I'm going to tackle the timing belts on my `87 RX. I'm wondering if there are any recomendations on perhaps other things I should do/replace while I'm in there replacing the belts.

THanks

The oil pump, water pump and all the front seals (main and cam seals).

Water pump. Best time to do it. There are two different ones (at least), the hub height is different.

 

Cam seals and the carrier o-rings behind them -- the o-rings are always hard as a rock.

 

You can get the cam seals, o-rings for the cam carriers, front crank seal, plus all the rubber seal strips for the timing covers in one kit from NAPA (JV-1028 for EA82) for about $50. If you don't need any of the rubber strips, it might be slightly cheaper to buy the seals separately.

 

At least reseal the oil pump. The mickey-mouse gasket + shaft seal kit is about $20 or so (Beck-Arnley 039-6320 for the EA82). See what mine looked like!

 

Think hard about the timing belt tensioners (both sides) and idler (driver's side only). You can replace the bearings on the idler (BCA 203SS works) and save a few bux, just using a bench vice and a couple of largish sockets to press them out and in, but the tensioners you have to buy as assys (Beck-Arnley 024-1008 & 024-1046).

 

Flush the cooling system before you start on the timing belts, so that when you refill the system, you're done! And you're not working in all that green slime while fighting the fan clutch or timing belt cover bolts.