Wrong Timing Belt Pulley Installed?

[BeerySquash]

I picked up a Galant GSX last week and have been going through it over the past couple days. I noticed the timing belt is lined up on the cam gears, crank gear, and tensioner pulley, but it's not lined up on the idler pulley. It seems like it's the wrong pulley and is offset too far forward as shown in the photos. Can anyone confirm that their pulley is different, also is the bolt on a flush face or recessed?

 

[ggsxkid]

Yeah I'd say it definitely has the wrong pulley. This is the original. And I'd say get your lower belt cover back on but obviously you have to replace that pulley first judging by how far it's sticking out haha.

 

[BeerySquash]

Yeah I'd say it definitely has the wrong pulley. This is the original. And I'd say get your lower belt cover back on but obviously you have to replace that pulley first judging by how far it's sticking out haha.

Thank you for the pictures, mine looks like it has more bevels before the bearing surface than yours. I found an OEM mits idler from STM for $58 or a Beck Arnley from Rockauto for $20. Do you have any good/bad experience with non-oem pulleys?

The engine didn't come with the lower cover, so I'll have to find one. It has rod knock, so that's first on my list, drop the pan and see the extent of the damage. If I can just get away with new bearings, or if I need to have the crank machined, or worst case the engine needs to come out and go on the stand for a full rebuild.

 

[ggsxkid]

I've always stuck with OEM pulleys. I have seen non OEM fail/lock up. And honestly if you're there doing the one you might as well do all of them along with the belts, tensioner, and water pump. Especially if you don't know when the last time it was all done. And as far as the lower cover goes. Assuming it has the original engine in it any 6 bolt/1g style cover will work.

 

[BeerySquash]

Thanks, I try to use OEM parts on my monteros, so I'll do the same with the Galant. I'm don't want to spend too much on this engine at this point, I just want to get it running. If it seems like it's fairly healthy, then I'll do the timing belt/water pump/tensioner/ on it.

 

[tyeler18]

I've been using gates full timing kits for nearly 15 years without issue. Just use an OEM hydro tensioner. It's like $43 for the gates kit on rock auto.

 

[BeerySquash]

I've been using gates full timing kits for nearly 15 years without issue. Just use an OEM hydro tensioner. It's like $43 for the gates kit on rock auto.

Thanks for the info, the Gates TCK167 timing belt kit is showing $71.79 for me, that's still a good deal though.

 

[ggsxkid]

I've been using gates full timing kits for nearly 15 years without issue. Just use an OEM hydro tensioner. It's like $43 for the gates kit on rock auto.

And that's the beauty of this website. I've never personally used the gates stuff so therefore i wasn't going to go recommending it right off the bat. However I myself am getting ready to install a full gates kit on my car.

 

[BeerySquash]

Like you guys said, probably can't go wrong with most timing belts, no matter the brand, but the tensioner being OEM is likely more important. Too bad it's different than a 6G74, I have a brand new spare Mitsubishi one in the garage.

Can you guys tell me if this is the only location where the bolt needs rtv to prevent oil leak on the front cover, or are there a couple bolts?

 

[diambo4life]

That is a blind hole IIRC. That is for bolting the cover to the block and typically uses the biggest bolt. The one that needs RTV looks like it has already been installed? It's early morning so I could be tripping.

 

[BeerySquash]

That's just a picture I found online, not my engine. Some people say the t-belt tensioner bolts need rtv, and I've also seen some say a motor mount bolt has an oil galley behind it and bolt needs rtv. I'm just trying to figure out how many bolts will need sealed to prevent any leaks.

 

[ggsxkid]

That's just a picture I found online, not my engine. Some people say the t-belt tensioner bolts need rtv, and I've also seen some say a motor mount bolt has an oil galley behind it and bolt needs rtv. I'm just trying to figure out how many bolts will need sealed to prevent any leaks.

I mean I guess it can't hurt to do it. But I personally have never had an oil leak at the tensioner bolts with the two 4g's I've had and multiple t belt replacements. But maybe other people can chime in as to why it may happen?

 

[BeerySquash]

I mean I guess it can't hurt to do it. But I personally have never had an oil leak at the tensioner bolts with the two 4g's I've had and multiple t belt replacements.

