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timing belt question

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2alpha

15+ Year Contributor
51
0
Aug 15, 2006
Fairbanks, Alaska
I have searched the forums on here trying to figure out something I ran into while putting on my timing belt on my rebuilt engine. The problem i came across was..when i try to line uop the timing notches on the cams...i can only get either the two i the center lined with the head or the two on the outside lined with the head. What i mena is when i try and center up the timing notches acording to my manual...the outside notches are about half a tooth too high...same goes for if i line up the outsides...the insides seem to be a half a tooth off...is this a problem...can someone help me?
 
You'll want to only be looking at the inner two marks on the cam gear. You'll know when they're lined up if you stick a straight edge through the inner two marks and the straight edge passes through the center of both cam gear bolts. Hope this helps.
 
I use a straight edge and line up all four straight across. Havent had a problem yet doing it that way.
 
I'm not sure what the proper terminology is, but consider that the belt (and cam gears) have a pattern that goes tooth, gap, tooth, gap,...
The intake cam gear should have the inner mark on a tooth, the exhaust mark should be on a gap.
When these marks are aligned, the top spoke (where the dowel pin is) of the five spoke pattern on each of the gears will point straight up to a tooth on the cam gear which will sit into a gap on the timing belt.
Between these two GAPS on the BELT there should be exactly 15 TEETH on the BELT. With a new belt, this sometimes means that the marks will not be EXACTLY aligned until the belt is under tension.
Hope this helps.
 
well i'm sure that i have them in the right way because i believe its the intake one that has the sensor attached it the other end of it...therefor leaving the notches in it. correct me if i am wrong. Also i have been using a straight edge to try and line up the teeth but like i said its about a half a tooth off. I really just don't want to mess up my engine haha. but my notches line up tooth with gap. so i don't know yet.
 
use a straight edge across the center of the cam gear bolts. It's very easy to mistake the location of the hill/valley when eyeballing it trying to find a line across the 4 cam marks. Use the center of the cam bolts and align the marks to that edge.
 
As yokotobrat and selmerguy said... use a straight edge through cam bolt centers and "inside" marks on the cam sprockets.

The stock cam sprockets (but not the cams) on at least some of our cars were interchangable; so each one has marks on both sides. One is in a tooth "valley", one is on a "peak". Look at one of your cam sprockets. Because of the above, you can't actually run a straight edge through one mark, the bolt center, and then the other mark.

So... use a straight edge through the two bolt centers and the marks on the spockets that are closest to each other (in between the cam bolts).
 
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