Need help removing 5SFE camshaft pulley

[irishdad]

Hi, I'm trying to replace a timing belt on a 96 Camry LE(4 cyl, 2.2L) and I want to replace all the seals to stop the oil leaks. Have been unable to loosen the camshaft bolt so far and I'm looking for suggestions (pulley keeps turning & I'm unable to hold it still while I try and loosen the pulley bolt). Starting to round the bolt head so I figure I should ask for help before doing any damage. Ideas? Suggestions?

[fenixus]

you need a pulley holder tools like this:

Amazon

Amazon

or a home made version like this "club":
home made tool to tighten camshaft sproket nut

or use old timing belt around it tightly to help hold it down.

last option is to use an impact gun on that bolt, should spin it off easily.

[JohnGD]

The home-made pulley holder would be nice. Or if the valve cover gasket is to be replaced use a crescent wrench on the hex area on the camshaft just for the purpose. If you remove the valve cover gasket also reseal the semi-circular plugs. You will need some RTVs - Permatex Ultra-Black, Ultra-Copper, or dollar store $1 oxygen safe RTV.

[irishdad]

Got the tool from amazon & after spraying on some rust cutter, we were finally able to get the cam pulley bolt out & the pulley off. Was able to remove all the oil seals before we lost daylight. Hope to get the car back together next weekend (if it doesn't rain). Not looking forward to timing the car, but we will give it the old college try. Any more hints or suggestions on the next step are welcome!

[JohnGD]

Put the cam sprocket and bolt back on and use a socket and breaker bar to turn it. It's a lot easier than using the pulley holder.

Timing these engines are easy. Just align the correct marks on the cam and crank and you're done. Just make sure to turn the crank 2 revolutions and make sure the marks still line up. See the DIY section for details:

My Timing Belt Job (Pics) 56k go away
My Timing belt change (very detailed, pics) Gen 4
DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 1
DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 2

[irishdad]

Thanks for the links & the help, and glad to hear it should be easy to do the timing. I've read other posts/threads about people having trouble becuase they were a tooth off. ( even mentioning what side of the water pump to have slack or it might jump a tooth!). I'm not exactly sure what they mean, and I hope I don't find out. Any idea what is meant by the belt being a tooth off, or the slack on the correct side of the water pump or idler?

[JohnGD]

What happens is the timing belt may look tight but actually isn't. Or during the tension step the not-yet-tightened belt skips a tooth (or a few teeth).

So while it's easy to time the cam and crank sprockets (say when a belt snapped), these manual tensioner systems do suck when you're putting the timing belt on. That's why always turn the crank 2 revolutions and double check the timing marks.

Others have suggested that instead of turning the crank the the tensioner loose. Just tighten it first. Turn it a few and then loosen/tighten the tensioner bolt to take up the slack. That's worked for some too.

And if you notice the belt is one tooth off (the cam points slightly before or after the mark), then just loosen the tensioner, and use a breaker bar and socket to turn the cam sprocket now that the belt has some play - turn the sprocket while leaving the slightly loose belt in place by a tooth for example.

Good luck.

[jgraham5481]

The manual tensioner is fine and works exceedingly well, you'll want to get a haynes, chilton or timing belt manual. I don't remember the proceedure exactly, but there's a reason why there is two sets of marks on the outer cover, essentially with the spark plugs out, so the tensioner will operate properly, after you line up with the marks indicated by the book, two turns of the crank pulley, then locking down the tension will set it up exactly perfect, its when you deviate and try to take out the slack later or tension it by hand that you run in to problems...