EJ1 wilcox

** UPDATED **

I was checking a few things on my car today and came across this!

The timing belt seems to be wearing kind of funny. At least it looks like it is to me.

The ribs seem to be getting worn down for some reason. I don't know why, the engine is freshly rebuilt and everything was done to spec.

Am I crazy or do I need to replace this belt??

I don't really like changing timing belts but it shouldn't take me more than a few hours, I just need to figure out why it is wearing like this.... any ideas????







I think I will go ahead and change the timing belt this weekend, but I don't feel like doing it this often, so I need to figure out why that happened and make sure it doesn't happen again!!


Modified by EJ1 wilcox at 2:49 PM 4/8/2006

Burton1977

Is the belt factory? U should use a factory one, as well as use the timing belt cover. But I guess in ur case, its a good thing u left the cover off so u could see the wear

schardbody

looks like the belt is too tight by looking at the exhaust side where the belt is meeting the gear.

EJ1 wilcox

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Burton1977 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is the belt factory? U should use a factory one, as well as use the timing belt cover. But I guess in ur case, its a good thing u left the cover off so u could see the wear</TD></TR></TABLE>

The belt is an OE belt. And I have all the timing belt covers on there, I just removed the top one because I took the valve cover off.

The belt is tightened according to proper proceedure, so I don't think it's too tight... I really don't know what is causing it to wear like this.

92_civic

did you do the tbelt on it? is there a chance that the washer between the crankshaft pulley and the gear on the oil pump is missing and all the wear is occuring at the bottom?

EJ1 wilcox

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92_civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did you do the tbelt on it? is there a chance that the washer between the crankshaft pulley and the gear on the oil pump is missing and all the wear is occuring at the bottom?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I built the engine from the ground up. I suppose it's possible that I missed the washer down there, but I really doubt it. Either way, I don't think the wear is happening at the top so it must be happening at the bottom.

I'm going to go ahead and switch out the timing belt this weekend and inspect everything to see what I can find. The last thing I need is to snap the timing belt and ruin this engine that I spent so much time and money rebuilding.

ImportMotorSpec

My guess is that the washer on the crankshaft is missing.

EJ1 wilcox

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ImportMotorSpec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My guess is that the washer on the crankshaft is missing. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm really going to kick myself if that is the case.

I'm just glad I cought this when I did. That would suck to have my timing belt randomly snap.

mike1114

iTrader: (1)

or the washer could be on backwards, its angled at the end so it should only go one one way, the other way will start to shred timing belts.

miahmouse

If the washer on the bottom was on backwards, wouldn't it just be cutting into the outer edge of the belt... It looks like the wear is worse at the edge and isn't as bad towards the back. That would tend to suggest a misalignment somewhere.

EJ1 wilcox

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by miahmouse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If the washer on the bottom was on backwards, wouldn't it just be cutting into the outer edge of the belt... It looks like the wear is worse at the edge and isn't as bad towards the back. That would tend to suggest a misalignment somewhere.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what it looks like to me as well. The inside (engine side) of the belt isn't really worn at all, it's only worn from the outside in...

I'm wondering if the belt could be rubbing on the engine mount. I'm using a mount from a 90 Civic (the engine is in a 90 civic), and the t-belt comes pretty close to the mount. Maybe before I replace the belt I'll run the car for a bit with the upper timing cover off and see how close it comes. You can kind of see how close the inside of the belt comes to the mount in the second picture.

I don't know what could be misaligned, but that's sure what it looks like to me.

miahmouse

Easy way to tell if it's rubbing on something it's not supposed to is to put paint or white out on it. run it for a few and check to see if it got rubbed off...

miahmouse

if the tensioner pulley was worn (bearings worn) or it's bolt was bent it could be sitting at a slight angle causing the angled wear.

RICE POLICE SIP

iTrader: (2)

hmmm that's odd....

EJ1 wilcox

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by miahmouse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if the tensioner pulley was worn (bearings worn) or it's bolt was bent it could be sitting at a slight angle causing the angled wear. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmm... I hadn't thought of that.

I used one of the tensioners I had sitting around. I had like 4 from spare engines in my garage and just picked the one that looked like it was in the best shape. It's entirely possible that the tensioner is worn out.

I'll go ahead and buy a new tensioner and put that on there this weekend when I do the timing belt. Thanks for the sugestion!

EJ1 wilcox

I picked up a new belt and tensioner yesterday so I can install them this weekend. I also fired up my other civic (that hasn't run for about a year) so I can drive that until I fix the timing belt on this one.

I am pretty scrared to drive it at this point since I could easily ruin the engine if the belt snaps.

On a side note, I stripped all three of the front valve cover bolt threads! That's always fun. I hate how soft the d-series heads are. I mean, I don't even use a torque wrench or a ratchet when I do the valve cover bolts. I tighten the bolts with my fingers only, and still I stripped them!

Ahh... oh well, at least I still have my helicoil kit and plenty of helicoils from the last car this happened on. Still it's a pain in the ****. Damn d-series heads.

miahmouse

I'd also replace the tensioner bolts.... an extra $1.50 and you've got more peace of mind that you can eliminate any part of that system being the issue...

EJ1 wilcox

** UPDATE **

Well, I went ahead and changed the timing belt and tensioner this morning.

When I took the timing covers off I could see that the timing belt was really loose on the water pump side (tensioner side). Between the cam gear and the crank pully the belt was tight, but on the other side there was like 1/2 inch or more of play. I mean, that thing was loose as a goose.

So, I went ahead and pulled the old belt and tensioner off and replaced them with new ones. This time when I tensioned the belt I used the "coat hanger" method, which I read about on here.

I bent the end of a coat hanger and hooked it onto the tensioner where the spring normally attaches. Then I pulled up on the hanger while I tightened the tensioner bolt.

Doing it this way took ALL of the slack out of the timing belt and it is now tight on both sides. I also turned the crank 180 degrees and retentioned it again using the same method.

After putting it all back together I fired it up and it ran smooth as ever. I remember before I could hear a slight flapping sound right after I started it up when the car was cold, but now it was quiet as ever. It used to also shake a bit at low RPM and that went away as well.

So in conclusion. I am blaming the improperly tensioned timing belt for the wear and also the slight flapping sound that the engine used to make.

I do notice now a very slight whinning sound when I rev the engine, I assume this is because there is a new belt on there. I'm going to search around and see if this is going to be a problem. Over all the car runs very smooth and very quiet. I am pleased with how it went!

Thanks for the help!

schardbody

whinning is just from the overtight belt, it will stretch a little w/in a few miles and be fine.