Timing belt 4g63.

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

A few days ago I got home from work, and decided to paint my fuel rail. I remove and paint it within a few hours, and attempt to put the rail back in. I do ot have the timing cover for my car; the previous owner was kind enough to loose it for me. Anyhow, one of the spacers that sits between the fuel rail and the engine head must've fallen out as i was bolting the rail back down, and got itself lodged betwwen my timing belt and some other componet. i thought i had it all back together, so i went to kick my engine over. I immdietally heard i grind and removed the key(The engine never started. I attempted to turn it on and it didnt turn over). Then i went and looked to find the problem, and the spacer ate the center of my timing belt out. (This means my belt still had tension, it just essentially became two belts.) I do belive it slightly jumped time doing this, maybe about 3 or 4 teeth on the cams. I then bought a new Timing belt along with the new pullys and gaskets. A friend of mine brought to my attention that i should buy a new tensioner as well, so i did. I removed my power steering/ alternator pullys, ans well as the ac belt to access my timing componets. I removed the belt, tensioner and pullys and installed the new componets. I made sure that all the timing marks were alligned, and the pulled the pin from the tensioner.( the only gear I'm afraid might not be alligned right is my crank. the internet shows about 6 differnt timing marks, and my haynes repair manual shows another. I alligned it according to my manual.) I then put the car back together so to speak, and went to kick it over again. No grinding sounds or what not, however the engine didnt turn over. I tried twice and called it quits hoping that i still haven't damaged my rods or valves. Basically my question is did i do something wrong? the only reason i didnt use the search is because my engine wasnt running when my belt broke. Therefore my situation is different than all the other Q&A's i've seen. Any help that anyone could give to help shed some light for me would be very much appreciated. (And sorry to the moderators if i used poor grammer. I tried my best, and i guess my punctuation comes from a high school diploma only.)

 

[1983gsp]

Make sure the cam dowels are at 12 o'clock with the engine at top dead center and the alignment marks on the cams are facing each other. After you aligned everything and pulled the pin its good practice to rotate the engine 6 revolutions by hand and then recheck your timing marks.

If it checks out as good, then do a compression test to make sure you didn't bend a valve.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

well, I didn't remove the valve cover or pull the spark plugs. I was hoping since it didnt "break" all I'd have to do is just reallign the cams marks, as well as the crank, and the other two pullys, cant remember what their purposes are. but i did rotate the belt by hand 6 revolutions like you said, was hard, but thats just because i didnt pull the plugs so i was fighting compression. but they realligned, and i didnt hear any major noises like lifter clicks, I cant quite tell but i might be hearing a slight noise out of the crank, but i think thats expected out of the 7 bolt motors.

 

[Frickadella]

Go look up the VFAQ for your timing belt: FAQ Locator Engine It's kind of hard to not see the crank timing marks, so not sure where you put those. But make sure you followed the procedure correctly.

By not turn over, you mean not run, not turn, or no starter crank?

And noise out of the crank? You lost me there.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

by turn over i mean engine running. starter and all that are fine. It sounds like its about to run, but it dosent "turn over." I meant their might be a slight click coming from the crank as it rotates, but its possible it might just be to much stress on my socket wrench(lack of professional tools..i know.) you hear that the 2nd gens have that crank-walk issue, so im assuming if that faint noise is coming from the crank, its nothing to worry about. but thanks for your post, im going to check the link right now.

 

[galantlvr34]

You made sure the balance shafts are lined up to right if you do still have them?You also made sure it was at TDC before lining the timing marks up right.

 

[whtgst]

Make sure the balance shafts are lined up. When I do timing belts with balance shafts, I rotate the one shaft a few times by hand. but I only spin them, kind of like spinning a bearing in your hand, and letting it stop on its own. it will almost line up with the mark on its own. you may need to move it a little. but if you do it this way, you dont have to worry about the weight of the balance shaft turning the pulley while you put the belt on. the other one will stay wherever you put it. Thats how I did my car, and thats how I always do honda accords too. Never had a problem. Also, how does the engine sound when cranking? Is it a normal healthy crank, or does it just sound like the engine is just spinning?

