Alright, So, I lined everything up, and when I tensioned the belt the cams came out of line a bit(1 to 1/2 tooth), so I took the belt off, and moved the exhaust cam a tooth off, tightened everything and I finally got everything lined up when the belt was tensioned.

is this wrong? everywhere I have read says they need to be lined up from the beginning.
but it seems as if everything is tight and lined up now, the pin in the auto tensioner is loose (arm pushing down on it)

just rotate the engine manually 4 times at least to see if the marks still line up. if i remember correctly, i had to preload the exhaust cam to line up the marks then i installed the timing belt. good luck.

Quoting chicagoboostin:
Alright, So, I lined everything up, and when I tensioned the belt the cams came out of line a bit(1 to 1/2 tooth), so I took the belt off, and moved the exhaust cam a tooth off, tightened everything and I finally got everything lined up when the belt was tensioned.

is this wrong? everywhere I have read says they need to be lined up from the beginning.
but it seems as if everything is tight and lined up now, the pin in the auto tensioner is loose (arm pushing down on it)




Do Not roll it over if you belive you have a tooth or so off.

Make sure that your lines are at the propper positions.
I use a 12" steel ruler as a straight edge to line the marks up from outter edge to outer edge.
Below is a pic that shows you how the inner marks will actually sit below the outer marks by roughly 1/2 tooth.

When the timing belt is removed, the exhaust cam likes to retard a degree or two, so having to advance it clockwise a hair is normal. It even shows in the FSM using two wrenches to hold the sprockets in the correct position and then to clamp or tie-wrap the belt to them so that you can thread it around the rest of the pulleys without worry of the belt slipping.

turbowop is right. i just did this yesterday. i used zipties on the sides and tops of the belt to hold it on the gears. also when i do the timing if anything moves at all i take the belt off and start over just to be sure.

Buy this to make your life easier forever. Click

You can buy each item individually as well.

lets face it. if you actually have the right tools, it takes all the fun out of it

true. i dont own a single specialty tool and i still get it done. whatever makes you feel special, right?

lol... yep. as far as that goes, if the belt stays on and keeps the timing true, i could care less how you do it.

+1 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

LOL wtf?? Is the noob brigade just out to do sh*t wrong and try to get others to do the same or something? Don't tell people not to buy the proper tools. If you want things done right you buy the right stuff.

^^^^

I have part of the right tools. It really does make the job easier. I don't have the tool for the auto tensioner pulley. I just push on it and try over and over and over till the tension is right.

Yes, you can do it without the tools, but it is not easier, to do it right will take longer. If you've personally figured out a quick way to do it without the tools, and to do the job RIGHT, then um, make a vfaq.....

smoothcustomer: i know i'm the new guy but what difference does it make how you do something as long as the end result is the same?

The difference is hours over minutes, and the op was having trouble doing exactly what that tool would do for him. A lot of people on here can't afford to have their cars JSBing forever because they have to redo their timing 15 times.

get what your saying and your right. i'm pretty patient when doing my timing belt and i make sure i get it right. but it would save me some time if i had the right tools.

some of us have the skills but no money for the right tools. it may be easy for some to just buy whatever they need to do things perfect and fast but in the end my timing is right and so is theirs. if i could throw around money for every specialty tool i ever needed then i would probably be able to afford more than one gvr4 as well

Well, I hope you have as much money as a full time college student with no job. If you guys really think that $50 is too much for 3 specialty tools, then how the hell can you afford anything for your car?

thats how. i spend that $50 and wutever else i save on tools on the car.

i just don't buy the tools because its money i can save, its not required to do the job, yes it is nice to have and makes it easy and takes the guess work out of it. but, its something i wont' use often enough to justify spending $50 on when i can do the job just as good with basic hand tools. not try to make anyone mad here, just letting you know why i personally don't have one.

and just to add to the point of this post, as for holding down your timing belt while you run it around all the pulleys and set the timing, i found that wood clamps worked perfectly, zip ties would probly work too, i have never done it that way but if some else says it works, then i guess it works /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif