Tming belt tension

[Stoner51]

Ok so I see about 50 posts for timing belt tension problems.
I have the factory service manual. It says rotate CCW 3 teeth then tighten. Well the bitch is still loose.
Is there some trick I have missed. i have done and redone this about 5 times and when I crank the car the belt is loose on the Power steering side, but i get a lot of "slap" from the firewall side when the engine is running.

Any pointers will be appreciated.

steve

[dj_ender]

If it's loose on the power steering side, you didn't do it right. Set everything to TDC, slide timing belt on, draw slack from between the water pump and tensioner bearing, if everything is tight, tighten down the bolt on the tensioners. If it's not tight, try again.

This is just my personal deal, I don't rotate it like the manual says. I set everything to TDC, tighten the belt, rotate the engine a couple times by hand and recheck. Never had an issue with the timing being off.

[Stoner51]

I'll just have to screw with it tomorrow. AGAIN. I'm about tired of this car right now. And I've had it for 15 years and I have done this before And I don't remember It being so difficult.

steve

[mtnbikaah]

Have you been turning the engine with the #1 spark plug in? You should be when setting the tensioner (at least that's what I have found...)

[oyajicool]

On my LX, I applied a light pressure on the tensioner pulley to aid the tensioner spring so there's no slack on the belt while the crank pulley is turned CCW by three teeth. After tightening the tensioner pulley, reconfirm the tension of the belt as well as timing marks by turning crank in the direction of rotation two full revolutions.

[Granite CB7]

You need to make sure that the tensioner is able to slide properly up and down w/o any resistance. The spring won't be able to work if there's resistance, alittle bit of grease doesn't hurt on the sliding surfaces. It's also not simply about rotating the bottom end 3 teeth CCW, stopping and letting off while you tighten the tensioner down. The front side of the belt should tighten up when you even barely begin to rotate the crank CCW, this action needs to be continued while you simultaneously tighten the tensioner.

[Stoner51]

I don't know what I did today different from yesterday. But I took It all apart again. Put it back together, I think the same way. And immediately I could tell a diff. The belt is now tight. It had something to do with the two tensioners and how I had them together.
So I start it up and everything is going fine. Then it just shuts down. WTF I need a damn break. No spark. Let it cool down and then it starts fine.
Looks like I'm ordering a new distributor. That's it. I now have everything replaced with a lifetime warranty. Alt, Power steering pump, Rack, starter and now distributor.

Thanks for everybody's help. In the end I just took it apart and put it back together again and all went good this time. I could tell as soon as I put the belt on.

Steve