Repair And Fix it

The 2005 Kia Spectra left the factory with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with a single serpentine belt driving the alternator and water pump from power supplied by the crankshaft pulley. Replacing that belt is a simply process with just a few steps and requiring only hand tools to complete. Working in the driveway or garage at home, most home mechanics can accomplish this job in about 20 minutes. A replacement belt for your Kia is available from any auto-parts store or through the Kia dealer.

Instructions

1

Open the hood of the car and remove the retaining bolt that holds the negative battery cable on the negative battery terminal using a wrench. Isolate the cable from the battery while you work.

2

Locate the adjuster bolt on the top of the alternator and loosen it with a wrench. Push the alternator toward the center of the engine, loosening the belt.

3

Remove the belt from the pulleys and discard it. Place the new belt around the crankshaft pulley, run it up and over the water pump pulley, then around the alternator pulley. Pull the alternator back, tightening the belt.

4

Tighten the adjuster bolt on the top of the alternator with a wrench, then check the tension on the belt. Press down on the belt between the alternator pulley and the water pump pulley. The belt should deflect about 1/8 inch.

5

Install the negative battery cable on the negative battery terminal and install the retaining bolt. Tighten the bolt with a wrench.

Proving yet again that the only bad question is the one not asked, heres one with a few different answers. They all involve a "yes," but with a few provisos -- primarily in terms of filter location. The Optimas automatic transmission underwent a few changes in the middle of the 2001 model year that determine where youll find the filter and how youll go about changing it.

Filter Locations

According to Kia technical service bulletin TT651003-005 -- published in the wildly popular Kia Technician Times, Volume 6, Issue 5, 2003 -- the company switched from external to internal transmissions in the middle of the 2001 model year. This goes for both 2.4-liter four-cylinder and 2.5-liter V-6 engines. Check the VIN number and the exact production date of your Optima; cars produced from October 1st, 2000 to December 31st, 2001 used transmissions with an external filter, while later models used an internal one.

A Cause for Change

External filters are a nice touch when it comes to maintenance, but theyre uncommon for one primary reason. If youve ever been under your car, youll notice that Kia left just about enough room for a snake to slither through. While this wasnt anything that Kias engineers couldnt deal with, this particular transmission also saw use in the same-year Sonata, Santa Fe and Trajet; and, Kia being Kia, also likely had designs on selling the design after its production cycle to another manufacturer. So, out went the external filter, and in comes the internal one.

Replacing the External Filter

The external filter is great from a maintenance point of view. It screws onto the the transmission case just above the transmission fluid oil pan and should be clearly visible from the bottom of the car. You should be able to get to it from the top after removing the air cleaner assembly. After removing the old filter with a filter wrench, clean the mating surface and the surrounding area, lubricate the O-ring on the filter and tighten it to 8 or 9 foot-pounds.

Replacing the Internal Filter

Internal filter transmissions are more compact by nature, but changing the filter is a comparative pain. But little more so than any other car. Slide under the car and remove the 10 millimeter transmission pan bolts, starting at one side and working toward the other. Be prepared for transmission fluid to cascade out of the top of the pan. Scrape any gasket material off of the transmission and oil pan. Youll find the filter secured to the bottom of the transmission, inside the pan, by three bolts. Remove them, replace the filter, and reinstall the pan. Tighten all of the bolts to about 10 foot-pounds and ill the transmission with 3.5 quarts of SP3 transmission fluid.

Replacing the timing belt on your 2002 Kia Spectra is a task that you must schedule as part of routine maintenance when the car reaches approximately 60,000 miles. It is generally agreed in the auto world that you need a new one about every 60,000 miles since the belt like other moving parts will wear. While it is certainly more complicated than simply replacing a fan belt, its still something that you can do in your driveway and youre much better off to do it as part of your maintenance schedule than it is to have the belt break and leave you stranded on the highway.

Instructions

1

Disconnect the negative battery terminal.

2

Remove the accessory drive belts using the proper size socket to loosen the alternator and push it toward the engine.

3

Remove the alternator using the proper size socket and ratchet.

4

Remove the water pump and crankshaft pulleys using the proper size socket and ratchet.

5

Remove the timing belt guide plate with a wrench.

6

Remove the upper and lower timing belt covers with a socket and ratchet.

7

Position the crankshaft so that the notch on it lines up with the timing mark on the engine. If your motor is dirty and grimy, use a grease rag to clean the area so the marks will be visible.

8

Remove the timing belt tensioner using a wrench and then take off the timing belt.

9

Reinstall the timing belt tensioner using the proper size wrench and then move it to its furthest point and tighten the lock bolt.

10

Install the timing belt on the pulleys: crankshaft pulley first, then the idler pulley, exhaust camshaft pulley, intake camshaft pulley, and finally, on the tensioner pulley.

11

Loosen the tensioner pulley using a wrench and allow the spring to place the proper tension on the timing belt. Now tighten the tensioner pulley and torque the bolts to 28 to 38 foot-pounds.

12

Rotate the crankshaft two turns clockwise using the proper size wrench and make sure that the timing marks still line up properly.

13

Reinstall the upper and lower timing belt covers and tighten them using the appropriately sized socket.

14

Re-attach the timing belt guide plate using a socket.

15

Reinstall the water pump and crankshaft pulleys using the proper size socket and ratchet and make sure they are tight.

16

Put the alternator in place and secure it with its bolt loosely.

17

Reinstall the accessory belt over all the accessory pulleys.

18

Pull the alternator toward the front of the car and tighten it when the accessory belt is drawn tight. Be caul not to make the accessory belt too tight. You should be able to push the belt about a half inch.

19

Reconnect the battery cable and start the car to test the installation.