoid about the timing belt because i had a Mazda engine that blew a timing belt shortly after I bought it used.... was not good.
Thanks again. I'll keep an eye on the belt over the next two weeks and see if there are any changes.