Replacing timing belt/need help

[irishdad]

Hi all, we have a 1996 Camry LE (4 cylinder, 2.2L) and the timing belt broke. Getting all the parts tomorrow & hope to get it fixed. Plan on changing the water pump & some seals to fix some oil leaks as well(since I'll have access). Anyway, it has been quite some time since I've had to do the timing on any car so I could use some help. I've seen some good internet posts on this board and another, but I wish they were more detailed in the area of doing/setting the timing when the timing belt is broken/off. I see many posts about being a "tooth off" and the trouble that can cause and I don't want to have that problem. I also see post references to top dead center (TDC) & I am not 100% sure how to set that, or if I even have to worry about that if I line up some marks on the crankshaft pulley & the camshaft pulley. (Not 100 % sure of what marks either). Anyone have a good (and simple) explanation or a link that details how to set the timing (pictures would be helpfull too). I appreciate everyone's help & I thank you all in advance for your assistance!!

[BMR]

Originally Posted by irishdad

Anyone have a good (and simple) explanation or a link that details how to set the timing (pictures would be helpfull too). I appreciate everyone's help & I thank you all in advance for your assistance!!

Yup, gotcha covered!.. 3X.

Here's thread #1, part 1. followed by part 2

Here's thread #2.

And here's thread #3.

[ten11]

Just did mine this weekend, set the crack at tdc (when the notch on the crack points to the 0 on the timing cover) Then line up the hole in the cam with the notch (sort of looks like a v) which is located in the 12 o'clock position with respect to the tilt of the engine. After you get the belt on spin the crank 720 degrees and make sure all the marks line up again.

[irishdad]

Thanks, I have seen thread 1(parts 1 & 2) before but threads 2 & 3 should be very helpfull. My problem is that the belt is broken/off-not there. In these threads they are changing a belt that is still on the car, so if the car is running alright before-hand, and they mark the belts right, timing should not be an issue. My situation requires that I start with no belt on(it broke/ shredded) and so I don't know if I can trust the positions of the crankshaft and the camshaft. I was hoping to find something that showed what do do in my situation, (ie.: basically having to get the crankshaft & the camshft in the exact right spot, and get the belt on correctly so I don't find myself with a car the won't start, or runs crappy because it is a "tooth-off"). Any thoughts, ideas??

[ten11]

It doesn't matter if the belt broke off or not, car should start and run fine if you just follow the instructions i wrote above, just remember set crank to tdc and then the hole in the cam pulley should line up with the notch (kind of looks like a v) behind it.

[mail2_jb]

Just to reiterate ten11's post,after you set both marks (cam and crank), you MUST rotate the crank 2 times and check again to for alignment. All you need to know is for one rotation of crank, the cam rotates 2 times. It doesn't matter your belt broken or not as long as the marks are aligned after 2 crank rotations.

Use the starter blip method to remove the crank pulley (it takes less than 3 sec to loose that pulley in this way). I did my TB change (first time) using the methods on these great posts from here only.

[irishdad]

Hi all, We just got the timing covers off (top & bottom) and the belt is NOT broken in half like we thought. We had seen little chunks of the belt material so we knew something is wrong and figured the belt had broken, especially since the rotor inside the distributor did not move when we cranked the engine briefly. However, when we got the lower timing belt cover off, we can see lots of missing teeth from between the crank pulley up to the oil pump drive pulley?? Not sure what could have caused this?? We turned the crank to help loosen the crankshaft bolt so we know the engine/crankshaft turns. Anyone have an idea? Could it be the oil pump/drive?? Basically 5 to 6 inches of teeth on the timing belt are shaved off between the crankshaft pulley & the oil pump drive pulley. However, the oil pump moves with a little effort, along with the camshaft pulley, the idler, the tension-er, and crankshaft pulley. There is a LOT of oil that has inside the timing cover so perhaps the excess oil caused the problem, or at least contributed to the trouble. Well, I am going to clean the oil and engine gunk that is on the parts we taken off so far and check this board a little later to see if anyone has any advice or suggestions. Thanks again in advance for all assistance!

