i just torque my fluidampr..on my lsvtec...timing belt was tight now after i torque it it moved clockwise and the belt looks loose on top..can i retighten the belt without taking the cover and pulley off?

i had to use a prybar the 1st time to get it tight enough cause the head has supertech springs and retainer now i cant do that with the lower cover on...

 

I would redo it. the fact it rotated and is loose could mean its also off a tooth of timing.

 

or, it could be normal.

you just spun the engine "opposite" it's normal rotation when you torqued the balancer. it simply had a bit of slack in the belt - which is NORMAL to have.

yes, if it is floppy and loose it would be of concern, but just line up the timing marks while spinning the engine in the direction of rotation (counterclockwise) and the slack should disappear and it lines up...

 

If he goes to TDC and the top is loose its not tensioned correctly. If he spins it 180* and the intake/exhaust side has extra slack, its not tensioned correctly. You want it as uniform as possible when tensioned all around because a loose belt can slip teeth, especially with upgraded VT and a motor that will be spinning high R's. All I'm trying to say is don't guess and kill a motor, take the time to do it right.

 

i hear people use a coat hanger to tension the belt...how? the tensioner spring isnt strong enough to tension the belt correctly with upgraded valvetrain..now i need to buy a pulley puller to remove it...cause its not an oem pulley..

 

Never heard of the "hanger trick". If someone knows Im sure they will speak up. As for the tensioner I run a stock one on supertech springs and retainers and got it tensioned down perfectly. Are you using a new tensioner? Vibrant makes a tensioner assist I know for extreme applications.

 

Make a hook with the hanger.. pull up on the lip that has the spring on it, while you're tighten the tensioner down.
The lip is small but its enough to get a hanger around it.. its pointing towards the front of the car.. dont HE-MAN it up.. but keep a good amount of pull on it.

 

i got it done before by using a pry bar under the tensioner while i tighten it but since it moved clockwise it loosend up...gonna try the hanger now....should loosen it 1/2 a turn pull on it while i spin it CCW...?

 

i couldnt get the hanger on the tensioner so i pulled on the bottom of the spring after i loosend it 1/2 a turn and spun engine 3 teeth and now it looks tighter than before..

i also have an endyn tensioner on the way but i hear my degree specs will change and i already degree the cams and assemble complete engine...so too late now..

 

*edit... nevermind

 

since the belt moved and you had to retighten the belt you might want to degree in the cams again.

 

everything still lines up like before..

 

I would think larger cams and stiffer springs would actually help tension the belt more because it will pull the tight side tighter when you roll the crank past TDC and torque the tensioner bolt.

 

In theory you would think but since the cams are torqued down at a constant torque, stock or aftermarket, its still remains constant. If you run a gates belt like me its just makes it harder to get a stiff belt on the gears and hold it at TDC.

 

What do you mean the cams are torqued down? Aren't the cam gear torqued before installing the belt?

If your messing around and roll the exhaust cam back even a tiny bit (say torquing the cam bolt), I can see how it will put the belt slack that is usually on the tensioner side between the two cam gears. But as soon as you roll the crank forward, it will pull everything tight again and move the slack back where it belongs on the tensioner side.

With a toothed belt, it needs to have a tiny bit of slack to run smooth. Just not enough that it can ever skip teeth. I learned this from racing belt-drive RC cars.

I could be missing something though.

 

i have a gates/napa belt...and for me to get that timing belt on the 1st time a pita...i had to use 2 14mm wrenches on the cam gear bolts to line up the 2 marks while i put the belt in order cause the pressure from the springs is to high an it sits the ex cam at an angle...it doesnt stay at tdc by its self...and the tensioner needs help with this springs...

ive done many belts on oem springs and they are cake...on this i had to learn and im still learning all over again how to do it...

 

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks...