dbailey

I blew it bigtime! Was following the destructions on how to adjust timing belt on my 1.5 SOHC engine and instead of turning the crank pulley to tighten it after I loosened the tensioner adjustment bolt, I cranked on the cam pulley (too lazy to bend down and turn crank pulley thinking it really didn't matter) counterclockwise as it says you are supposed to. Well that's when I screwed up. Something slipped like the belt jumped a few teeth on the pulley(s) or something? Then it slipped huge after I tried it again. Guess I needed to replace the timing belt anyway. The problem is that I now have no clue how to get the engine back timed since there are no marks that I was supposed to make before removing the belt. Can anyone give me the steps to re-time the engine from scratch after I get the new belt installed? One of our members suggested the following procedure:

Disconnect your batt. Pull the rocker arm assembly off, loosen the tensioner pulley, slide the belt off, pull the cam out. That should close all the valves when you turn the motor by hand.
Look at the crank pully for the white TDC mark, turn the motor with your wrench on the crank pulley untill it is perfectly ligned up with the plastic needle on the belt cover, Then set the cam back in place with the "up" or "top" at the 12 0'clock position then put the rocker assem. back on. Torque it all to spec..
Slide the belt on, with the tensioner loose rotate the motor 3 revolutions to give it proper tension then tighten the tensioner. This should take about 3-4hrs with the right tools, then bust out the timing light.
By this way you should'nt have to worry about bending valves..

Since I was gonna replace the timing belt while I've got it apart, maybe there is another way to re-time the engine after you pull the crank pulley off. Somebody please say yes and describe how. I've got the power steering pump out of the way and the bracket off, the a/c belt off, the alt belt off and am now ready to pull the crank pulley and have run into another problem. How do you break the crank pulley bolt loose? When I put my socket on it, it spins freely. Guys this has turned into a real biatch! Hoping there is an easier way. Thanks guys for any help/suggestions.

1992-G25A4

Honda makes specialty tools to hold the crank pulley in place while you get a 19mm on that bolt. Mine was at 181ft-lbs so my attempts to do it in any improper way failed.

Buy the tool, borrow the tool, make the tool(what i did) and pull the crank pulley.

There should be a mark on the block to align the crank with so you are at TDC, pull your #1 spark plug and stick a long screwdriver in there for visual check. Then line up the mark on the head with the mark on the camshaft and put the belt on.

dbailey

I understand that you can put the wrench with a breaker bar on the bolt and a piece of pipe that will reach the floor and then bump the engine over and that will break the bolt loose. I'm unsure which side of the engine you put the pipe though. On the front end side of the car or the rear end side? Anybody ever tried this or know which side to put the pipe? Thanks.

1992-G25A4

sounds dangerous and possibly stupid.
but if thats your method then the breaker bar and extension would go towards the rear of the car.

i had the motor out and a 3 foot pipe 2"in dia holding the crank pulley and i needed a 4 foot extension on my breaker bar to get the bolt loose

dbailey

Bigger problem now. Got the crank bolt off with his compressor and impact gun and the belt on. Went to fire it up and it started briefly and then quit. Won't start back up. Checked and it has fair compression in #1, very little in #2 and #3 and excellent pressure in #4. When I first tried to adjust the belt, I recall the cam pulley that I was tugging on slipping alot not just once but twice. When we put the belt on, we got the cam pulley at TDC but didn't put the crank pulley on and get them both at TDC like I recall someone saying you are supposed to. Would this have anything to do with the engine not having good compression in all cylinders? My friend thinks I may have bent a couple of valves but in the SOHC engine I'm not sure how I could have done that even if the engine was way out of time and I tried to start it. Anybody have a good idea about the inner works of one of these SOHC 1.5 engines and can offer some solid technical advice? I hope I don't have to take the head to a shop to fix it or replace the engine since I could prolly get a decent used one for what it'll cost to have the head rebuilt. Thanks guys.

d15Beta

ive bent a couple of valves on a sohc..
running the car with a whacked timing

so its def possible

dbailey

BUMMER! So did you have to pull the head? Anybody else have any knowledge of this possibility?

d15Beta

lol yeah, removed the head (cuz obviously the valves are bent) replaced the things needed, like valves, etc had the machine shop check the head, the guides in particular.. etc

from what ur saying... 1st post to last post... that amount of changing, playing around, jumping tooth on the belt.. u def have a chance in a bent valve...

1 tooth is roughly 9deg on ur camgear..
1/2 tooth is i think 4.5deg

so if u jumped a teeth? lol imagine advancing or retarding ur camgear 9deg..

dbailey

Sooo....then with the non-interference engine you can still bend valves if the timing is off even way off? I'm not too smart when it comes to the REALLY technical operations of engines so pardon my ignorance. I just thought that if the timing was way out that it just wouldn't start.

d15Beta

true true. but lol anything can happen..

it wouldnt hurt to have u pull the head off... and check... plus its another excuse to set everything correct to tdc etc?

GhostAccord

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dbailey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sooo....then with the non-interference engine you can still bend valves if the timing is off even way off? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm pretty sure that your D15 is an interference engine.

v4lu3s

honda engines have been interference engines since the early 80s. I even bent valves on my 84 accord when the t-belt broke.

It sounds like what you need is not a message board but a basic service manual, even a Hanes would give you enough information to NOT screw your engine up this badly.

dbailey

I agree with your point. If I would have pulled on the crank pulley when trying to adjust the belt instead of the cam pulley it never would have slipped. This was purely the result of laziness. From now on, NO SHORT CUTS! Thanks.