[ten11]

Hmm, check the water pump see if that spins freely? You might as well replace the oil pump seal and oil pump shaft seal, that might be the cause of the oil leak along with the crank seal. I did not replace my cam seal because there was no sign of any leak but you might want to replace that too. After you have changed all the seals and water pump, just double check to make sure everything spins freely before you put on the new belt.

[irishdad]

I do want to change the camshaft seal but I am unable (so far) to get the camshaft pulley off. Any ideas on how to remove are welcome. I tried wrapping the old timing belt around the camshaft pulley while I turned the bolt loose but I couldn't stop the pulley from moving. Need to find a way to get the camshaft pulley off. Also wondering if I should use any gasket sealer on the water pump gasket.

[ten11]

I know that if you take the valve cover off you can stop the cams from moving. There is also a special tool you can use to hold the cam pulley in place, try your local auto zone they might have it as a loaner tool. I didn't put any sealer on the water pump gasket the first time and had a leak, it can't hurt to put it on that's for sure.

[ten11]

http://www.baktasht.com/_html/hosted/timingbelt2.html

http://toyotarepair.intuitwebsites.com/Tools-Parts.html

btw these might help you when you put it back together

[JohnGD]

The oil pump should spin quite easily and smoothly. See if the water pump turns smoothly as well. But the water pump should be replaced every time you change out the belt (and vice versa).

Usually it's the water pump, but the oil pump is the next suspect.

Originally Posted by irishdad

we can see lots of missing teeth from between the crank pulley up to the oil pump drive pulley?? Not sure what could have caused this??

[irishdad]

The water pump moves OK. Now we are trying to get all the bolts off the water pump & noticed one hole has a Phillips screw head, which naturally is to tight to get to turn. UUUUGGGGGHHH!!!! And we are having NO LUCK getting the cam pulley off. Two steps forward & one back, or the other way around. Anyone know some shortcuts? Don't want to pull the valve cover off if I don't have to. Trying to fabricate a home-made flat bar tool to hold the camshaft pulley while I turn the bolt. I really want to change all the seals since there was so much oil on the old belt.

[JohnGD]

The I4 valve cover gasket is known to leak like a sieve. So if you think you're having a leak problem I'd also change it out. Wipe clean the surfaces with alcohol, reseal the semi-circular plugs (making sure no old RTV falls into the cylinder head), and use dabs of RTV at specified points. You can buy $1 RTV from some dollar stores, unless you have some half used $7-8 Permatex Ultra-Black or Ultra-Copper around. If you pull the front cam cap to change the seal you also need dabs of RTV to seal the cap too.

Do you have a torque wrench? Harbor Freight has them on sale from time to time. As far as the cam sprocket bolt, the Home Depot pulley holding tool (home-made) will work, so is using a large crescent wrench holding the cam with the cover off.

Home-made tools:
home made tool to tighten camshaft sproket nut

Also, I'd double check the oil pump operation. Here is a sample list of parts to replace in a complete timing job. What are you changing?

GATES K030295 Micro-V AT Power Steering Belt $5.14
GATES K050435 Micro-V AT Alt/AC Belt $14.10
FEL-PRO TCS45920 Crankshaft Front Seal Set $5.10
FEL-PRO TCS45641 Camshaft Front Seal $3.66
NATIONAL 221820 Polyacrylate Oil Pump Shaft Seal $2.86
GATES TCK199 (1 Belt, 1 Tensioner, 1 Idler) Timing Belt Component Kit
$52.89
STANT 48278 180° w/Jiggle Pin OE Type Thermostat $10.94
AISIN WPT010A Water pump w/o housing $30.79
FEL-PRO VS50304R1 Valve Cover Gasket Set w/Spark plug tube seals
$18.26
Subtotal $143.74
Shipping about $20

[fenixus]

just pull the valve cover, it takes 10 minutes tops, very easy on 4cyl model, did it a few times already

then lock the camshaft with some large vice grips (find the flats on it designed for such purpose, do NOT touch any lobes or gears!).