# Timing belt mis-hap



## scurt (Aug 27, 2010)

I thought I would save a few extra buck doing it (water pump, timing belt, tensioner's, cam seals, etc.) myself. As I said before (posted in the DIY thread), my timing mark on the crank and my big holes on the 'diamond washers' on the cam's were not lining up. Someone had obviously done this before; I did the best I could, but I messed it up. I finished everything(else) tonight, flushed the coolant and tried to start it up, a hideous noise came from my engine :what:

I shut it down literally one second later... My question is am I totally f***ed? Hopefully I didn't bend the valves.. my best guess would be to take it in to a shop and have them time it for me. 

Save a noob :thumbup:


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

Well first of all, explain what you mean by "not lining up". How much was it off by? Comparing the TDC mark on the crank to the position of the cam sprockets isn't the most precise way of checking the timing. It can be off a little bit. Not sure how much is too much for the 2.8, but usually if you can see the mark on the crank at all, it's not going to ram a valve. If you think about it, every time the crankshaft goes around once, the camshaft makes half a turn. So if the crankshaft mark is off by 10 degrees, the camshaft is only off by 5.

Second, what exactly did it sound like? If valves met pistons, you would hear a very loud "clackety-clack", like a drum-roll on a cast-iron crock pot. If it was more of a squealing noise, like stepping on a banshee's throat, then it's probably a pulley that's not installed properly. Since you actually had to turn the engine off yourself, I'm guessing you didn't bend valves.


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## scurt (Aug 27, 2010)

The mark on the crank was about an inch past where it should have been. The direction in both the timing belt kit and the bently manual said as you come up on that mark your cam washers, the 'diamond shaped' ones will line up inwards. I rotated the engine multiple times trying to get it perfect but it just was not going to line up. I got it close.

The noise was definitely a "clackety-clack"


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

scurt said:


> The noise was definitely a "clackety-clack"




Off by an inch at the crank pulley, I'm guessing, is 15-20 degrees. If you're lucky, you didn't do serious damage. About all you can do is adjust the timing properly and see if it runs OK. It's not worth replacing valves (minimum would be 12) at that age, if you're going to be paying somebody else to do it.

Just read your other post... didn't you use the locking bar and crank pin? 

Edit: Also, did you turn the crankshaft two full turns by hand once it was all together? If the timing was off enough to cause valves to bend, you would not have been able to.


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## scurt (Aug 27, 2010)

O_o said:


> Edit: Also, did you turn the crankshaft two full turns by hand once it was all together? If the timing was off enough to cause valves to bend, you would not have been able to.


 ^ That give me hope. After everything was bolted together yes I rotated the engine multiple times. Nothing seemed off then. 

I did use the crank pin. The locking bar, no. I used it to break the bolts on the cam.. but it wouldn't bolt across as the washers didn't exactly line up. 

I am going to take it to a local guy and have it looked at tomorrow (adjust the timing/inspect valves). Should run me a couple hundred.


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

scurt said:


> I did use the crank pin. The locking bar, no. I used it to break the bolts on the cam.. but it wouldn't bolt across as the washers didn't exactly line up.


 ??!? 

Do you mean they didn't line up with each other? Or weren't lined up when the crankshaft was at TDC? And, when you say you "used it to break the bolts on the cam", are you talking about the belt sprockets?


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## scurt (Aug 27, 2010)

Yes the belt sprockets. They would line up, just not a TDC. I am not talking about using the crank pin to break the bolts, I am talking about the cam locker, the three peice tool that goes across. I held that in place so they would not move.. 

Anyway, the car is now at the shop. I will just have to wait and see. :banghead:


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## scurt (Aug 27, 2010)

lucky me. All timed up, compression is right around 215 in all cylinders. 

I was scared there for a minute... :laugh:


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