Are you afraid to change a timing belt? You shouldn't be after you read this.

[pauleyman]

If you are 100% confident in your ability to change a belt stop here and read no further.
This has to be my single biggest pet peeve in the DSM community. We see a tbelt job messed up almost daily on these forums. This has got to stop. This post may sound like a gripe out but if you lack confidence please read to the end.

This is not going to be a how to but just two points.

Whatever method you choose to put a belt on the pulleys please follow these points.

Once the belt is on and tensioned(and I'm assuming you're on TDC or at least close to it) rotate the motor over six full crank revolutions and stop when the crank mark lines up.
Why do we do this? The only proper way to check all 5 marks it to make sure there is no slack on the side of the belt(s) that can't adjust for length. If there is slack on that side you can't check the marks properly and it also happens to take six cranks before all the marks line up (assuming you started from that point).

TWO THINGS MUST HAPPEN AT THIS POINT.
1. ALL the marks must line up. They won't be off a little bit, they won't be almost, they won't be kinda sorta. They either WILL or they will NOT be in line. Period.
2. After that you MUST verify that the protrustion of the hydraulic tensioner is exactly in factory specs. If you're using an aftermarket mechanical tensioner you deserve what you get. I am not posting the specs here, go look them up in a factory service manual. It must be right. This is a totally objective number. There is no almost, no close enough etc. It is either within the range or it is not within the range. I don't think it could be any more simple than this.

There is no need to cross fingers, hope for the best etc. If the car is built correctly and you do these two things (regardless of how you chose to actually get the belt on there) then this job has been done correctly. I did my first tbelt with no forums, no internet, no vfaq etc. I had the book and I followed it. I knew I was right because the book told me what to check. It told me exactly what I wrote above.

I am begging the community, please stop making mistakes with this job.

There are countless writeups and videos on how to actually get the belt on but all of them will end with the two points above. Find your favorite method.

Thanks for reading.

 

[SilverBak101]

Thanks, good stuff!

 

[crash89]

I agree with ya man! My first TB job it took me 6 times to finally get it right. And I was in a parking lot!! But the car never left stands until I got all my marks lined up and stuff in spec! If its not right, try again until it is, simple! Dont half ass it (especially something as important as this) and "hope" its going to work right. It wont.

 

[DSMReviver]

If i may add, the piston number 1 needs to be at TDC. I feel like most don't know or not aware to look for this. And Piston #1 is the one right by the timing side (the closet one). You need to make sure the #1 piston is all the way to the top. To check this you can simply remove your spark plug and insert some thing long in the spark plug hole. As you turn the crank, you can check and see if your "some thing long" comes up all the way to the top. After that you can check all the timing mark around the crank on the bottom to make sure they are all lined up.

Again, Piston #1 needs to be at TDC.

 

[DSMboostin15]

I would also like to add that the tensioner bearing MUST be properly preloaded and torqued to ensure proper belt tension. There is a misconception that the hydraulic tensioner is what puts tension on the belt. It does but the hydraulic tensioner's job is to take up slack as the belt stretches and wears to keep proper tension.

 

[1bad4g]

i agree.. i personaly think MOST folks mess up because they dont get the proper amount on the cam gears..the 3 to 9 count its very important to have this correct. so all marks line up!
took me three time to get last belt correct and proper tentioner plunger specs.. I NEVER had a timming belt failure or problem.. because if its not 100% I START OVER!!

 

[flawlessTSI]

I agree if you have any doubt its wrong then its probly wrong. I help out a lot of the local dsm'ers and about half my calls are about timming belts, I charge 50$ to do it here some people won't pay that then they get mad ### they have bent valves or a car that won't run. $50 is less than a new head . It's cheep piece of mind.

 

[dustin_8907]

Do you turn the motor clockwise or counter clockwise after cylinder #1 is at tdc?

 

[dsmcurse]

99 percent of all engines spin clock wise. The only counter clock wise rotation engine I can think of off the top of my head is honduh D, B and H engines. Mitsu goes clockwise

 

[deflator]

Never turn our engines counter clockwise with valves in it.

 

[1bad4g]

Do you turn the motor clockwise or counter clockwise after cylinder #1 is at tdc?

? CLOCKWISE

SAME AS IF IT WAS RUNNING BRO.. AND 6 FULL CRANK TURNS not 3 or 5 6 TIMES THATS THE NUMBER.

SOME .. LIKE ME... GO HALF CRANK TURN COUNTER-CLOCKWISE.... THEN BACK TO THE MAKS. THEN START YOUR 6 TURNS.. IT HELPS GET ANY SLACK OUT..

 

[dustin_8907]

Thanks, I was wondering because my Honda was counterclockwise thanks

 

[miguelmcv]

I remember long time ago when I started doing Timing Belt jobs, I always use white ink, I just mark both timing gear"s tooth with the timing belt tooth, and do the same thing with the Crank and oil pump gear, once the belt was outside, I mark the new belt on the exact same teeth and put it in on its respective marks for each one.

This is a good way to make sure it will be on its perfect spot as it was.

I never miss with this system, not even once, now being on DSM community I don't use INK, I just do it with the stock marks.

 

[Silver99OZ]

It is also really nice to have a second set of hands when putting the belt on and setting the tension. It makes it much easier when you have one person holding a wrench on the cam gears and another person putting the belt on.

 

[Awdtyler312]

Yes I agree I see so many ppl over the years mess this simple job up I just had a friend had his motor built then he put the belt and wp on and drove car for three months and the car shut off I ripped the timing down for him and don't ya know all that time he drove it and never pulled the pin out from the tensioner sucks but happens a lot

 

[dsmcurse]

Wow, forgot to pull pin? That would suck

 

[DSM1G90]

VFAQ Site - Visual Frequently Answered Questions

http://vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-1G.html -4G63 . 6Bolt

http://vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G.html -4G63 . 7 bolt

http://vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G-NT.html - Chrysler 420A


I followed VFAQ for my setup and was done in two hrs and was right on the money the first time. ...and my first time doing a DSM DOHC belt after doing OHC on other makes -both SOHC and DOHC , and both chain and belt varities.

-DSM

 

[keveka2]

that mush really suck to forget the pin i myself have almost forgot it

 

[t56speed]

Good stuff this will be needed in my future endeavors

 

[WES_393]

(What a condecending way to insult everyone's intelligence)

The 4g63 timing belt procedure was written over 22 years ago, was posted on VFAQ.com 15 years ago, has been covered in great detail by numerous threads, and is on the instructions sheet included with nearly all OEM timing belts. It has nothing to do with intelligence, it's a matter of being lazy or cheap.

 

[H@xtGSX]

If it is timed correctly, you can spin it clockwise or counter clockwise, as the cams will still be the same moving either way. If it is tensioned properly, you can spin the motor counter clockwise as much as you want. I have done so... As said before, it is either right or it isn't, and if it is this doesn't matter when working on it.

 

[DSM1G90]

The "6 complete turns" returns all marks back to their respective reference points - and that goes for ALL timing tasks - with gear (early Suby boxer motor had a gear driven cam), chain, belt, SOHC, DOHC and good ol OHV .. due to the ratios of drive sprocket and driven sprocket being 2:00/1.

Simple as that. Been that way since the Ottoman engine was constructed.