islexusred

Hey just replaced my Timing belt and water pump, everything seemed OK before releasing the tension but after so the mark on left and right don't line up with the crankshaft 0 position.. Turned the engine( with the spark plugs removed to eliminate compression ) multiple times without any resistance whatsoever but the timings just don't line up... What should I do?

ttaylor993

You'll need to start all over. Align the crank pulley to 60 degrees BTDC (the first timing mark). Take the belt off then align the two cam pulleys to the 1st mark. You may have to adjust one or both of them. The trick is to take as much slack out of the right side of the belt as possible when you put it back. Put as much slack as you can on the tensioner side, without moving the pulleys. That way when you release the tensioner, it will be less likely to throw the pulleys out of alignment. Be careful that you don't knock any of the pulleys out of alignment when putting the belt back.

Another trick is to retard the crank pulley slightly and advance the exhaust pulley slightly before you put the belt. Put the belt on then realign the crank and exhaust pulleys. This allows you to take the slack out of the right side of the belt and put it on the tensioner side. So when you release the tensioner it will not pull the pulleys out of alignment. Here's a video on how to do it. Good luck.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Another way to do it if you don't want to keep taking the crank pulley on and off to check the sub timing mark. Use the TDC mark on the cam gears and have the engine set to TDC. There is a marking on the timing gear. This is how I always do it now. Much easier this way rather than taking the crank pulley on/off several times.

islexusred

So can I align the right and the left cam gear individually to the marks without doing any damage to pistons? And also the belt is extremely difficult to slip under the water pump! Also when the belt is mounted on how many revolutions before the timings align again

islexusred

UPDATE
Started all over again! lining up the new timing belt was NO fun. I dont think i was EVER this stressed in my life . But all is fine now, my car started just fine, drove around a block with no issue and it seems quieter than it used to be. so far am happy

GsLexx

Just curios...how long did it take you? im doing mine once it gets a little warmer outside. And did you also replace the thermostat and seals?

ttaylor993

I did mine about a month ago. Although I stretched it out over a two week period, it took about 4 actual hours of work for the timing belt part. This included replacing the water pump and thermostat, cam seals and crank seal. Taking that infamous crank bolt off took the most time. You got to have the right tools for this.

I also changed the valve cover gaskets and spark plugs. You can add another 3 hours for that. It probably wouldn't have taken that long except for all the oil and trash in the plug valleys that needed to be cleaned out before changing the plugs.

repugnante

Yes. My method as well...

islexusred

It took me 2 full days from start to finish even tho I messed up my Timings on day one, started all over on day 2 and all was good. Replaced the water pump, timing belt, the 2 small idlers and the thermostat.
I'll give u one advice, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of nice work gloves. I cut my hands no less than 20 times and they're annoying as hell. And yeah to save some headache put every part you take out in a cup or plastic bag with it screws and label them it'll save you tone of time. The hardest part for me was to put the new timing belt on and align it with the marks. Removing the crankshaft bolt was a piece of cake using the flywheel method, it took me less than 2 minutes.

GsLexx

Nice man and thanks. Was this your first Timing Belt job? Ive never done one so I am excited to get into it. I also watched Jeff's videos a couple times and they are awesome. Thanks Jeff!

ttaylor993

GsLexx, if you hadn't already done so, check out the video in this thread. It's a pretty good example of how to change the TB and WP. It's not as in-depth as Jeff's and doesn't have any audio, but it's still worth watching for a DIY. Plus, it shows it being changed on an engine actually in the engine bay. Another thing Jeff's does not show. Not knocking Jeff's by any means. I liked his so much I've got them saved on my laptop. But this one shows how to take out the radiator, etc.

islexusred

There is also another video on YouTube that does timing belt and water pump on a Ls430, which is almost the same engine as the Gs400. It's a long video but more detailed. Let me know if you want it...

Mikeybnasty

What did you exactly to align the cams and crank when you started all over again? Thanks

dwoods801

What engine are you asking about? The OP never specified which engine he was working on. And it looks like the contributors were giving answers for different engines.
If your doing the timing belt on a V8, you’ll find this thread to be extremely helpful, especially if you haven’t got a lot of experience doing a job that’s critical to get it right. This video will be helpful for any Lexus with a 1UZ VVTi, 2UZ, and 3UZ. I am not that familiar with the 2JZ but i would not think this was very relevant if that’s what your working on.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...ion-notes.html