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I'm having trouble lining up the timing belt correctly. I bought one that was supposed to be "oem" but the marking was all wrong. Went to autozone and bought a duralast timing belt, but now it's off by 1 tooth on the left cam shaft. If I move the belt over 1 tooth so the left and right cam shafts line up, the crank shaft belt line will no longer line up. Any suggestions?
Is there a directional arrow somewhere on the belt and does it say which marks are for the cams? What "OEM" brand did you get initially?
No directional arrows, no marks indicating which is for cams, they're all in solid lines. I had to line it up with the old timing belt to see which line was for which.
The "oem" was a Mitsubishi belt from aisin tkt-024 replacement kit
Do you have the pin pulled from the tensioner? Have to pull the pin then rotate the crank twice and check the marks on the timing gears against the backing plate (the timing belt marks won't line up anymore). I would put the Mitsuboshi belt back if the marks are lined up you're good.
Do you have the pin pulled from the tensioner? Have to pull the pin then rotate the crank twice and check the marks on the timing gears against the backing plate (the timing belt marks won't line up anymore). I would put the Mitsuboshi belt back if the marks are lined up you're good.
I have not yet pulled the pin on the tensioner, i thought all the lines from the belt must line up first before i pull the tensioner and rotate the crank?
I have not yet pulled the pin on the tensioner, i thought all the lines from the belt must line up first before i pull the tensioner and rotate the crank?
Yes but until the tensioner is extended the slack won't be taken up in the belt and the belt/cam marks won't line up the backing plate.
Not sure if this helps but here is the trick I did on mine.
1) I put a C clamp on the front cam sprocket holding it tight to the metal backing plate so it can't move.
2) Next I rotated the rear cam forward one tooth so I can put the T-belt's timing mark line on the proper cam sprocket tooth without a fight.
3) Next, with the front cam sprocket still secure from spinning, I rotate the rear cam back into position and check my marks with all belt slop removed.
4) Checking the marks on the cam sprockets line up with the marks on the metal rear cover, it should be dead on perfect or near perfect.
Plz make sure if you replaced the idler between the cam sprockets is the same size as the original.
Procedure is to lock the cam + belt [I use a zip tie] on the firewall side cam and then wrap it around the radiator side cam [with no slack and zip tie if needed ... you can even turnt he cam with a socket]] and then match the finale mark at the crank pulley ... again with no slack [you can put the bolt on the crankshaft and use a socket to take-up all the slack]. That leaves all the slack on the tensioner side. I assume there are marks on the belt. .. [the marking on the belt helps but are not essential, but are convenient to ensure there is no slack between the the three].
Salim
ps: Use the phone camera to get a strait up view of the markings of the firewall side cam.
Last edited by salimshah; Mar 29, 2022 at 05:53 PM.
Reason: PS
I can see you have alot of slack in the belt from the crank gear to the rh cam gear, you need to take the clamp off the cam gear and get all the slack to the tensioner side. both cam gears look like they will line up but it looks like the keyway on the crank gear is at 10 o'clock, is it at #1 TDC ?
It looks like in the pic that your forward cam gear is actually past the timing mark on the cover. Setting the front gear at the covers mark should align the rear mark with the cam/cover and white line on the belt. I always mark the old belt before I remove it, reference each gear to the belt, draw an arrow indicating the direction the belt turns. I then remove the belt, count the teeth between the marks, hold the old belt next to the new belt, see if the marks line up, verify the same tooth count on the new belt as the old one. I’ve always counted teeth, this could save you a lot of agony on an interference fit engine. Then like Margate says, his method is good for keeping slack out of the belt. I always turn the engine over twice by hand, install lower pulley and bolt, use a 1/2 long ratchet and extension to turn the engine, verify the gears align with their marks, the paint marks will not align after turning over twice by hand. Keep in mind it is possible to put the belt on in reverse rotation and the marks won’t line up as they should.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions! This forum is always so helpful. After using margate's technique and much cursing the belt did finally line up and the car did end up starting again.
Counting the teeth would have been helpful but when I was trying to get the crankshaft removed with a breaker bar, the crankshaft ended up shifting inside. Had to buy a 3/4 impact to get it off and by that point the old timing belt was impossible to use as a reference.
Tip: Fresh belt can be mounted either way, but for the marks to lineup, there is a front and back of the belt.
Once the belt i+ gears are spun, the marks on the belt will no longer line up [the cam and crank will line up with every 2 turns of the crank shaft.
It's quite easy thread the belt on, don't install the upper idler yet. Clamp down the belt on your cam gears (belt marks matched to gears) then install the upper idler you'll have to rotate one or both cam gears to get enough slack. Pull the tensioner pin and you're done.
Timing belt off by 1 tooth?
