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1G Timing Belt wobble help

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GSX91DSM

Probationary Member
1
0
Jul 29, 2014
Boise, Idaho
Hello, my name is Mike and I'm new to the DSM world, and cars all together. I own a 91 GSX and I've had little problem with the car up until now. Before I get to my question let me say that I have tried searching on google, and other DSM forums for help with my question, however I have not found even 1 response that helped me with my question, everything I find just relates to doing a whole new timing belt job (buying all new parts, which I can't afford). So with no luck I decided to make an account and post my question here hoping for some real help/ advice on what I can do to fix my problem.

My problem has to do with my timing belt when I start my car (which starts up just fine) and when I turn it off, what I mean is that when I start the car I can see my timing belt flap up and down above the cam gears while it's running, as far as I know DSM's are prone to having some slack in the timing belt, however I have read that it is not good when the timing belt looks like a banjo string flailing up and down, and when I turn off the car to check the timing belt it has a good amount of slack between the cam gears, I can wiggle the belt up and down with ease. I've also read that the car is supposed to pick up what slack is there when I start it, from the auto tensioner, however that is not the case. Ultimately my question is simple, is there a way I can tighten my timing belt to avoid the banjo string effect while its running, without having to buy all new tensioners, belt, etc? Again I'm new to DSM's/ Cars so I'm sorry if this type of thread has been posted before, but I could not find an answer to my problem elsewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is my only means of transportation and I don't want to drive the car out of fear of something happening down the road that I cannot fix / afford to fix. Thanks in advance.
 
Tensioners either work or don't. If there's any question about something as important as a timing belt, change it.

The cost of a new belt, pulleys, and tensioner is a fraction of the cost of the damage it can do to your engine if it fails.
 
And to answer your question about whether or not you can tighten it without replacing the tensioner, not really. There are manual tensioners out there and I've heard of people fabricating their own, but you're better off just buying a kit.

I know you said you're in a place to where you can't afford it, but consider yourself lucky and just try and save up what money you can to fix the problem. I've known people who weren't lucky enough to get a warning sign with a timing belt issue and it ended up costing them their motor.
 
Some of the above posts aren't quite right. Yes you can check and retension but if the car lost tension something has probably failed. If its old you should change it. The only other possibility I can think of is the tension was never correct from the last job and you've been lucky until now. Either way it has to be fixed now.
 
Also, if the car has a lot of mileage, change out the tensioner pulley arm, as they can get worn out too. Mine had about an 1/8 inch divot in it where the tensioner made contact, making the timing belt extra loose even with a new auto tensioner.
 
+1 on fix it now and you're lucky it hasn't bent any valves.
You get what you pay for. A little over $200 is what you'll need. You can put cheap stuff on there if you want but this is a very important part that will destroy your motor if it fails. I recommend Gates belts, Cardone water pump, Felpro gaskets. I can't remember what brand the hydraulic tensioner was. Just make sure you get one of those too. You'll need to do your balance shaft belt too, that's usually included in the kit. I'd imagine jnztuning has a kit, maperformance, and thedsmgraveyard has one too. Jnztuning is usually the first stop for me.
Vfaq.com has a terrific write up on changing your belt.

Idk how far you want to go with this car but now'a a good time to freshen up the whole motor if you've got the cash and time to do so. If it's going to be a racecar plan on rebuilding the whole thing. If it's a DD consider at least doing the top end. I had my head rebuilt a month ago for $700. New valves, retainers, springs, guides, seals, and upgraded lifters. I know that's a chunk of change but you'll be able to rule out HG issues from now on. You also change a lot of gaskets so fewer oil/coolant leaks and your valve seats will seal up better giving you better performance and I'd imagine fuel economy.
Add a couple $hundred into your budget for all new fluids, plugs and wires, hoses, and accessory belts.
You'll need some good tools too. My buddy got me a big 'ol Craftsman tool kit for my Bday and it has been so handy. You'll need mostly metric stuff. A variety of sockets (depths) and wrenches is nice. Harbor Freight tools are good enough for the most part. Their torque wrenches suck but other than that I think their stuff is fine.
Hit me up if you need help with that timing belt. I've done a few of the 1g 4g63's now and have got it down to a science.
Good luck!
 
Jeez, its his first car don't scare him so bad! First and foremost yes you can tighten it back up but as Pauleyman said, you really should just replace the main timing components since you are in essence doing a timing belt job anyways. What sets the actual tension isn't the hydraulic tensioner its the tensioner pulley. Technically they both work in harmony, but the hydraulic tensioner has a range of operation in which it will take up and let out slack. The tensioner pulley has to be adjusted properly to get within this range, otherwise the belt will be too loose or too tight no matter what. It is likely that someone before you either didn't tension this correctly before or that the tensioner arm has been divoted (also mentioned above by JermoTurbo). If you are confident in the hydraulic tensioner and don't see any leaks around it (or are just too broke to buy new parts, we've all been there) then you can try to tighten what you have using the last steps of the famous Timing Belt TSB: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-1G.html

As a quick fix for now (and assuming the car is timed accurately since its running I'd say you're set), look up the correct procedure for doing a timing belt job. You'll need to complete the last few steps without taking the belt off to ensure that it is properly tensioned. To begin with, turn the motor over with a 1/2" ratchet until its at TDC. If you still have your battery hold down, you can use one of the long bolts that reach down and hook to the tray to do the next step, if not you can order the threaded tensioner tool from JNZ Tuning or go the hardware store and buy some threaded rod do a quick search for the thread pitch lets assume you have the battery tie down bolt.

Obviously you'll want to pull off the belts for the A/C, PS, and H2O and get the timing cover off before doing this. There is a little window on the right side of the timing cover 1/3rd of the way down and the battery bolt/tensioner tool will go down to the left at a 45* angle roughly until it meets a little hole with threads. Keep turning it SLOWLY until you put pressure on the tensioner arm which will push the hydraulic tensioner back into its bore. When you can see the hole in the little tip line up with the hole on the body of the tensioner, stop turning. Now is the hard part. I use an angled needle nose plier or a small allen wrench and screw driver and insert them into the two small holes on the top of the tensioner pulley to pry one against the other. When you feel you have a good grip on it, use a 14mm socket to loosen the middle bolt, then turn the top of the pulley with the two small holes clockwise until the belt snugs up getting the top small holes close to 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Tighten back down the 14mm to I think 26ft/lbs (check Timing belt FAQ) and you're set!

Back out the threaded rod so that the tensioner puts pressure on the arm once again and the belt will get back to where it should be. Be careful to check each timing mark on the cams, oil pump, balance shaft, etc. just like in the timing belt FAQ. Again, this is basically doing an entire timing belt job simply without using new parts. I hope that you have some cash and can just buy new parts to be safe and ensure the car will continue to run for you, these can be wonderfully reliable but unfortunately backyard mechanics and morons have messed with them forever and people like you get stuck footing the bill. Good luck with whatever you decide on!!
 
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