Ef4doorwagon

I have a d15b2. I adjusted my timing belt about 2 weeks ago and got the mechanical perfect. Then I added tension to the belt by: pushing the tensioner upwards towards me( this tightens the belt) then tightened the tensioner. I did notice the left side of the belt( closest to the radiator) was a little loose. Drove fine however. Today tho about an hour ago my cars idled Dropped to 200 or really low and had a hard time accelerating, felt like my timing was retarded. Pulled over and advanced my diZzy all the way and drove to my friends house.

What I need to know is can having my belt a little loose cause it to severely mess up my timing?

Also according to the manual, in order to set proper tension im suppose to have it mechanically aligned then turn the crank pulley so the cam rotates 3teeth. However this procedure makes the crank Tdc mark go way to the left and throws my ignition timing off.
So I really need help on what to do next.

ej1995

Did you follow the exact procedure in the factory service manual? Something tells me you are messing up 1 little step...

Ef4doorwagon

Yeah step by step minus the turning the crank 3 teeth counter clock, because then the tdc mark on the crank pulley doesnt line up with the lower cover mark

ej1995

Make sure the belt is TIGHT on the side opposite the tensioner when you rotate the engine, that way the tensioner pulls all the slack out on the tensioner side and it wont affect the number of teeth between the cam and crank.

xprometheusx

your belt is stretched...

Ef4doorwagon

How would I make the belt tight on the side while rotating it 3 teeth?
My manual does say when installing the belt make sure there's tension on the side of belt closest to radiator. I never understood how to do that lol.

racin_jayson

line it up to TDC, confirm that your timing marks are aligned.
Sounds like it may have skipped a tooth, if so, get it all lined up again, then loosen your tensioner just a little, now gently turn your crank so that your belt has turned 3 teeth on the cam pulley, make sure to do this smoothly (taking the plugs out helps), when it has moved 3 teeth hold the crank pulley in that position so as to keep tension on the front of the belt, then tighten your tensioner with the other hand. The tensioner spring will do the tensioning for you, you don't need to add preload to it. Now spin it around all the way to #1 TDC again and recheck it, I usually repeat the procedure 2 or 3 times to be sure. Be careful to never turn the crank backwards, or you're gonna have a bad time.

ej1995

you may want to locate a mechanic if possible...

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

Rotating the crank forward three-teeth is what puts tension on the front side of the belt (because the crankshaft tugs against the opening valves). While this happens, the spring on the tensioner is supposed to take up all the slack on the back side. This is literally the springs ONLY job. You shouldn't need to push the tensioner by hand. So while you hold tension on the belt by turning the crankshaft, it's time to tighten/torque the tensioner bolt and lock everything down.

Simple

Ef4doorwagon

Damn I just did what u suggested I loosened the tensioner a bit turned the camshaft 3 teeth ccw tightened it up. Fired up my car and now my ignition timing is off about 2 teeth. Fully advanced dizzy... Need more suggestions.

4drEF

You timing belt is off a tooth.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

Yeah it most likely slipped cause it wasn't tightened properly the 1st the time.

Give it one more try.

Ef4doorwagon

Finally got around to re timing my car and when rotating the crank it binds up when the UP mark is at 5 o clock. I lined up everything perfectly but Idk if it got out of time when I was tightening the crank pulley bolt( because to tighten it you rotate it clock wise, which is turning the crank backwards, right?)
What should I do next

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

After reading through your thread(s) this is my honest primary suggestion:

Because:

And that's all there is to it. I'll admit it is tricky but if it's off after you re-tension everything all you really have to do is start over and adjust your starting point on cam or crank accordingly.

My advice if you're dead set on DIY'ing this:

Set cam to TDC, set crank to TDC, belt off (or at least off the cam gear). Now, this is how I've learned to install my timing belts after going through what you're going through right now. Rotate crank clockwise just a couple teeth and then install the belt, rotate crank to create the required tension and tighten the tensioner bolt. Go full two cycles on the crank so that both the cam are near TDC. Rotate crank to TDC and check cam gear mark. Adjust accordingly.

The reason for rotating the crank a bit before installing the belt is because when you first rotate the crank with the belt installed loose it has zero tension on it. It will only move the camshaft in sync with the crankshaft AFTER tension is created. So for the first few degrees of rotation it rotates independently of the camshaft causing it to be off by a tooth or two if you start with both at exactly TDC.

Ef4doorwagon

I got the timing belt part down. When tensioning it, I have to push down on top of the camgear and rotate crank ccw, that way it doesn't move way off the mark.

But an update on this:
I removed the head and there's a lot of sludge on bottom of valves and on top of pistons.

I thought maybe I bent a valve because I wasn't timing my b2 block with a6 can correctly. On the a6, I learned you have to use this mark at 7 o clock, and I thinksince iI'm using an a6 can I'm suppose to do the same.
So after doing a valve adjustment, since my cam wasn't exactly at tdc( for the a6 spec), I may have adjusted my valves wrong.

Does any one know how to check if valves are bent with the head removed from the block?

Do I have to remove all the valves just to check?

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

It should be obvious just by looking BUT if not try this out. Put head on its side (intake or exhaust side down). With the valves closed, spray some brake cleaner into a port and check the valve seats on the combustion chamber side. If they are dry, they make a good seal. If they are damp it's got a slight leak. If the brake cleaner just pours out then they aren't seating properly. I've had that happen once before, valve looked like it was seated but was off just a tad. When I removed the valve from the head it was completely obvious it was bent.

Ef4doorwagon

OK I tried that earlier. I did the brake cleaner method on the b2 head, one valve leaked.But my rocker arm assembly and cam is not attached to the head
.. So Idk If all valves are closed. I also tested this with a z6 head I messed up a while back, but I poured water ( which I think was a bad idea) and one valve leaked.

Can the method truly work with rocker arms and cams off ?

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

It's even better if the camshaft is out, think about it.