OY Need some advise asap please!

[Rogue10186]

Hi all,

I've recently undertaked changing out the timming belt on my '91 LE 3sf3 to get to a leaky oil pump gasket. That all went well, however now that I am putting stuff back together, it seems as though my timming might be a little off...

I've done everything the haynes manual has said to do; however, the problem comes in from the fact that Im not 100% sure about the way everything lined back up... When the crankshaft pulley is lined up on the TDC mark on the timming belt cover, the TDC mark on the camshaft case is off to the front side of the engine, it's still visible, it's just off to the side.

Is this normal? or is it because the camshaft gear is a tooth off? or could it be because of slight play in the timming belt?

Please help me asap! I need to figure this out before I put everything back together...

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by Rogue10186

Is this normal? or is it because the camshaft gear is a tooth off?

No, its not normal.


1. Loosen up the timing belt tensioner and remove the belt from the cam pulley/gear.

2. Make sure #1 is at TDC. IE: Notch on crank pulley lined up to "0" on lower timing belt cover.

3. Make sure the cams are at TDC. IE: Hole in cam pulley/gear aligned with notch on bearing cap.








4. Reinstall timing belt and tighten the tensioner.

5. Rotate crank clockwise from TDC to TDC (720 degrees / 2 full turns) and check alignment of crank and cam. Both crank and cam should be at TDC, if not repeat steps #1 - #5.



http://yotarepair.com/3S-FEtimingbelt.html

[Rogue10186]

Ah thanks... I'll do that this afternoon...

Also, how far in does the camshaft seal need to go in? I was able to get mine flush with the bronze part of the camshaft whet the gear is attached... is this good? or does it need to be flush with the camshaft bearing housing?

[Digger1]

Rouge,

You may have been having a problem with properly tensioning the timing belt.

Here is a trick to properly tension the timing belt on a 5S-FE engine (see signature block for specifics on my car): It should work on the 3S-FE.

As per the instructions in the FSM and Haynes manual, I positioned the crank at TDC and positioned the camshaft at the TDC position. However, when installing the belt, I could not get rid of some excess slack in the front of the belt (the part that runs forward from the top of the camshaft pulley to the waterpump pulley). I could not pull the belt any tighter, since the most I could pull it toward the camshaft pulley was only about half a tooth of belt length.

So, here is what I did to remedy the situation:

I pulled the belt back off of the camshaft pulley. Note that the tensioner pulley was temporarily fixed in the "loose" position, as per earlier instructions in the repair manuals. I then turned the crankshaft 5 degrees counterclockwise. It was now at 5 degrees BTDC. I then put the belt back on the camshaft pulley. The camshaft pulley was still at the TDC position.

I then rotated the crankshaft 5 degrees clockwise to TDC and checked my alignment. Voila! Spot on! The small rotation of the crankshaft had merely taken up slack in the timing belt and did not move the camshaft pulley. Just to be sure, I rotated the crank through 720 degrees and checked my alignment again. Spot on! Ever skeptical, I cranked 'er up (after setting the tensioner pulley as per the instructions) and ran the engine for a few minutes without the upper timing belt cover in place. I shut 'er down and checked the alignment again. Spot on!

Best of all, the forward portion of the timing belt was now properly tight.