i just installed new timing belt on my 93 del sol si. its my first time and I'm kinda confused about the timing slack and tension. I can twist the timing belt almost half way on the long side, and I can almost pry the timing belt off the cam gear with my fingers with little force. is the timing belt too loose or is it normal to have that much slack? thanks

 

The timing belt is self tensioning. Did you follow teh tensioning procedure in the manual?

Unless you have the wrong belt it should set properly.

 

yea i followed the procedure. the belt is a 104 teeth belt so i don't think its the wrong one.

 

^to a degree. Did you TQ the tensioner bolt down to spec ?

 

Get your crank lined up to tdc (only turn your motor COUNTER CLOCKWISE to do this). Route your timing belt around the crank sprocket, around the water pump, AND the tensioner. Put the lower timing cover back on, and the crank pulley to find the TDC markings Make sure your head is set to PERFECT TDC.

Depending on what engine you have, youll have to figure out how to find TDC. The del sols come with a b-series though, don't they? Anyways, once you have it set to TDC, CAREFULLY stretch the timing belt over the cam sprocket(s). Keep a close eye on your crank and the TDC markings for it, as it might slip forward or backward as you pull on the timing belt, so pull evenly on both sides. Slip it over the cam sprockets, and then tighten your tensioner down to whatever the spec is. Turn the motor over once, check timing marks, then do it again and make sure those marks haven't moved. At all...

 

Well I turned on the motor just to check. It seems to be running fine and much quieter.

 

Now I can't seem to put the back the lower timing belt cover back on! Arrrgh!!! I'm really frustrated!!!

 

you don't NEED the lower cover on but that's just personal pref. im always needing to get at the tensioner or something down there so i just leave it off. watch out for branches/junk on the road tho if you do leave it off.

 

I would not leave the timing cover off unless you want to grenade your engine when something gets caught in there.