u/One_Design8270

I recently changed the timing belt, water pump, power steering belt (mine had one) camshaft seal, and tensioner bearing on my EF-DET (turbo) Daihatsu Atrai/Hijet S220. While I was down there, I also changed the engine air filter and the cabin air filter (since i have air conditioning ;])

I got it in really good condition- most belts already replaced, but there wasn’t any evidence of the timing belt being changed and the sticker denoting it, was completely disintegrated. Literally the only thing mechanically I needed to fix was, well- nothing, but since it’s an interference engine I didn’t want to get fucked randomly in the future. Honestly, with how good of condition the belt was in I probably didn’t need to. Took me a good 4 days of work.

I had never done work on a kei vehicle, let alone any vehicle maintenance at all beyond brake pads. It doesn’t help that it’s impossible to find comprehensive resources for a 2000s JDM van.

Japanese forums like Minkara were a lifesaver. Included pictures and general advice- though the translations were never perfect. I ended up finding a whole blog with some guy with the exact vehicle as me who did a ton of other maintenance- so kudos to him. I can link them if need be.

Funnily enough, amazon had my exact engine air replacement filter for 20 bucks with two day shipping. Specifically for my vehicle. Why did they have a JDM air filter in Texas? No idea, but a lifesaver.

It was definitely cramped in there, and my tools that I needed were: Breaker bar, socket wrench, flathead screwdriver for prying, catch pan for coolant (changing the water pump) pliers (for pulling off hose connectors)

The sizes needed were 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, and 19mm. Could be missing one, maybe 16mm. A regular toolkit is gonna do you fine.

Once everything came off it was pretty easy. The markings make the timings clear.

When it comes to the engine air filter, my plastic was a little too fragile and snapped at a hose connection. Super glue was enough to fix it since it isn’t a moving part though.

Cabin air filter was too hard to find so i just bought one with the same height and cut it. Works great.

Coolant refilling procedure for mine was a bit wonky but worked well. It’s a lot of burping the air out of the engine since it’s a cab over design.

All in all, totally workable and I had a lot of fun learning how my car works.

Did they axe this program when they got bought out? This was a program that gave team members and ex team members money in times of financial hardship. I remember it being a big point when I got hired. Now when I need it I can’t find it anywhere.