94 civic hatch cx. stock everything.

i'm trying to set my timing teeth right. they keep jumping. i line it up, mark one on the cam gear, than one on the belt. when i rotate the crank case using a wrench(counter-clockwise) when the mark comes back, the mark on the belt is in a different place...is this normal??

-this is what i did but kept going wrong, correct my mistakes thanks.
-remove valve cover
-remove upper timing cover
-use wrench to turn crank case to line up TDC0(white mark)
-loosen tensionor bolt
-pull timing belt off cam gear
-use wrench to turn cam gear to up and 2 lines lined up to head and 3rd bottom line to 7 o'clock.(dont know if this is correct)
-put timing belt back on cam gear
-turn crank pully with using wrench like 2 inches(counter-clockwise)
-tignten tensioner bolt

when i start up the motor, its on but my idle is always really high, 1.5 warm up, 2k cold. car didnt come with an FITV so thats not the problem. after looking at the belt it look like it move outta place because like i said i have mark it but never end up the same, is this normal? please help. thanks.

 

[QUOTE=lv6l]
-put timing belt back on cam gear
-turn crank pully with using wrench like 2 inches(counter-clockwise)
-tignten tensioner bolt
QUOTE]

-put timing belt back on cam gear.
-draw slight tension to but put turning rear cam gear slightly towards the firewall with only a little pressure
-tighten tensioner bolt.
-rotate crank full rotate back to TDC, re-check.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-put timing belt back on cam gear
-turn crank pully with using wrench like 2 inches(counter-clockwise)
-tignten tensioner bolt

</TD></TR></TABLE>

When I replaced my timing belt, after I put the belt back on the cam gear I rotated the crank 3 full revolutions, counterclockwise, then tightened the tensioner. You may not be rotating the crank enough to properly tension the belt.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ****** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

When I replaced my timing belt, after I put the belt back on the cam gear I rotated the crank 3 full revolutions, counterclockwise, then tightened the tensioner. You may not be rotating the crank enough to properly tension the belt.</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2, most overlooked and important step in doing your timing belt.

 

so should i turn the crank case 2 times or 3 times and should i still turn the cam gear towards the firewall for a bit like how jdmcars.com said? and also is it normal if i mark the belt and cam and they dont lined up after turning the crank pully?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so should i turn the crank case 2 times or 3 times and should i still turn the cam gear towards the firewall for a bit like how jdmcars.com said? and also is it normal if i mark the belt and cam and they dont lined up after turning the crank pully?</TD></TR></TABLE>

After you loosen the tensioner bolt, turn the crank 3 times counterclockwise. Then tighten the tensioner bolt. I can't comment about turning the cam gear towards the firewall as I have never done that.

If you put a mark on the belt where it's at on the cam gear, and on the cam gear and it doesn't line up after you turn the crank 3 times, then something isn't right.

Something's not right here. There's no reason for the belt to slip while you turn the crank 3 times. How loose is the timing belt when you rotating the crank. You don't need to loosen the tensioner bolt very much.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ****** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

After you loosen the tensioner bolt, turn the crank 3 times counterclockwise. Then tighten the tensioner bolt. I can't comment about turning the cam gear towards the firewall as I have never done that.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

so i loosen the tensionor bolt, turn crank 3 times counterclockwise, and tighten the tensioner bolt-all while the timing belt is on the cam or off the cam?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

so i loosen the tensionor bolt, turn crank 3 times counterclockwise, and tighten the tensioner bolt-all while the timing belt is on the cam or off the cam?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

ON the cam. The whole idea is to tighten the belt. How would you tighten it if it's not even on the cam gear?

Do this procedure with the belt correctly installed on the crank pulley and cam gear.

 

If you rotate the crank just ONCE, the mark you made on the belt won't line back up with the mark on the cam gear. The crank has to rotate twice for the cam gear to rotate once.

There is a mark on the crank that lines up with another mark down there to denote the #1 piston is at TDC on the compression stroke. The cam gear also has markings which denote the position it needs to be in when the #1 piston is at TDC on the compression stroke.

So when you have those two items in the correct orientation, it's now time to put the belt on. The belt needs to start at a particular point and be looped around in a particular order (in the Helms). The tensioner should also be loose at this point. Loosen the bolt and put some force on the tensioner to relieve its pressure then tighten the bolt back up to keep it in an un-tensioned state.

When the belt is on, loosen the tensioner bolt so it's now putting pressure on the t-belt. Rotate the cam (via the crank) a couple teeth, re-tighten the tensioner bolt and be done with it. You don't want to rotate the crank to far when tensioning though - just a couple teeth like the Helms suggests. You can rotate it through a couple revolutions to make sure things are on straight and true but when it comes times to tension, I'd rotate back to where #1 is at TDC and just rotate a few more teeth and tighten the tensioner.