Kia recommends that the first timing belt replacement be done at 60,000 miles and 90,000 thereafter. They have also cautioned that this is an interference engine in which a timing belt failure would be very likely to cause catastrophic damage. The reason for this is that the engine is built with close tolerance and the valves would strike the pistons. Belt failure is seldom due to fatigue, but rather to the amount of stretching experienced over time.
Place the drain pan under the radiator drain plug, open the plug and allow it to drain. Close the plug. Loosen the four nuts on the water pump pulley but do not remove them yet. Loosen the adjusting bolts in the alternator and the power steering pump with a wrench, push them away from the belts and remove the belts.
Remove the bolts securing the fan shroud to the radiator support using a 10 mm socket. Remove the four nuts on the water pump pulley, then remove the fan and shroud as an assembly. Remove the bolts in the crankshaft pulley using a socket. Loosen and remove the crankshaft bolt using a socket.
Remove the top radiator hose. Extract all the 10 mm bolts securing the top and bottom timing covers and remove the covers.
Install the crankshaft bolt temporarily. Use a socket on the bolt and turn the crankshaft clockwise until the mark on the crankshaft sprocket aligns with the timing mark on the block at the 12 o'clock position. Look at the camshaft sprockets and make sure the left sprocket has the "I" facing straight up and the right sprocket has the "E" facing up. At the same time, notice that there is a line on each sprocket adjacent to each mark--make sure they line up with the notch on the cylinder head at 12 o'clock. This allows for perfect alignment. If they do not come close to aligning, rotate the crankshaft one more time and they will align.
Loosen the tensioner bolt and push the tensioner away from the belt. Loosely tighten the bolt to maintain position. Remove the belt.
Install the new belt starting on the right side away from the tensioner. Keep all the tension on the right side. Loosen the tensioner bolt and allow it to apply tension on the belt. Do not tighten the bolt yet. Rotate the engine two turns clockwise and re-align the timing marks. Tighten the tensioner bolt to 35 foot-pounds.
Install the timing belt covers. Remove the crankshaft bolt and install the crankshaft pulley. Reinstall the bolt and tighten. Install the radiator shroud and fan as an assembly. Place the fan on the water pump pulley, install the four nuts loosely, install the bolts in the fan shroud and tighten.
Install the belts around the crank pulley, water pump pulley and alternator and pull the alternator up to tension the belt and tighten the bolts using a socket. Tighten the water pump pulley nuts using a wrench.
Install the belt on the power steering pump, pull the pump out to tension the belt and tighten the bolts. Install the upper radiator hose. Fill the radiator with antifreeze.