It's not something I've had to do on any mitsubishi engines before either. I wouldn't have even looked it up except the previous owner specifically said bolts on the front cover need it and that's where the oil leaked out before this engine got rod knock. There's oil everywhere on the front as you can see on my first pictures, so I don't think I'll be able to guess which bolts just by looking.

 

[toybreaker]

I mean I guess it can't hurt to do it. But I personally have never had an oil leak at the tensioner bolts with the two 4g's I've had and multiple t belt replacements. But maybe other people can chime in as to why it may happen?

^^^ Good post!

It's been a long time since I had a 4g torn down, but I seem to remember that the tensioner body bolts straddled an oil passage. When they are removed during a timing belt service, I can see how the front cover body *could potentially* relax/flex enough to break the bond between the front cover, the super thin paper gasket, and the engine block. The oil could then migrate up the tensioner bolts and present as a leak that would cause one to assume it was from one of the bolts

... just a theory?

 

[iceman69510]

I think the only bolt I have ever sealed is the bolt used to plug the hole when you do balance shaft removal.

Also regarding parts, sometimes Beck Arnley parts are the same as OE.

 

[BeerySquash]

I think the only bolt I have ever sealed is the bolt used to plug the hole when you do balance shaft removal.

Also regarding parts, sometimes Beck Arnley parts are the same as OE.

It does have balance shafts deleted, so maybe that's it? I'll try to get a better look once I get the engine mount and front cover out of the way.

 

[DSSA]

I've been using gates full timing kits for nearly 15 years without issue. Just use an OEM hydro tensioner. It's like $43 for the gates kit on rock auto.

The Gates kits have changed several times over the years.

Up until about 6-7 years ago, they came with the proper Koyo pulley, then they changed them. They've changed them yet again recently.

Gates seems to use whatever they can obtain cheapest at said time.

Their pumps also changed around that time frame. They used to have Japanese (impeller like OEM) units and Chinese units (lower-flowing, cast, disc type). Now they only have the Chinese units.

 

[iceman69510]

When I did the timing belts and water pump jobs on three 3.0 Mitsu (one Galant and two Stratus R/T vehicles) engines a few years ago I bought the Aisin parts kits from Rock auto. They seemed great quality. I have had no issues with them.

Not sure they are available for 4G63, but I will look next time in there.

 

[DSSA]

When I did the timing belts and water pump jobs on three 3.0 Mitsu (one Galant and two Stratus R/T vehicles) engines a few years ago I bought the Aisin parts kits from Rock auto. They seemed great quality. I have had no issues with them.

Not sure they are available for 4G63, but I will look next time in there.

The Aisin parts are good and bad as well. Most "kits" out there have good aspects and bad. That's why we started doing the à la carte aspect with our timing kits. https://jnztuning.com/product/timing-belt-kit-dsm-gvr4-6-bolt-build-your-own/

We're slowly tracking down supply lines for the OEM parts which is a PITA at time. Availability is of course an issue right now, but it also took a while to actually work our way down the line with some of these parts. There are a lot of sellers (Gates is a good example), that will at random times just change suppliers. So, after getting same-as-OEM parts from them for "X" period of time, we'd place a sizeable order for them and find out that we received a completely different product. We now go overseas to buy them direct in bulk---when they're available.

 

[holeshotmoe]

I seem to recall WAY back when, I replaced an idler on my GGSX. I tried to install the replacement idler using the original bolt, but it was too long. Hmmm...so I go looking it up on the VFAQ website and sure enough, the 90's cars used a different part number.
From VFAQ, http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-1G.html, Step 21:
"If you replace the timing belt idler pulley NOTE that early 90s used a different idler pulley than later cars. The early cars used part # MD121993, later cars used MD156604. If you don't know WHICH your car uses, order the MD156604 AND an M10x22 bolt MF241281 and a lockwasher, as the newer idler pulley has a different center, requiring a much shorter bolt."
Sooo...what if whoever installed that idler on your car used the longer original bolt with the newer idler...and the idler is wobbling around wherever it wants, only being held partly taught by the tensioner. Can't believe it hasn't thrown the belt!! Reach down there and see if you can rock the idler around with your hand, or gently with a long screwdriver. On mine, I just cut my original bolt down to the right length (22mm) and added a lock nut.