dan2004

Hi,

I am new here and am not sure if this is a forum for technicians only or if it is open to Do It Yourselfers like me who make huge blunders. If only for technicians then please tell me and I will delete this post.

In case it is ok for me to post I would like to ask for help. I realize the mistakes I made and also what I should have done. I did spend a lot of time researching how to change the timing belt and water pump on the 2007 Honda Pilot (J Series Engine). Nevertheless, I made a blunder and would like to ask someone to help me figure out what to do to move ahead with the job.

I completed the removal stage of the job. It went smoothly and with no
problems. Before removing the belt I turned the crankshaft pulley to TDC. I did this with the covers off. So, on the crankshaft pulley I lined up the little mark on one of the teeth with the arrow marking on the engine. I then marked the rear and front cam pulleys as instructed by several tutorials that I watched. Then I removed the belt.

After removing the belt I noticed that the rear cam pulley had jutted forward. In an effort to reallign it at TDC with the mark on the back cover I used a ratchet to turn that pulley clockwise. I tried 4 or five times and every time the pulley would jut forward or backward. I turned it so many times that now it is hard to turn the pulley and I do not want to force it for fear of
bending something internally. I now realize that turning the pulley without the belt on was the absolute wrong thing to do and have already kicked myself quite a few times.

As a last stitch effort to allign the rear cam pulley at TDC I wrapped the old belt around just the rear pulley and was then able to fine tune the TDC mark on the pulley with the TDC mark on the back cover. All three pulleys have been lined up at TDC, the small mark on the crankshaft pulley, the number "1" marking on the front pulley and the TDC mark on the rear pulley.

Here is my fear that is keeping me up at night. Even though all three pulleys are at TDC I am afraid that once everything is assembled per the instructions in the Honda Service Manual, that because I got to a point where it was difficult to turn the rear cam pulley with a ratchet (the bolt on the pulley began to tighten) have I put the engine out of allignment and by starting the engine, will severe damage result? If so, how do I get the rear cam pulley back to how it is supposed to function so that it can turn with out the resistance it has now?

Sure would appreciate anyone's help or insight on how I should proceed. Perhaps there really is nothing to worry about, I don't know. This problem was caused by me and not by the engine. The engine was never on. By ratcheting the cam pulley, I created the problem. I know there are a lot of sharp guys out there. Would you be willing to help out an old retiree who still lives and thinks in his Volkwagon Beetle days?

Thanks,
Dan

TODAwhore

That is a very common thing people do and I have seen technicians do it too (have the rear cam jump on them). You should of been able to rotate the cam back to its position with a wrench (I know its tuff, but it is do able), but never rotate it 360* then you'll just bend valves.
As long as the crank and bank 2 (front cam)/Bank 1 (rear cam) are aligned on their marks.
Install the belt starting at the crank-the idler pulley-front cam gear-water pump-rear cam-tensioner pulley and back at the crank. Then tighten down the idler pulley and pull the tensioner pin and check the marks on the crank/cam gears. If they are all in position then rotate the engine and double check the marks.
You can bolt the crank pulley back on with the lower covers off and start the engine to see if you bent any valves/or to make sure it is running fine.
Let me know what happens.

WanaBeFaster

Since the cams are at TDC, the is sitting on the very edge of rolling either way, so it doesn't take much to make it just like that. using a ratchet is what made it so hard to line back up, if you use a wrench, you can use resistance in the opposite direction to stop it from jumping (i hope that makes sense). as long is it's all lined up with the belt and tensioner on, you should have nothing to worry about.