Consequences of a bad timing belt DIY?

[lantol]

Hey guys

I've been doing alot of research about the timing belt job for 2001 camry 5s-fe and I was wondering if I did the allignment wrong for the belt, how badly would it screw up the engine?

[fenixus]

it wouldn't. engine is non-interference, it would just be unable to start (if completely out of alignment) or run poorly (e.g. 1-2 teeth off).

[Yuko]

^ +1. No possibility for bend valves or damage pistons. I have done that before and was off by five teeth. Fixed and runs perfectly.

[lantol]

thanks fenixus and yuko! just one more thing, is there anything in the timing belt job which could do serious damage?

[thaharlequin]

Maybe if you tried to pry the crank pull off w/ a crowbar or leave the crank bolt loose, but as long as you use the proper tools and torque everything according to spec you'll be fine. I recommend a 2x6 w/ a smaller ~1" piece of wood to provide spacing when you need to tighten the crank bolt back up.

[iinh3]

I recently did my timing belt, water pump, cam seal, crank seal, oil pump seal and oil pump gasket using the DIYs on TN. Like a previous poster said, just use the right tools and follow the steps in the DIY methodically, and you shouldn't have any problems.

The only problem I had was that I put the gear back on the oil pump backwards and didn't notice my mistake until I had it back on the car. I had to take it off and reverse the gear. That cost me 15 minutes or so, but not a real big deal.

My car started and ran fine on the first try after I had it all put back together.

[Yuko]

There was no damage but I left a ½” drive ratchet and socket on the crankshaft bolt, when to start the engine and the next thing I know; I heard a loud bang and the ratchet flew across the shop floor. Also, took me a while to find the stocking in the engine bay. Rookie mistake

Like they said earlier, use the right tools (keep track of them) and torque anything to spec and you should be find.