420A Timing belt install , simply wont go on.

[FastEddyTheBug]

Im at the end portion of my headgasket repair and i simply cant get the belt to have enough slack in it to fit it around the last idler pulley. I will upload picutes.
The steps i put the belt on with

Crankshaft to waterpump
then i swap the sides over to the tensioner pulley (completly untensioned)
i get the belt onto the tensioner pulley and intake cam gear then onto the exhaust cam gear , my problem lyes when i try to get it onto the the last and only idler pulley , the belt simply doesnt have enough slack

 

[Pacey]

Start at the exhaust camshaft followed by the intake camshaft and work your way down going clockwise. You have to make sure the belt it taunt across the camshafts. I just did mine last week and the belt wanted to naturally fall one toooth short on the camshafts (before i removed the old belt I marked the camshafts and belt with whiteout on all of the timing marks so and just transposed those marks to the new belt. That way I would know it was on right once all the marks lined up.) Thats how I knew the belt wasnt stretched tight enough over the camshafts.

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

Also one more thing , my timing cover cracked near the bottem torward the crank , i know its not as safe as running with a timing cover , but it shouldnt affect anything for the mean time with no timing cover correct??

 

[EG Hatch]

Its just going to make it more likely that road debris is going to get up into the belt and cause a failure. It won't inherently cause problems idling in a driveway though.

A cracked cover is still going to be better in the meantime as long as it doesn't drag or interfere with any timing components.

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

ill see what i can salvage, from the cover ill post if i run into any issues here in a min

 

[Dsmkauai]

Go to a junk yard and get a new cover 420a motors are in a bunch of cars bro.

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

It's not getsling the cover that's the prob , its getting to the cover. I have a donor car at a junkyard that I've been pulling stuff off of.

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

The belt still wont go on , ive tryed and hoping yall have another solution. the only other way ive gotten the belt on , is with the tensioner off.

 

[Pacey]

Did you use the tensioner tool to back off the tension from the pully?

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

Tensioner tool??

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

This is the pulley that's causing the issue

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

Sorry bad pic, I'm having to use my cell

All the belt does is come up short around the idler pulley and or tensioner pulley

 

[pauleyman]

People please read. Hes doing an nt 420a belt

 

[Pacey]

The tool I was referring to is basically a long rod that is threaded on the end. It screws into a plug on the firewall side of your timing belt cover. It pushes through the cover and down behind the tensioner. As you screw it in, it relieves tensiones from the pulley allowing you to wrap the belt around the pully.

 

[Dsmkauai]

You need to take the hydrolic tensioner off and put in a vise. Then once it's pushed back in put a small Allen or gernade pin thru the little hole to hold it in place. This will release the tension on the pulley and let the belt slip on. ? Did you get a new hydro tensioner? Cuz you should.
http://2gnt.com/index.php?d=Timing_Belt_Replacement

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

i thought there was somthing up with the pin hole on the hydro tensioner , i will install a new hydro tensioner, money is tight and i have less than a mounth to move and this car needs to by my daily , because my 99 cavalier is nearly completly without motor mounts (mother did it not me)


I will try this method and get back to yall tyvm, also i will be posting timing pictures to make sure i get it right.

 

[FastEddyTheBug]

So the timing belt is installed , but I'm waiting on pulling the pin on the hydro to give tention. So a couple last questions for y'all how does my timing look??

 

[Deve]

The Pics that I see don't show all of the timing marks. When you install the Balance Shaft belt be certain to line the timing mark on the crankshaft sprocket and the balance shaft sprocket. If you have any doubt about the timing on this one, there is a plug on the left side of the engine block prety much just on the otherside of the balance shaft sprocket. Remove the plug and carefully put a phillips head screw driver in the hole about 2.5 inches. With the screwdriver in the hole make certain that the balanceshaft pully doesnt move. If it doesn't then timing is good.
Align the timing marks located on the camshaft, crankshaft and oil pump sprocket. Make certain that the oil pump sprocket wants to rotate torwards the timing mark. If you slightly rotate the sprocket counter clockwise (1/4 to 1/2 inch) the timing mark on the sprocket should try to re-align with the timing mark on the engine by pulling back towards the mark (clockwise) as soon as you let it go. The same should be true if you turn the oil pump sprocket the opposite direction.
In the past I have done this incorrectly and had to redo the installation. Acouple of things I did learn were if you get the cam gears lined up correctly there will be tension between to 2 cams I then ziptie the timing belt at the top of each cam to keep the belt in place as I put the botom half on. I have also seen a tool that can slip inbetween the to pully's and hold timing that way. It is kind of expensive so to save money I took my old timing belt and cut it and turned it inside out and put the ends back to back inbetween the pully's and made my own tool.
Once everything is back in place you should be able to turn the engine around and after 4 or 8 complete rotations (I cant remember how many exactly) all of the timing marks should realign.
Most of this came out of my repair manual, I hope it helps.

 

[ThunderChild]

The Pics that I see don't show all of the timing marks. When you install the Balance Shaft belt be certain to line the timing mark on the crankshaft sprocket and the balance shaft sprocket. If you have any doubt about the timing on this one, there is a plug on the left side of the engine block prety much just on the otherside of the balance shaft sprocket. Remove the plug and carefully put a phillips head screw driver in the hole about 2.5 inches. With the screwdriver in the hole make certain that the balanceshaft pully doesnt move. If it doesn't then timing is good.
Align the timing marks located on the camshaft, crankshaft and oil pump sprocket. Make certain that the oil pump sprocket wants to rotate torwards the timing mark. If you slightly rotate the sprocket counter clockwise (1/4 to 1/2 inch) the timing mark on the sprocket should try to re-align with the timing mark on the engine by pulling back towards the mark (clockwise) as soon as you let it go. The same should be true if you turn the oil pump sprocket the opposite direction.
In the past I have done this incorrectly and had to redo the installation. Acouple of things I did learn were if you get the cam gears lined up correctly there will be tension between to 2 cams I then ziptie the timing belt at the top of each cam to keep the belt in place as I put the botom half on. I have also seen a tool that can slip inbetween the to pully's and hold timing that way. It is kind of expensive so to save money I took my old timing belt and cut it and turned it inside out and put the ends back to back inbetween the pully's and made my own tool.
Once everything is back in place you should be able to turn the engine around and after 4 or 8 complete rotations (I cant remember how many exactly) all of the timing marks should realign.
Most of this came out of my repair manual, I hope it helps.

It's a 420a.

Op, it's hard to tell from your pics, but but it looks like you might be a little off still. Intake looks advanced, exhaust looks retarded. Crank doesn't appear lined up.
Line the crank up correctly, then double check the cam gears. You'll prolly find the exhaust will be dead on and the intake will be advanced a tooth or two.
After you've checked and adjusted accordingly, pull the pin and rotate the motor by hand 6 times and check for the marks to line at TDC again.

 

[Deve]

That is why I am only a Probationary Member! Sorry about that.