Chrysler PT Cruiser 2.4 Cambelt Replacement

How to replace the cambelt on a Chrysler PT cruiser 2.4.
This car is a 2007 2.4 Limited, the process should be generally the same throughout the PT cruiser production run. The 2.0 judging from the service manual looks similar. I am unable to comment on how diesel models are configured or if they even use a belt.
The process might also be similar on other Chrysler models that got this engine, although living in Northern Ireland they were not sold in huge numbers here.
It is not the easiest cam-belt i have done, although fundamentally this engine is a relatively straight forward 4 cylinder. It is not a job that has to be done too frequently on these cars and it might be worth tackling it yourself for the potential savings in labour costs that option brings. However at the very least you will see what is involved and why some mechanics will quote the prices they give for this job.
0:00 Introduction
0:29 Lifting Car
1:21 Overview of engine bay
1:34 Removing cruise control actuator
2:12 Placing jack under engine
2:22 Removal of upper torque link
3:05 Removal of bracket for torque link
4:20 Upper timing belt cover removal
4:57 Auxiliary belt removal
5:12 Alternator belt removal
6:37 Crankshaft pulley removal
7:13 Radiator grille & slam panel removal
8:40 Power steering pump bolts
9:06 Air conditioning pump connector
9:26 Engine mount torx bolt
9:38 Lower torque link removal
10:23 Cast iron bracket removal
11:45 Lower timing belt cover removal
12:06 Inner engine mount
12:43 Turning engine over to TDC
13:33 Removing the cam-belt
14:28 Removal of tensioner and idler pulleys
14:45 Making camshaft sprocket locking tool
16:17 Removal of camshaft sprockets
17:36 Removal of inner timing belt cover
19:00 Water pump removal
19:33 Water pump installation
20:00 Inner timing belt cover installation
20:15 Reinstalling the camshaft sprockets
20:58 Installing new belt
24:49 Turning engine over by hand
25:30 Reassembly
32:00 Coolant system bleeding pt1
33:16 Quick engine service
35:54 Coolant system bleeding pt2
37:26 Final Reassembly

[@rickyrodriguez5744]

I have watched this video in its entirety and have read the comments on this video. This is the way a how-to-replace it vid should be done. No removal of air-conditioning lines, done with floor jacks, a special tool was made and shown how to do it, specific torques shown, fluid replacements and bleed instructions shown. NO VOICE OPTION just clear understandable captions and straight to the point and getting the job done. The best I’ve seen. I have rebuilt my 71 SS nova from a basket case I found in a barn. Eddy current the block, studded the heads for roller rockers, plastic gauge the crank during assembly and have had my SS in car shows. Just an example of my mechanical skills. But changing the timing belt on my 2002 PT cruiser seems to be a nightmare from other video’s I’ve watched. I do not have a manual. I have to check the local library. but after watching this video, and if I can acquire the manual from the library, it has put my mind at ease on accomplishing this task. Thank You.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thank you very much for the kind words. Really glad that you appreciate the video and the editing style i have used. I get people whinging about having to read the captions but personally i prefer to keep the video concise and to the point. I find all the old school American engine work fascinating, never really experience anything like them over here, but they do make a lovely sound. All the best with the cam-belt change on your PT cruiser, its still one of the more difficult ones that i have ever done.

[@mclarkdata2892]

I have watched at least 6 other videos of replacing a PT Cruiser timing belt, and this one is the BEST. Thank you for being so clear and so detailed. I'm pretty sure this video is the reason why I'm not giving up, and I'm willing to try it myself.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there, thank you very much for the comment. Hope you have got your car back up and running. It was a bit of an oddity to buy and work on, but interesting to try working on something else. They are quite rare over here but it seems like the video has found a bit of a niche with PT cruiser owners who seem to be quite dedicated to keeping them running.

[@chadcasteel6671]

@@peugeotCitroen2CV u 7

[@chadcasteel6671]

7u6

[@hwally777]

The absolute best video of this type I've seen. Thank you.

