1st timing belt job. have a question.

[CiscoBite1Time]

i was able to line up all my timing marks and loosened up my tensioner pulley. at this point i have all markings lined up with the new belt on. how does the tensioner pully and tensioner arm hold tension? i have the tensioner pulley bolted and bolt tight yet the tensioner arm is still loose. i've been turning the hydraulic tensioner tool many times yet i can't see if the it's pushing against the tensioner arm. my pin is still stuck in the autotensioner with no wiggle room.

i think i may have messed something up.

 

[monster4g63tawd]

so you have your tentioner on and the pin isnt pushing up on the pulley arm?

 

[CiscoBite1Time]

the tensioner arm does not seem to be moving at all. i dont think the pin is the issue. i dont know. i'll have to look again tomorrow.

 

[GrattinoDSM]

from what i understand, when you remove the timing tensioner, you press the pin in until the little holes line up and put either a small allen wrench, or nail in it, and then mount the tensioner arm and align the timing tensior and arm into desired positions and then pull the (nail/allen wrench) holding the pin in

 

[duzer182]

i am currently doing the same job you are doing, i went and bought the hanes manual and that is helping me out a ton.

 

[gpopppa]

Yes,first thing is to buy a manual,haynes,chilton...either is fine. Second, If the pin is fully out,and still have tension, You have to redo the process. When you buy a tensioner it will come with a grenade style pin going through either side of the tensioner, After tightening everything up and rotating the crank by hand WITH the spark plugs out( its way easier to turn over) You are supposed to be able to put the pin back through. What im reading is that its fully out and thats not a good thing. Just get the manual,do a little searching, and redo it. Its a pain but the more your doing it the more you will learn that it is easier then it looks.

Ahh,i just re-read your post for the 5th time, You don't have the right tensioner pulley correctly tightened. I might be wrong but the two holes aren't horizontal are they? This is the only thing i can think of why the tensi. wait,You say "my pin is still stuck in the autotensioner with no wiggle room", Your supposed to be able to pull it out,then crank over a few times by hand, and then be able to put it back in. Are you cranking it with it in? Its kind of late but i'm confused. Anyway, Id double check your pulley holes,with the tool i guess, Ive always used a big flathead and gently pryed down on it while tightening the pulley itself. Let us know what you find and good luck.

 

[DSM1G90]

Some keep the grenade pin intact in the autotensioner and roll the tensioner pulley until the pin can rotate in the adjuster. Then they lock down the tensioner pulley and the clearance should be close to what the specs require - the .157 to .177 clearance between the tensioner arm and the top of the autoadjuster.

If so, then the pin comes out and you do the rest of the required timing steps. Just remember: this all has to be exact-dead on- no compromises what so ever since you're dealing with a motor that can self destruct if things go haywire.

-DSM

 

[gpopppa]

Interesting, What i got from the manuals and here, is that your supposed to be able to put the pin back in after the 6 cranks or so,That means its good,right? Thats the way i've been doing it.. its those dang balance shafts i have issues with.

 

[94_TSi]

Interesting, What i got from the manuals and here, is that your supposed to be able to put the pin back in after the 6 cranks or so,That means its good,right? Thats the way i've been doing it.. its those dang balance shafts i have issues with.

I have never heard or seen that, i really dont know how that could ever happen. After it has extended it shouldnt retract.

 

[steve]

The auto-tensioner acts like a lash adjuster on the valves. It gives the tensioner arm and tensioner pulley something to press against while the tensioner pulley keeps tension on the belt and the auto-tensioner takes up the little variations.

You start out with the pin in the auto-tensioner holes (rod and casing), you rotate the tensioner pulley against the belt taking up the slack until the belt is tight using the two holes in it to rotate it around the eccentric bolt. When it's all tight enough to make the pin in the auto-tensioner loose, you tighten down the eccentric bolt and wait a bit. If the pin is still loose, you turn the crank over until all the timing marks match back up and wait 15 mins. If the pin is still loose you pull the pin and finish up the job. If it's not, you loosen the eccentric bolt and start adjusting the tension again until you get it right.

On 1G's the two holes in the tensioner pulley are rotated so they are above the eccentric bolt to tighten the belt and on the 2G they are below it.

 

[DSM1G90]

..and if you don't have that special tool to roll the pulley in either direction per which generation of car you have, I use an Allen wrench that will fit in the left hole (1G) and have a socket over that bolt with the 1/4 inch handle attached to that socket ready to snug down that bolt.

The socket acts like the fulcrum for the Allen wrench where I can roll that Allen around the outside of the socket with the short end pulling that pulley around where when I get the right tension spot, I can immediately snug down that bolt, check things out before I torque that bolt down to specs.

Good luck all - DSM

 

[CiscoBite1Time]

i think i have everything back in order but i'm having problems slipping my belt back on. i have the belt over the cam gears. wrapped around the oil sprocket, around the cam sprocket but there's not enough to go around the tensioner pulley. any hints as to how to get that on? i do have the tensioner tool loose with some play in the tensioner pulley and arm.

 

[FLASH1970]

Have you checked out the VFAQ.com website? It has a full write up on doing a timing belt job.

 

[steve]

i think i have everything back in order but i'm having problems slipping my belt back on. i have the belt over the cam gears. wrapped around the oil sprocket, around the cam sprocket but there's not enough to go around the tensioner pulley.

You loosen the tensioner pulley bolt and rotate it forward leaving plenty of room for the belt then rotate it into the belt to apply tension.

This is all pretty basic, have you read the timing belt VFAQs?

 

[LKWTSI]

Here's a pic of mine. I just finished doing the timing belt the way that VFAQ and countless others have suggested. Never used the special tool to rotate the tensioner pulley. I used a pair of needle nose pliers and rotated the pulley clockwise, AFTER, I had slipped the belt over it. As "Steve" is saying in his reply, you have to have the pulley(blue one) rotated to the left, so that the 2 pilot holes in the middle are almost vertical. Once the belt is on, snug up the tightening bolt and rotate the 2 holes to the right, so they end up almost horizontal, this is where the tricky bit is, NOW while holding the 2 pilot holes perfectly still, nip up the tightening bolt and it should all stay in place. If you have done it correctly, then the "grenade pin", should rotate easily and pull out. Now turn the crank over 6 times and leave for 15 minutes. This allows the belt to stretch into. If you can NOW put the "grenade pin" back in the tensioner hole, then you've succeeded. If you can't you'll have to try all over again and follow the steps as instructed, this time, putting slightly more tension on the pulley as you tighten up the bolt.

In my case I tried to be a little to exact and do it a recommended way from other DSM regulars and measure it, hence the drill bit stuck in between the tensioner and the arm.

Once you have the general idea, it's not that hard AND of course I did this outside the car, making the job WAY more easier.

 

[DSM1G90]

...and doing the WP is easier this way too ... That's almost forbidden to do the belt/WP with the motor out ... )

 

[CiscoBite1Time]

i finally got everything on. everything is lined up and tension is set. pin is able to move in and out freely. thanks for all the help. things are that much harder with the motor in the car.