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Resolved......Fray in my Timing Belt?

WaRrIoRs16

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Mar 23, 2008
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373
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Ferndale, WA
I have a fray in my timing belt and I figured it was just the oil pan bolts, but apparently not. I pulled three bolts, two from the spot where the short bolts go and one from another spot. Well the two short ones were definitely in the correct position. I'm going to pull the timing belt maybe tomorrow and see whats going on. Any ideas on what may have caused this? Poor timing belt job? Debris in the covers? I really don't want to put on a new timing belt without finding the source of the damage.
 
Last edited:

4thStroke

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Oct 22, 2007
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1,864
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Vancouver, WA
I had the same experience with my timing belt. I replaced it and never did figure out what it was.

Do you run with the upper belt cover? I had mine on for a while and took it off so I could keep an eye on the belt. Lo and behold, I found that fray on the side.
 

WaRrIoRs16

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Mar 23, 2008
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Ferndale, WA
Yes the cover upper timing belt cover was used. It has 18k miles on a complete timing belt job from the dealership as well.
 

transparentdsm

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Jul 27, 2011
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Cherry Hill, NJ
have you ever had your oil pan removed? if so there are two bolt right at the bottom of the crankshaft that are supposed to be short, if those bolts aren't the right two and are longer then should be then the bolts will rub against the belt and can cause what you are experiencing.
 

thedsmguy

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Mar 20, 2009
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I would maybe think one of your small pulleys might have some sort of nick in it causing some very small damage to the belt every time it goes around?
 

WaRrIoRs16

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Ferndale, WA
I'm going to try and pull the belt off tonight and check out the pulleys for any imperfections. If I can't find anything, do you guys think its too risky to try and just flip the timing belt and see if it starts rubbing on the other side of the belt before I put on the new belt?
 

prove_it

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Jul 3, 2008
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Sioux Falls, SD
^^^ Not a good idea. Your belt has already worn in the direction it's been rotating. Putting a belt on in reverse CAN cause the belt to fail. I could pretty much for sure that it will wear anyway. Do a disassembly and carefully check each pulley for nicks, damage and misalignment issues.
 

WaRrIoRs16

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Ferndale, WA
I wasn't going to try and drive it in that manner. If I couldn't find anything wrong, I would rather put the old belt back on in the other direction to see if it still has something messing it up before I ruin a new belt. It almost looks like the backing plate between the sprocket and the BS sprocket might have been put on backwards from what I was reading.
 

Barnes

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Feb 9, 2003
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Richland, WA
Quote:
It almost looks like the backing plate between the sprocket and the BS sprocket might have been put on backwards from what I was reading.



This is exactly what I was going to ask if you checked or not.
 

WaRrIoRs16

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Ferndale, WA
Well I can't tell whether the backplate is installed the correct way or not. I can't find any up close pictures to compare it to. It doesn't look like it has been rubbing it but I don't know for sure. The only thing I could spot right away was that the tension on both the timing belt and the BS belt was not tight enough. The tensioner was almost completely pressed down and the t-belt tensioner pulley was at around 9 o'clock. Also my balance shaft belt looks the same as my t-belt, just on the drivers side of the belt. Maybe the backplate is on backwards and ruined the passenger side of the t-belt and the drivers side of the BS belt? I have a video of the slop in the BS belt. click




 

pauleyman

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Feb 27, 2011
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Oklahoma City, OK
If you put the plate on backwards it's not possible to put all the timing marks in their correct place. Take the plate off and look at it.
 

WaRrIoRs16

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Mar 23, 2008
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Ferndale, WA
Okay thanks for the tip. The timing does line up perfect, so it must be on correctly.

I found the culprit! ...of the timing belt at least.



The little tab on that sheet metal cover was bent out towards the belt.


I found this on the waterpump just below the tab as well as more smaller pieces.

I'm going to remove that cover and straighten it out. Now I just have to figure out why the BS belt has similar symptoms.
 

GSX_TC

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Apr 7, 2011
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Location
Houston, Texas
arent you glad you didnt flip the timing belt haha
 
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