[@oscarinnriouzz188]

IN MY OPINION THIS IS THE BEST VIDEO IN UTUBE FOR PT CRUISER WATER PUMP & TIMING BELT..I LIKE THE WORDS ON VIDEO BETTER BECAUSE U CAN PAUSE AND READ IT WITH NO PROBLEM. YOU HAVE ALOT OF PATIENCE MY FRIEND, CAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR U CUZ OR SWEAR 😁 ON THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO..IM GOING ON MY 3rd CHANGE OF BELT AND PUMP WITH 248 MILES ON MY PT. EXCELLENT WORK MY FRIEND👍

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

I am usually afraid of comments in all caps but this one is positive. Thanks Really glad you appreciate the format. That is a big part of my rationale for using the on screen subtitles you can pause, take screenshots, there is no trying to figure out what exactly i said (the northern irish accent does not help me haha) I would generally edit any bad language out of my videos, or any talking in fact. Although to be honest i never lost the head once with this car, i knew it was going to be tricky to work on so just expected it. It was fiddly but not impossible either.

[@chrishewitt6025]

Respect....you made it look easy.(without air tools for 99%).You are a beast.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment, to be honest air tools would be a bit excessive for this as they are all light fasteners and not too exposed to corrosion.

[@fullflavor5]

Loved the washing machine clip very informative...A little comedy never hurts to tell the truth I was so frustrated with my Cruiser I was about to have it hauled off never could get the marks lined up. Then I watched your very very precise and informative video and how to move the top sprockets and bam it worked... Thanks Very Much!!!!!

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Haha first person to notice the washing machine. Great to hear the video helped, i did find it a rather bizzare arrangement and it took a fair bit of head scratching then notes wrote down to remember it for when editing the video. Happy motoring.

[@alanhoward6553]

The best video for this job on Cruiser Thanks!

[@ptbruiser2243]

Came looking for cambelt install and got much more! tyvm for this

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment

[@davidetchellsetchells4692]

Very nice and thorough work , great job and thanks for showing the mistakes as well and how you overcame them bravo!

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment

[@theeagle4540]

Thanks for the video well done. Saw you remove a couple of things that were not removed in other videos I watched (bracket on strut well and lower motor mount and brace) that helped a lot more removing those. Putting my 2008 back together this week waiting on parts. Its quite a job! Thanks again

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

It is definitely not one of the easier cars to work on, im used to working on front wheel drive cars but the PT did not have much time spent on the drawing board considering how to make maintenance easier. Having said that it was a very unusual design aesthetically so probably quite an engineering challenge in itself to get the drivetrain to fit in that engine bay.

[@waynejohnson1489]

Well done you put a lot of effort into this and it shows

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment

[@danilogonzalezmx]

Missing my beloved 2008

[@scottscoville1118]

Adding a few tips if you don't mind. I removed the fender, inner and outer, and headlight also. I undid the bumper cover on the same side, and supported it from the ceiling. This uncovers a window at the front, lower down, through which you can work. It allows removal of the upper mount bracket screw (the bracket held by two nuts and a screw), with straight-on access, with a long socket extension and angle gizmo. It comes in handy with other operations also. But my tools were causing me to fuss with that particular screw upon assembly, so I cut an additional window for more direct access. There, on the inside wall, is a grounding screw I was careful to miss. I put my hole ahead of the grounding screw, toward the front of the car. Had to do some cutting and some bending since it's a double wall. According to my engineering judgement, I do not think I affected anything, making a hole in the location I did. Besides, I have already trimmed many pounds of sheet metal from this old rust bucket. To get the above-mentioned bracket back into place, I separated it into two pieces. I put all screws in finger- tight that go to the main part of the bracket, the upper torque member and the upper cast iron (two-screw piece) before tightening any of them. Then I added the upper part of the bracket, installing the fastener upside down for ease in installing the two little nuts. Those are my suggestions, best wishes to every poor soul undertaking work on a PT Cruiser. Oh, one more thing, when you remove the torx screw, you are not necessarily free to move the engine up and down because of a I little ridge and some rubber surrounding the screw hole that necessitate prying the engine out away from the mount just enough to clear, and then you don't tear up your timing cover. Oh and I could not get my upper cover off to save my life, until I had ALL of the cast iron off but that was fine.

[@santiagoperulero440]

Good work 👍👍👍🚘

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment

[@curmudgeon_OG]

I am the proud buyer of this car but unfortunately due to health reasons I haven't been driving and it still has almost the same miles and is still on the same tank of petrol as when KD delivered it. I popped a new battery in after it sat over Christmas and it is running perfectly.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Well sir, hopefully you get over the health issues soon to be able to get it out for the good weather.

[@user-mc6dg6qe8l]

The crazy thing is once I took all the mounts off (save for the transmission mount) something was still holding my engine up. I searched the entire bay to find it but couldn't. So I lowered the jack 4 inches and back up the same until I heard a slipping sound (entire engine moved forward so I assume it was because the engine was touching the unibody somehow.) I took off the radiator and assorted hoses (including fan motor) beforehand and there was a ton of empty space to see if anything was getting to close to anything else. besides the power steering pump getting in the way and the ect sensor needing to be removed for its own safety as far as i could tell nothing was touching anything. (ac sensor was fine) It was like a evil wizard put a curse on me for like five minutes and when it wore off it made a lil engine fart noise and let me jack the engine again.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

They really did cram those engines into these, im not used to working on chryslers but i found this one of the worst FWD cars with a timing belt to do, and that includes comparing it to a V6 Citroen C5.

[@jarejarecki7032]

Złoto, dziekuje.

[@Mr2Tim2]

I had great difficulty removing the inner motor mount pivot plate. The rear plastic rear cover prevented it completely and was shattered accordingly..I was only able to salvage the upper section which secures the outer upper cover.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

These can be quite a pain to remove, have you got it running again?

[@hectoremicolon1351]

PuegeotCitroen2CV. Nice video!! In the turbo manual transmisión model !” Its necesary remove the fan and the radiator ?.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there, I am not familiar with the other variants of the PT cruiser. However with the turbo version i would imagine it has more pipework in the way.

[@hectoremicolon1351]

@@peugeotCitroen2CV ok. Thanks.

[@DangeRuss316]

Thanks!

[@andysaunders3708]

Thanks. Very comprehensive. Please remind me why we are removing the cam sprockets?

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there, thanks for the comment. The sprockets came off to remove the inner timing belt cover which sits in front of the water pump. Its also worth removing the cover to visually inspect the cam seals.

[@josem.escobedo3321]

Esta muy claro el vídeo y espliccado correcto

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment

[@barbudabob1]

You're not a man until you have done this job.

[@oscarinnriouzz188]

U mean your NOT a real mechanic until u do a water pump on a pt bruiser..😁👍..so far I'm going on my 3rd belt and water pump change...its a total nightmare that u need somebody to wake u up from it...😁

[@ptlover9789]

This is a good video. My constructive comments would include leaving the paragraphs long texts on screen longer. There was no way to read them in the time allotted.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful With regards the timing of the paragraphs a slight downside to this method of information delivery. However in the edit the footage doesn’t last to keep the text going which is why things are timed they way they are. Generally i aim for 10 seconds per paragraph but do recommend using the pause button. It is a positive of subtitles over spoken voice that they can be paused and read. Nonetheless thanks for the feedback and if you plan on carrying out this job the very best of luck

[@vagnerbaiano9916]

Super vídeo 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@toolbox777]

Not related at all but have you ever done a cambelt on a 2nd gen rav4 with the 2.0 diesel (1cd-ftv) ?

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

I had one in, my dad bought one to sell on, i even bought the haynes manual considering doing a video. However it seemed like a right pain to do, and the car had rust and other issues so was not worth it.

[@PittsburghSonido]

Man, PT Cruisers are so cramped!

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Quite possibly the most cramped engine bay i have changed a timing belt on, and ive done a few V6 timing belts

[@PittsburghSonido]

@@peugeotCitroen2CV They’re almost comically cramped. I have an ‘01 Cruiser still and recently I’ve taken more time to work on things myself (trying to learn). This video is awesome and very well made. Thnx dude!

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

@@PittsburghSonido I got the impression Chrysler were not too well used to designing a front wheel drive car, the way the engine mount was installed seemed so awkward compared to Peugeots i would normally be used to working on. Nonetheless despite it being cramped its still fairly doable, just take a bit more time but there isn't really the need for any special or expensive tools

[@samstevenson7723]

Did you disconnect the exhaust at the manifold or is there enough slack for raising and lowering the engine?

