Today I was checking my timing belt and when i took off the top timing belt cover and turned on the car, i noticed on the long side between exhaust cam and crank that it vibrated pretty badly, like it was touching on the valve cover. There is maybe an inch of movement on the long side of the belt. Any input would help a lot!

 

Is that the correct amount of play? When i first tightened the belt i turned the crank three teeth then tightened the tensioner. Is that the correct tensioning method?

 

I've always just positioned it properly on the crank and cams, disregarding the play between the crank and exhaust cam, then pushed on the tensioner to tighten the slack between crank and e-cam, then tightened the tensioner. I would think turning the crank and tightening would only tighten up one side depending on which direction you were turning the crank.

 

From what i understand doesnt sound like it, honda's run counter clockwise so you would need minimal play on the cam to crank side and let the tensioner pick up the rest on the other side. To quickly check belt tension to see if its tight, grab it with your fingers and try to twist the belt towards yourself (say your standing on the side or your car). It should only be able to twist towards you, if its more than that you need to tighten up the belt a bit more.

Thats just a quick way to check, it usually works.