Just changed the timing belt on my 2001 ITR, I am pretty sure that it is done correctly but then again it was my first time. Now the distribtor is making a click noise and my idle is off at 2000rpms. The idle may be because it is a tooth off, but i checked and re- checked all the work so I am not sure. Any help or insight would be great. Also, I didn't have my belts on (a/c, p/s, alt), would that make a difference? Thanks.

 

Not trying to be rude but just from what you said it still sounds like it's a tooth off. I've had it happen before also. I know how frustrating it can be.

 

Thats what I am thinking too. The more I talk to people and research thats the general outcome. Can that be adjusted in the distributor? Also I was told a tooth off wouldn't cause the noise in the distributor. I don't see how the distributor could just go bad all of a sudden. Thanks.

 

Check the teeth again friend. It will probably have crappy throttle response even one tooth off.

 

Read the thread in here that was just started about timing belt replacement and make sure you've considered everything.

Since you've rechecked though... there are some instances, especially with milled heads/thin gaskets that if you line up the marks on the cam gears with the surface of the head, when you slip the belt on its easy to be off by a tooth on one side. The helms may say to do it that way even..

Make sure when you do this step that the ^up^ arrows on the gears are pointing generally up, and the inside marks on the cam gears are as close as possible to each other. You might find that when you slide the belt over the intake cam that they shift apart some, and it won't look perfect. Try turning the intake cam slightly against the direction it wants to turn (i.e. the next tooth) so that when you slide the belt on its close.

You will know if its wrong or right when its all done, its a big difference. While it may not look absolutely dead-nuts perfect, you have made sure that moving a tooth on either gear will only make it worse.

Don't forget to spin the crank in between.

 

Something strange happened today. I went to put a timing light on it when I decided to investigate the click further. I went to hold the motor at different rpms, when the idle went down to 1200. Then slowly went down to 800 and the click disappeared. How does that happen? The only variable that changed that I can think of it temp. Any thoughts on this?

 

Two thoughts:

1. If you changed the water pump, you may have had an air pocket in the cooling system that was causing an issue with the idle air control valve.

2. The car is supposed to run a fast idle on a cold start up, which gradually settles down to normal idle speed as the coolant heats up.

As far as the clicking from the distributor, I don't have any ideas. However if the cam timing was off a tooth, the car would be running noticeably bad. You'd know it.

 

^Thanks. I talked to my friend who is a tech at Acura, he said the same thing about the temp and idle. This was my first time changeing a timing belt so I was worried about everything. The car is all put back together now, it runs smooth as always. Still a click in the distributor when the motor is cold, I plan to take it apart and see if I can figure it out. I appreciate everyones help and consideration. Thanks.

 

When was the last time the valve clearence/lash was adjusted?

I would have done that, along with a rotor, cap and plugs (maybe even wires) at the same time as the timing belt.