When the motor is cranked by hand it's tight, but when it's at TDC it's like this. Now is this to much slack?

 

something doesnt look right to me.....those marks dont even look lined up. I dont like after market cam gears unless they are from Japan. The fact is...a lot of after market gears arent timed correctly.

 

Yes, the belt has too much slack.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rsbad454 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">something doesnt look right to me.....those marks dont even look lined up. I dont like after market cam gears unless they are from Japan. The fact is...a lot of after market gears arent timed correctly.</TD></TR></TABLE>Which mark are you talking about? the ones on the side? They're lined up. The cam gears are made by St. Corsa, I think the quality is pretty good, it's guaranteed not to slip, click on the black link in my signature for more info.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rsbad454 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">something doesnt look right to me.....those marks dont even look lined up. I dont like after market cam gears unless they are from Japan. The fact is...a lot of after market gears arent timed correctly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ST Corsa sprockets are very well made, and the timing marks on all of the sets I've had are perfectly accurate. They may not be "JDM y0", but they're the best design I've seen, and the only brand I'd run on my motor.

And to answer the original question, the belt does indeed appear to be too loose.

 

anyways....i was looking at the top marks...sorry, but have you matched these up with factory gears to compare? I didnt say Japan because they are "JDM Yo" they are built and or molded off factory components. Quality......i was just making a statement. Not a fan of too many adjustable cam gears.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rsbad454 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyways....i was looking at the top marks...sorry, but have you matched these up with factory gears to compare?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I actually just compared an ST Corsa to an OEM PR3 sprocket. All 3 marks (top, left, right) are 100% accurate.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rsbad454 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not a fan of too many adjustable cam gears.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Neither am I, particularly because every other design on the market has the potential to slip, regardless of how expensive they are. You should definitely give the ST Corsa's a try - I think you'll be impressed with both their quality and their design.

 

hmmmm, what cams are installed? the belt shouldnt arch up like that on top. Are Gears themselves the same diameter as the stock ones?

 

Sorry to ***** your thread.....but how much tighter would it need to be to be ok? When we did my timing my belt was slightly tighter, maybe another 1/4in or so down on the cam gear.

 

ok Just tighten them more, the cams are Skunk2 stage1's, and yes the gears are the same diameter.
doesn't seem to change, but I did notice it get tighter when it's not at TDC.
Tight


Tighter

 

This is a B18a that I have laying around in my backyard, notice the belt arches up as well, and this one hasn't been touched.

 

looks better now............

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gump &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok Just tighten them more, the cams are Skunk2 stage1's, and yes the gears are the same diameter.
doesn't seem to change, but I did notice it get tighter when it's not at TDC.
Tight


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

The top photo actually looked tighter to me.

 

It still isn't tight enough.

Set the engine at #1 TDC. Then turn the engine ahead 3 teeth on the cam gear. (this will take up the slack between the cam gears and between the exhaust cam gear and the crank gear) Then loosen the tensioner bolt 3/4 of a turn and retighten. This should eliminate the slack.

This USED to be done on every Type 4 inspection at Honda/Acura back in the day.. (am I dating myself here?)

When done properly there should be no arching of the belt upwards. And believe it or not, a LOT of Honda techs don't even know how to do it properly.

 

You can also manually tension belt as well by lifting up slightly on the spring side of the tensioner. This will pull the belt tighter, but don't put too much tension or the belt will be overtight.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MightyMouseTech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It still isn't tight enough.

Set the engine at #1 TDC. Then turn the engine ahead 3 teeth on the cam gear. (this will take up the slack between the cam gears and between the exhaust cam gear and the crank gear) Then loosen the tensioner bolt 3/4 of a turn and retighten. This should eliminate the slack.

This USED to be done on every Type 4 inspection at Honda/Acura back in the day.. (am I dating myself here?)

When done properly there should be no arching of the belt upwards. And believe it or not, a LOT of Honda techs don't even know how to do it properly.</TD></TR></TABLE>I already did this, but I guess it wasn't tight enough, I'm just afraid to tighten it to much that the belt might snap while the motor is running.

 

looks loose man.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gump &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I already did this, but I guess it wasn't tight enough, I'm just afraid to tighten it to much that the belt might snap while the motor is running.</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you've already tried mightymouse's method and there is still that much slack then you should change your timing belt because it's too stretched.

 

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

If you've already tried mightymouse's method and there is still that much slack then you should change your timing belt because it's too stretched. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Either that, or, the spring on the tensioner is damaged, or there is some rust/crud inbetween the tensioner and the block. Either one will not allow the tensioner to bring up the slack properly when loosened. You will probably have to take off the lower cover and push up on the tensioner manually.