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

I did not touch the exhaust manifold, the exhaust moved ok with no issues, although if it was rusty or aged in other ways it might be worth disconnecting the pipe first.

[@Mr2Tim2]

I would advise not messing with the bolts on the exhaust manifold- two are slip types and don't require complete removal the single fixed bolt is THEE reason not to mess with doing this.

[@scottscoville1118]

Wow, no kidding! I borrowed a 3-leg puller from the parts store, and the crankshaft pulley is not budging! Am I to understand a higher quality puller is going to yield less, and thus be able?

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

My memory is not just 100% on this but i think the initial puller i used was solid enough but being a cheaper one it made up for its sub par material quality by making everything thicker so the arms didnt really fit in the holes of the pulley well enough. The teng tool arms were more svelte and fitted in with ease.

[@scottscoville1118]

Thank you, that helps. My puller fit well enough but was longer than your borrowed one, I torqued it as far as I dared, and gave up when the screw seemed ready to buckle. It was rated 5 ton and had a 16 mm screw, I think. I decided I needed a 7 ton, but with those, the minimum spread is too great. The Teng you had was squatter and looked like it had a flat on the end of the screw in lieu of a simple point. I would like to know it's Teng model number, if possible. I'm also considering a Cal Van 38000 but do not like the look of its puny screw. Also considering a hydraulic puller but may not be able to grab on except at the outside of the pulley. For now, I am just putting everything back together.

[@siphilipe]

When I brought it home, my son came to me to say "why did you buy this "sh...y" cruiser? And after one year, the water pump went down and I realize that the boy was right.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Haha not a pleasant car to work on, Although in addition to the terrible access the driving experience, lack of power, dreadful fuel economy, massive road tax, plasticky interior and questionable exterior styling are other reasons not to buy one of these

[@GuidoReichel3438]

2,4 GT (Turbo) -> much more effort, because of turbo! Climatecompressor must be remove, exhaust in front must be loosen, wishbone right must be pressed up to get the engine pumped up, because the driveshaft right side has not enough clearance. I am on it the fourth day. I think, if you know how and have good possibilyties (tools etc), you can change the timing belt in 8-10 hours. Sehr viel aufwändiger durch den Turbo! Klimakompressor muss raus, Auspuff vom Krümmer entfernen, Querlenker rechts hochdrücken, da die Antriebswelle nicht genug Spiel bietet, um den Motor weit genug nach oben zu pumpen. Ich sitze jetzt, als Werkstatt, den vierten Tag dran. Wenn man weiß, wie es geht und gute Möglichkeiten hat, schafft man es vielleicht in 8-10 Stunden.

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there Guido, hats off to you for doing the job on a turbo PT. I would imagine indeed that it is more challenging.

[@arthurh6671]

Camshaft and Crankshaft Seals not replaced?

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Hi there, no i do not seem to have changed them. The engine was bone dry around those seals so i left them alone. Although obviously when you in there and you notice a weep of oil its the best time to change them.

[@cesaradez]

Damn! Now I understand why my mechanic is charging me that much for this change. It is a pain. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Yes it is quite a tricky one to do unfortunately. I appeciated the opportunity to make this video it was something different but if i was a full time mechanic and had this job come in after doing a sleuth of other cars i think the mood would drop.

[@felixmoore2143]

how much was it? im getting mine done very soon

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

@@felixmoore2143 I think it would work out at about £500 parts and labour

[@theeagle4540]

@@peugeotCitroen2CV I took mine to a mechanic for something minor one time and he said he would never work on the motor in the PT cruiser. I'm 67 years old but grew up working on auto's and different farm machines, it's a hard job in tight spaces, not like the old cars where you had room to work but it can be done but you have to have patience.

[@user-re4xo9pf2z]

I'm in Durban computer box please help 🙏

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

I do not understand what you are asking for.

[@salviosoto7372]

GoodJop Ileke Tank for The video

[@peugeotCitroen2CV]

Thanks for the comment