Mauispyder
Proven Member
- 483
- 82
- Jan 20, 2015
-
Kula,
Hawaii
I couldn't find this exact situation so here's my experience (so far). I'm doing my timing belt for the first time (at 120,000). 99 Eclipse GST. Using the VFAQ and a couple of other resources. I got to the balance belt replacement and VFAQ seemed to suggest you could sneak the new balance belt around the crank sensor plate bypassing the need to remove the crank sprocket. There is no way to do this unless you rotate the crank/ sensor plate back and forth to get the new balance belt slipped behind the sensor plate. I went brain dead and did this, rotating the crankshaft about 180 degrees and back independent of the cam shafts (with a 1/2 ratchet. So now I remember I may have just bent my valves since I just sent 2 and 3 Pistons from the bottom to the top and back. I am sad, and on forums for days, since too busy at work to return to car. Of note the cams were fixed at TDC before the old timing belt was removed and the crank moved. Today I took off the valve cover for a look at The rockers and such. I was pleasantly surprised to see that at TDC, NONE of the the valves is fully extended by the cam lobes. In fact none are even mostly extended. So I'm going to finish the timing belt and do a compression test. I think I dodged a bullet, and I wanted to pass this info on to anyone else that might have screwed up in a similar way.