thebleek

the thing is loose as [freak],

its on a y7

so i loosen the tensioner 180 and rotate teh crank 3 teeth and retighten the tensioner.

its still loose?

do i need to remove the lower timing belt cover to do anything? all i was doing is retiming my car and now i cant get it tight

guinnessstout

make sure you are at tdc #1 check to see that the belt is tight on front side and that the slack is on the waterpump side. check your timing marks. if both of these are off pull both covers and re-do timing belt install when you install it put all the slack on the water pump side then move the tensioner to tighten belt this will get rid of the loose belt and won't move the cam or crank.

thebleek

i never took the belt off everything i just took it off the cam gear so i could get the cam timing right, but now my belt is loose as all hell

gsrhatch2356

I dont know how you ever expected to get it back together without removing the lower cover. that is where the other timing mark. at this point even if you did get it tight there would be a high chance of it being out of time. you need to be careful at this point before you damage any valves. remove the cover and line up marks and use guinnessstout advice to eliminate the slack in the belt.

thebleek

i cant get the [freak]ing motor mount nut off. so i tried to improvise. so what are some hints on getting it off? i tried using an air wratchet but it didnt work

postman

if the lower cover is on.

line up crank mark-line up cam mark-use a hanger with a hook on the end to pull up on tensioner spring then tighten bolt.

thebleek

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if the lower cover is on.

line up crank mark-line up cam mark-use a hanger with a hook on the end to pull up on tensioner spring then tighten bolt. </TD></TR></TABLE>

so its the spring you pull to tighten the belt? and then i can let go and just tighten the belt tensioner right&gt;?

gsrhatch2356

no the spring will not give it enough tension. I usally just get a pry bar and LIGHTLY press against it to give it the tension and tighten it down at the same time. By automotive standards the belt should have have a 1\2" of deflection for every foot. deflection is pretty much how much you can push it in from its original location.

thebleek

do you stick it inbetween the block and the lower timing belt cover?

or do you push on the bolt from the outside of the timing belt cover

gsrhatch2356

you can do it two diffrent ways, 1. by trying to find a sweet spot and pry against the pulley itself but not touching the belt . or 2. I have found that the best way is to just get a pry bar and push up on the little arm that sticks out that the spring attaches to. remember NOT TO TIGHT. not that this has happened to me but I have seen pics of cam journals getting chewed up due to excessive timing belt tightness.

thebleek

the **** now has like 2 '' of free play lol. i was like aw hell no. [freak] that. so ill try and tighten it when i get a y8 head in the mail.....still lookin for one btw

T-Powerd-Si

put the car on TDC and make everthing is on point.. get a pry bar or a flat head and go from under the car and then pry the tensioner down and tighten the tensioner up.. spin it one full turn then see how it feels...hope that helps

thebleek

you cant get it from under the car, because the crank and timing belt is still on.

schardbody

you do all realize there is a timing mark on the crank pulley and timing cover right??

theres also a plug in the cover to get to the tensioner.

so essentially you can do this without taking ANYTHING off.

OP, sounds like your tensioner spring isnt working, so you need to use the coathanger trick or figure out a way to put tension on the tensioner manually then tighten the tensioner lock nut.

thebleek

yeah ill do the coat hanger trick

guinnessstout

You say you can't get the lower cover off right.? if you put the cracnk at tdc with the crank marks and the pointer on the lower cover, check to see that the cam marks are right, if this is good and you still have to much slack on the front side of the motor and no much on the water pump side I would loosedn the tensioner and remove the belt from the cam gear pull on the belt slightly to get the slack out of the front side and slip it on the cam then use the coat hanger and pull up on the tensioner arm/spring. tighten the tensioner bolt so it is snug and not loose rotate the motor 3 revs by hand and check the tension if it is good tighten the tensioner and drive.