Ok, so I went to put my new timing belt on today, and for the life of me I can't figure out what's going on! The previous belt looked to be installed incorrectly, with the crank pulley lined up to it's mark, the passenger side cam sprockets lined up with their marks (the dimples on the back of the timing cover), but the drivers side's both looked to be out a tooth with their marks, add to that the fact that the timing when I go the car was at about 30 degrees, and I couldn't retard it any less than about 22 before it ran like a dog, I figured the belt was installed incorrectly. So, no worries I think, get the new belt and we'll line everything up again and she'll be right. Wrong! It seems I've got the same problem as the previous belt: I can line the crank up with both the lines on the belt and the dimple of the back timing cover, likewise both the passenger side cam sprockets, but when I get to the drivers side, with the sprockets lined up with their dimples, the belt is out a tooth. It's supposed to have 45 cogs between the passenger side and the drivers, but to achieve that I have to put the cam sprockets back to their oringal dud-timing position and then they're a tooth out from the dimple on the back timing cover? Does anyone know WTF is going on? Thanks Andrew
Those lines can be a major PITA to get exact. I have only succeeded once getting them all to line up. Just go by the dots dude. You will find the timing marks and the lines on the belt will go on really well on the cams and the crank will be nearly impossible. Do the cams first then the crank.
What brand of belt do you have? I've always found GATES belts align perfectly, at worst to within 1/2 a tooth. The real test is when you rotate whole assembly, as per tech, and see if alignment remains correct. Does that make sense?
Problem is... If I line the lines on the belt to the dots on the sprockets (with the required 45 cog or teeth of the belt in between) then the sprockets don't align to the rear timing belt marks on the drivers side, they are out by one full tooth, not just a little bit. Surely the sprockets and rear timing belt marks are the correct mechanical position for the cam sprocket in relation to the crank shaft, and I would also assume for correct timing there needs to 45 teeth between the passenger side and drivers side cam sprockets. But i can only have one or the other, not both?
It's a Gates Kevlar Belt from TTZ. I haven't tried rotating anything as I can't seem to get the correct position from the outset, whatever I do, there's something gong to be out a full tooth. I'm more than a bit mystified!
Oil pump notch & TC dimples are a guide, not 100% accurate. If you have an OEM or Gates belt you should align belt marks to pulley reference marks. Then do the rotation check.
I think the most important thing is to have the correct number of "notches/teeth" between marks on the gears as per service manual. The dimples on the housings are a guide only.Pages EM17/18
Fair enough... Though I'm pretty sure that that will put the belt back on like the old one was, which left me with some strange timing issues... I dunno, would there be any other reasons why my timing would have been so far advanced?
