1G A tensioner problem

[TurboLaserRS]

I have a question that may seem a little stupid but I would rather ask than replace more valves. I have everything all together and ready to go last night, set what we thought was the correct pretension and pulled the grenade pin. Power went out shortly after, so I didn't get to do the six rotations of the crank so I could let it sit and check the tensioner protrusion. So I guess my question is will this be a problem or can I go ahead and pick up where I left off? How hard should it be to turn the motor over with the plugs out? All the marks are still lining up and the belt seems good and taut but doing the drill bit method I'm not sure if I'm in spec or not.

 

[Kng Nothg]

id go ahead to turn it over and recheck timing marks. if you feel some resistance stop and redo the timing. the belt should have a lil more than 1/8in defliction

 

[TurboLaserRS]

It has a bit of resistance but I think that's just the cams. That's normal right? God I feel like an idiot right now.

 

[Kng Nothg]

yes thats normal. its always better to get a second opinon for those just in cace instantces

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Turned over 6 times. Every mark is aligned perfectly as far as I can tell.

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[Kng Nothg]

looks good hows the belt feel?

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Nice and tight. I think its good but I'm not really sure how to use the drill bit to make sure its in spec.

 

[Kng Nothg]

should be good to go

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Should I bother with the drillbit thing then? The figure on vfaq is kind of vague and honestly I don't know how I would even tell if the drill bit did fit. I can't really see it.

 

[Kng Nothg]

honestly ive never used the drill bit method. i just triple check my timing marks and fire it up.

 

[TurboLaserRS]

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[Kng Nothg]

still worring? From what you have told me you should be fine. tensioner looks right.

 

[RamenPride]

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An easy way to check the tensioner gap is to see if the grenade pin will go back in.

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Yeah the pin doesn't go in at all.

 

[Kng Nothg]

Time to fire it up!!!

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Ok I can fit a 6mm allen wrench in barely, so I'm waaaay way out of spec here. I don't have any special tools to recompress the damn auto tensioner either.

 

[TurboLaserRS]

My marks all line up, and my tension is great, but the tensioner gap is around 6mm instead of 4. I've done it like 7 times and I'm going crazy. Is using the threaded rod the only way this can be done? Or should I just run it like this and do my next tbelt job sooner?

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[bryanwheat]

still worring? From what you have told me you should be fine. tensioner looks right.

Stop giving advise, that is not the correct tension.

My marks all line up, and my tension is great, but the tensioner gap is around 6mm instead of 4. I've done it like 7 times and I'm going crazy. Is using the threaded rod the only way this can be done? Or should I just run it like this and do my next tbelt job sooner?

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The tension is way too loose. IF you can't get the pin back in than it isn't right. Tighten it up.

 

[pauleyman]

I don't know why but there are so many stories of timing belt failures it's just plain silly. The manual is VERY clear about what the protrusion should be. It's either right or it's wrong. There is absolutely no subjectivity. To all the guys that said he's good to go please stop giving advice. The OP isn't even close. No way for me to tell from just the pic.
No the threaded rod isn't the only way but it's certainly easy. The other way is to remove the tensioner and use whatever means necessary to slowly compress it and put the pin back in. What happened is you don't have the tensioner pulley quite far enough yet. The drill bit method is just used as a go/no go gauge for a specific measurement. The reason guys suggest putting the pin back in is that is a good gauge of where the tensioner protrusion is. It happens to be perfect right there. It might take you a few tries to get it. You do NOT have to remove the belt each time and you shouldn't even move any marks. You'll know you're getting close when the pin is loose after tightening down the pulley. If necessary you can turn the motor over, line the marks back up and try and retension. Do NOT try and tension with any slack on the idle side. Turning CW even 5 degrees is enough to remove any slack. You don't have the marks on point when tensioning, it's merely convenient. What matters in the end is that when you check all marks do line up and the protrusion of that tensioner is correct.

Just another small comment. If the OP starts the car the way it is it may run fine. That doesn't mean this job is correct. The reason the tensioner needs to be in a specific range is to keep the belt under enough tension within it's lifetime. I've seen them so bad they skip immediately and I've seen them just loose enough to last for a month. As I've already stated, there is no subjectivity in the measurement. Yes it may suck if you're not practiced but it's doable. Even if it took all day, so what? It's been my experience that typicaly people only make the mistake once or twice then they figure out they need to tension a little more, rotate a little more (or less) etc etc. Even recently I took about 4 tries before I got it right. Granted that was only about 10 min but I am practiced. None of us are likely to measure better than any other, some are just faster because of repetition.

 

[TurboLaserRS]

I recompressed the tensioner with a pipe wrench, what a JOY that was. So I got the tensioner mounted back on the car, all I have to do is loosen the center bolt in that pulley and rotate it clockwise until the belt is as tight as I can get it by hand?

 

[Kng Nothg]

Stop giving advise, that is not the correct tension.



The tension is way too loose. IF you can't get the pin back in than it isn't right. Tighten it up.

Pretty funny you say i stop giving advice since I have been doing this for 15 years with out a single issue. Im the type of guy when you cant figure out your problem you bring it to me!

 

[andyb2637]

Yea man that pin should go right back in after six turns. If it doesnt then the timing is too loose and could end up spinning the timing belt off. The Tensioner should have the same gap as it did when you pulled the pin out before the 6 spins. That pic has you all off. Make sure you get that right!

 

[TurboLaserRS]

Well it looks like I got it guys! I can fit a 4mm allen wrench in between with very little play. A 5/32s also fits with a little play, and a 3/16ths is not even close to fitting anymore. How I did it was I stuck a drill bit into one of the holes on the pulley and torqued it clockwise as hard as I could. Then I snugged the pulley centerbolt back down. I can get the grenade pin back in but its really tight. I think this is considered in spec though. Thank you guys. I'm gonna see if she runs today!

 

[pauleyman]

Pretty funny you say i stop giving advice since I have been doing this for 15 years with out a single issue. Im the type of guy when you cant figure out your problem you bring it to me!

Without sounding like I'm taking a shot at you, how can you say those previous pictures were correct? The hole is above the casting. The window to be correct is fairly narrow at .150-.177 in.

It sounds like the OP has it now. It's much easier with at least the 2 pin tool.
I'm going to sound like a broken record and this is not a question for the OP but for anybody reading this thread. What is so difficult about turning the motor over 6 times THEN measuring the protrusion and checking against the spec? I would find it more difficult to get it wrong than right as there is no subjectivity in the measurement. It is either within .150-.177 or it is outside .150-.177. How hard is that? It even tells you in the manual you must rotate the motor over six times. Why? That assures you took the slack out (really doesn't take that many) and it takes six times to get the marks to line back up again. THEn you check the measure. After 20 years of doing this I just fail to understand why this is difficult to understand.

 

[GsxAZman]

The reason I think they say rotate it 6 times and check is to make sure plunger has settled on tensioner and to make sure all tension is out as above person was saying. I have done 4 tbelt jobs on 4g63 motors so I am no expert but I always use the drill bit method and depending on how much tension was used on tensioner pulley equaled how much slack and gap are left at end. Friend did a tbelt job once by the book and didnt check with drill bit and 6 rotations and belt ended up breaking on freeway. I say take the extra steps and do 6 rotations and check with drill bit. I have found the gap increased or decreased on several instances. Better safe than sorry.