Wing8806

gates racing timing belt and balance belt
kazinspeed manual tensioner
crower cam gears
new OEM oil pump
new OEM water pump
new OEM balance shaft tensioner pulley
euro-r accord single row crank pulley
plastic timing covers trimmed back so no contact is made from cam gears


What brought me to doing this;

My oil pressure light was coming on at least once a week, so I installed a gauge to monitor it. After a month of monitoring it, the results were 60psi at startup and around 8psi at idle. The pressure would drop below 5psi randomly while at idle. - This was still occurring after installing 2 new OEM sending units. I've gathered most of the parts for a rebuild over the past year - so decided to just swap the oil pump with a new one, and do a timing belt etc while I was at it since it would be due by the next oil change anyway.

(glowshift oil pressure gauge and sending unit for monitoring- not the most accurate, but it worked well enough)

Once I set the motor to TDC, I found that the bs tensioner was not set previously and both balance shafts were not aligned - assuming the belt was jumping the gears due to it having no tension. As well as the crank pulley rubbing along the timing cover.



Now;

After a month of driving the car, my pressure is 80psi at startup and 12psi at idle. Does not drop below 8psi. The idle is much smoother as well, however I seem to have an odd noise that I cannot determine - coming from the belt area. I've messed with the tensions, but nothing has changed the noise. I run an EHPS setup - so no power steering or belt. A/C is currently bypassed and i've driven with and without the alternator belt on trying to narrow the sound down.

Tension on both the balance belt and timing belt are spot on. Any looser and the timing belt will slap around, any tighter and it will scream - can turn the belt 90* at the longest point. Balance belt is set to the middle of the tensioner - if i go any tighter that will scream as well, it's got some slack so i know that's not the noise.


It really sounds like it's coming from the cam gears once every rotation- do adjustable cam gears make more noise due to the bolts sticking out? Although the sound is almost like a rubbing whine... but the belts are not making any contact and show no signs of wear.

here are some crappy quality videos from yours truly;
(youtube has been acting up, these may only be viewable by right clicking the title and viewing on youtube)

The sound is more noticeable from within the cabin, but i've not been able to get a video of that just yet.

ludefanatic

I just did the timing on my 2000 Prelude with the gates racing belts and replaced the pulleys and water pump. I have been having the same problem with a odd noise( a slight roaring sound) coming from where i figured is the lower part of the timing cover. Yes, it is very noticeable inside the car. I thought maybe a belt was rubbing or the tension was to tight. I pulled everything apart, checked, double checked, then removed everything, re-installed it all, checked and double checked again. I made to sure to check the balancer shafts for any wobbles or odd sounds while everything was apart and everything sounded and spun perfect. Nothing rubs anywhere. I got the noise to quite down only a little by adjusting the balancer tensioner. I am going to give it a few days and see what happens. I think it might be the belts themselves, but i've never had a timing belt roar at me before.If you find anything let me know.

Wing8806

I was visiting a local 'luder that has the same setup as myself as far as belts and cam gears go. Was told that the sound is similar to what his makes, I recall hearing it on his car but not as clearly as it can be heard on my own. I'm going to put another hundred miles or so on it and keep an eye on the belt tensions.

I don't recall the timing belt being a directional, so i'm pretty much out of ideas if it doesn't quite down within the next week or two of driving. Will update this if anything new is found.

vanwalsum

A bit late, but i'm having exactly the same problem with my blue belts on a H22A8.

It seems the belt wobbles e little bit, and every round i hear a rrr..rrr..rrr. I dismantled the timing cover several times to check if its running free. I think i put on an normal belt, not a blue one again.