legacycentral bbs

First off, great site. I've found lots of useful info that's helped me out a ton. I never thought I'd be able to replace a timing belt on my own but thanks to the posts here it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Now my problem. My car overheated and it looks like the water pump was shot so I replaced it and the thermostat. I've got a 4EAT so used the access hole on the bell housing to lock the crankshaft to torque the bolt. I made sure all the alignment marks on the cam and crank sprockets were TDC but the engine wouldn't start after everything was back on.

I heard what sounded like grinding metal and it seemed like the engine was misfiring. The oil was full but I noticed that the notch on the crank pulley didn't line up with the timing marks on timing belt cover when the cams are TDC. I had the crankshaft lined up before I tightened everything but now it's not. I wouldn't think tightening the crankshaft bolt could cause only the crankshaft to move since the timing belt was tensioned.

I'll probably have to take the timing off again and make sure everything is TDC again but should I check for anything else before? I was thinking of doing a compression check. I have a 94 4EAT NA.

do a compression test if you have a cyl that's got a low psi then you should look into pulling the engine.

Welcome to the BBS.

If the engine ran before you did the timing belt, chances something didn't get put back correctly. The overheating might have cooked something, but unless the engine got really hot, it should be ok.

When you put the belt on, what mark did you align the crank gear to? The mark on the front of the crank gear or the mark on the back of the crank gear? It should be aligned to the one on the back.

Also, once you have everything back together and released the tensioner, turn the motor over by hand to tighten up the belt tension.

I haven't had time to do a compression test yet but will this weekend. I'm hoping it's not serious and don't have to pull the engine.

I used the mark on the back on the crank gear so the keyway was facing down at 6 o'clock. I didn't turn the engine after getting the tensioner on so is it possible that there wasn't enough tension and the belt slipped? That would explain why the crankshaft wasn't aligned with the cams.

Thanks for the advice guys; I'll let you know how it goes this weekend.

Yeah, I'd start by resetting the timing alignment marks and putting the timing belt back on. Then turn the motor over to get the belt tight.

Also, when you do the tensioner, it needs to be compressed very slowly or it can be damaged. Also, you need to use a screwdriver or something push it all the way to the left side before it it completely tightened down.

Legacy777 wrote:Also, when you do the tensioner, it needs to be compressed very slowly or it can be damaged. Also, you need to use a screwdriver or something push it all the way to the left side before it it completely tightened down.

I didn't know that, i always had the end o the tensioner against the tensioner housing..... I should fix that