lv6l

i have high *** idle. i think my problem is my cam gear teeth is not align properly with my TDC on my crank pully, when i go and line them all up, i notice my timing belt teeth and the cam gear teeth always jump, i mark both gear on cam and belt with a sharpie marker, turn on engine, turn off and the mark doesn't match up. i read somewhere that you have to turn the crank pully to tighten the tenionsor but i dont know how to do that. thats why i'm here on HT now asking for help. thanks.

fsp-hatch

to tension your belt make sure the cam and crank are at tdc on number one. you will have to remove your valve cover and upper timing belt cover, and on the back of your cam gear, assuming it is stock, there will be 2 lines that should line up with the top of the head. loosen the t-belt tensioner and rotate the engine by hand counter-clockwise 3 teeth on the cam gear. then tighten the tensioner and rotate back clockwise to tdc. if your belt is jumping though then the car would run like crap. your high idle could very well be faulty fast idle valve that is located under your throttle body, or a vacume leak. remove your intake tube and start the car cold. inside the throttle body are two ports. one that goes to the iac and another that goes to the fast idle valve. with the car cold there should be air sucking through the bottom port with the car warm there should not. you can remove the backing plate from the fast idle valve and tighten the spring tension inside by screwing in the large plastic nut. it should have a large slot for a flat head screw driver but you can do it by hand. i hope any of this stuff helps.

fsp-hatch

oh by the way all that crap i just said was for a 4 cylinder, d15, d16, etc... what kind of car/motor do you have.

snatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fsp-hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to tension your belt make sure the cam and crank are at tdc on number one. you will have to remove your valve cover and upper timing belt cover, and on the back of your cam gear, assuming it is stock, there will be 2 lines that should line up with the top of the head. loosen the t-belt tensioner and rotate the engine by hand counter-clockwise 3 teeth on the cam gear. then tighten the tensioner and rotate back clockwise to tdc.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is incorrect.

Helms manual specifically states "always rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise when viewed from the pulley side. Rotating it clockwise may result in improper adjustment of the belt tension. Everything else is correct.

fsp-hatch

true, but every time i due a t belt i rotate past tdc clockwise a few teeth and then counterclockwise back to tdc. i haven't had any problems and ive done t-belts on everything from odessy vans to civics. it saves you the time of rotating all the way back around. always make sure that the tensioner is tight before doing this though.

snatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fsp-hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">true, but every time i due a t belt i rotate past tdc clockwise a few teeth and then counterclockwise back to tdc. i haven't had any problems and ive done t-belts on everything from odessy vans to civics. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not saying it won't work, it's just that according to the Helm's manual there is a chance that it can mess something up.

[QUOTE=fsp-hatch it saves you the time of rotating all the way back around. [/QUOTE]

In my opinion, the time required to rotate the crankshaft by hand with a socket and breaker bar is far less than the time or money it would require to repair an engine if something were to happen. I think I'll spend the extra 19 seconds and follow what the manual recommends.

lv6l

where can i find the nut to loosen the t-belt tensionor?

snatch

On the lower timing belt cover there is a small circular piece of plastic that you can pull off. It's kind of like a block-off cap/plate. It's towards the firewall, you should be able to see it pretty easy.

Might try to search for timing belt tensioner or something of the sort and see if there is a picture of it.

Behind the cap is the bolt for the tensioner.

lv6l

cool, i found the cap. now how do i know when is 3 teeth when i turn the crank case for 3 teeth?

snatch

Do 3 full rotations of the crank instead of just 3 teeth on the cam gear. It's more accurate.