 

[dsmspickdad]

Check the crank sensor and cam sensor, for damage and voltage output.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

Thanks for the help guys, but I'm still just getting the basic understanding of how engine internals work. I'm not really sure how or where to line up balancer shafts, nor do i know what a TDC is, if someone might be able to post a link with info i'd appreciate it. A friend of mine told me to replace my harmonic balancer, not really sure what that is or where its located either. as for the sound of the crank, its sounded good, a little high pitched, but if i remember right its the correct sound for my 4g63. i only tried to turn it twice after i got the new belt on. about 3 seconds per crank. it shouldve kicked in that time, and i don't want to risk more damage. i followed the link for the crank shaft timing marks, but still am at a sort of loss. does anyone maybe have a close up image with highlighted marks or something? i think that would really help. But seriously, keep me updated on info. if possible, like i said, i can do engine external work, and have a basic understanding of internals. I don't want this to happen, but if i go a few more days without luck, I'm afraid I'll call it quits, and save money for a new engine(really hope i don't have to do that.) (Advice is greatly appreciated.)

 

[Frickadella]

Timing Belt VFAQ Figure 4 shows all the timing mark locations and where they should all be at the same time. http://i47.tinypic.com/juhiso.jpg Crank timing marks clearly shown here at 10'o'clock position. And be sure to follow the instructions for aligning the oil pump or your balance shafts could be out of phase.

It's clear your friend didn't look at your harmonic balancer before telling you to replace it, or he would have picked it up and showed it to you. It is the large hub that you removed from the end of your crankshaft to change the timing belt. The only reason to replace it is if you broke it, or the rubber between the center hub and outer is broken or decayed really bad.

Not sure why you'd shell out mucho dinero for a new engine when you don't know what's wrong yet, but it's your money. I highly recommend a leak down test to see if you damaged any valves. Also, check your camshaft position sensor for damage from that spacer that got in there. Photobucket | 2g Pictures, 2g Images, 2g Photos

Oh, and TDC means Top Dead Center and refers to when a piston is at the very top of it's travel. When you line up the crank position markers, you're at TDC for the #1 piston, right where you want to be.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

Alright guys, so i made a little progress... i ripped everything back apart, and made sure the engine was TDC, and all marks on. went to turn the key... same old nothing. i was beginning to think i wasnt getting the fuel flow, and i hooke my rail up wrong or something. before i removed that again i wanted to check the ignition to see if i was getting a spark. i removed my coilpack and took it down to autozone to have them test it. checked out good. went back home, and went to bolt it back down when i noticed that my friend hooked my spark plug wires up wrong so after slapping him across the face i rewired them, and a spark was born. went to turn the key and i blew my fuel rail oring. i can only find the oring at mitsu so looks like ill know tomorrow if she'll run(i hope). ill update and let you know what i find out.

 

[ed1380]

autozone or any parts store will have o-rings. if they dont then any hardware store

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

autozone told me no they did not, as did shucks oreilys. i brought my old one to napa, but the one they replaced it with blew out instantly. mitsus going to charge 5 bucksfor the 1 ring, but i suppose if its sturdy it'll be worth it.

 

[galantlvr34]

Yeah you are better off with one from the dealer.I have quite a bit of stuff from the dealer on my car and the dealer prices actually are pretty reasonable for some stuff.The reason i get stuff from them is it is exact fitment and the stuff lasts.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

Problem Solved. Unfortunetally, even though my belt did not break, and only jumped a few timing notches, i still bent all the valves. but hey, it all worked out for the best, i was leaking coolant in cylinder 3 anyhow. so with all new gaskets and valves, she drives better than ever. Even the turbo spool sounds healthier. my point being that with these interferance motors, if anything, anything happens to the timing mark placement, you bent a valve. i hope this helps anyone with similar problems, and now being very familiar with how it all works(just fixed last week) I'd be happy to answer any questions someone might have. Good luck DSMer's