scanme

alright, well ive done this about 3 times now. completely taken everything out, its not so hard just time consuming. the a/c belt, power steer, cruise, timing belt....


my problem is that when re-installing the belt when i align the oil pump to the small arrow and i also align the cam pulley as specified in the manual, the two horizontal lines to the head and the slanted line pointing to the mark.....good so far


but then when installing the belt everything moves out of alignment....and currently it is out of time and using more gasoline than it used to

any one else know how i might be able to keep it aligned when re-installing the belt.....??

(problem is that when re-tensioning/tightening the belt either the oil pump moves out of alignment or the cam pulley moves out of line)


thanks

vanilla_rice

Had my timing belt off to replace crank/cam seals last week and it took me 4 times to get the belt on the right tooth. It's a pain. But I found that the crankshaft rotates much easier than the cam, so get the belt on the crank first, then the tensioner, then water pump, and the cam gear last. Then the marks on the cam are easy to line up with the marks on the timing cover. Although the book shows you looking from the left (driver) when you really have to look from the right side and transfer the marks on the cam gear to the back of the cam gear to get a good aligment when the engine is in the car (the body blocks you from getting your eyes where they need to be to look at it and line it up from the left side like it's shown in the book).

Once the belt is on and you've made sure you have the cam gear right, go ahead and set the tensioner, put the lower timing cover and crankshaft pulley on (loosely) and see if the "gun-sight" marks on the timing cover line up with the white mark on the pulley. Now there's some play in the whole system depending on the tension of the belt between the cam and crank and it may not line up exactly, but your only option is to move it one entire tooth and if you play with it you'll see which tooth lines it lines up the best. If it looks good tighten everything down.

Jockone

There is no real way that I know of to keep things in place while doing the timing belt it just takes time,just make sure your tensioner is at its loosest(pushed all the way down) to help getting the belt on.

scanme

Now there's some play in the whole system depending on the tension of the belt between the cam and crank and it may not line up exactly, but your only option is to move it one entire tooth and if you play with it you'll see which tooth lines it lines up the best. If it looks good tighten everything down.[/QUOTE]




so the cam will be one tooth off and the crank right in line???


i kind of did what you explained. i would line up the cam first with the belt on and then remove belt, then adjust the oil pump to the arrow....but when i do that then the belt goes on loosly.....so i adjust it/tension it ...and crap its out of line


this is my first time doing the timing belt,,, i would appreciate more detail if its possible


you said that the cam lines up with the cover?? doesnt one line (the horizontal one) line up with one kind of slanted.....and the other 2 horizontal ones with the head.?

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

Are you running the belt through the water pump side first? (Not from the crank gear to the cam gear first)

Can be easier.

S_F

I have had problems with the belt jumping a tooth on the cam pulley when tensioning. Is this what's happening? My solution is to have a helper hold the belt in place on the cam gear. Mark the belt and pulley with a paint pen or something if you need to. Last time I just marked them with a regular ball point pen. The marks were still there if I looked closely when I adjusted the valves 2 months ago after 25,000 mi.

scanme

right while tensioning it gets out of line,,, i did try to have some one hold the cam pulley to no avail, the problem is the side of the belt with the tensioner and water pump get tight,,,,and the side where the belt runs from the cam to the crank is loose.....so i adjust the tension and it all gets out of line

vanilla_rice

Ok, set both the crank and cam.

Then set the belt into the teeth on the crank gear, hold it there while you wrap around the tensioner, then water pump. then on the left side of the belt (front of car) pull the belt TIGHT between the crank (while keeping it from rotating) and just hold it up to the crank pulley and see what tooth of the belt lines up closest to. Mark it if you have to. Then you can allow the crank to rotate backwards just enough to give you slack to put the belt over the cam gear.

scanme

thanks, kinda hard headed here....i will re-do this probabley this comming weekend since i know i wont have time tomorrow, now i understand the purpose of marking the belt becuase that was the problem that i would line em up and then the belt would not go in, but by marking them then i can move the crank to allow it to fit.....then while adjusting the tension it should move back where it should be? or am i way off

S_F

I mean you have someone press the belt to the cam pulley while you are tensioning it. Once it's tight just turn the engine over at the crank pulley a couple time to even out the tension.

vanilla_rice

No, you got it. Hold it tight between the crank and cam, mark it, then let the crank rotate to give you the slack you need to put it on. Once it's on, loosen the bolt on the tensioner, turn the crank a few times counter clockwise, then tighten the bolt on the tensioner, then double check it.