Yes, that is correct, I am on day 4 now and the sad part is, if I checked for the easy solution first, I would have found the stuck thermostat.

 

Ok, so here's what has happened so far. First off, I have never done the timming belt on any car b4, so this is my first. I had some great instructions from the guys at XT6.net (untill the site went down) so I had to use my chilton and what's left of my memory:burnout:

 

Long story short, I put things back together the first time assuming that the driver's side cam hadn't moved (BIG mistake) and tore everything appart again and got the timming mark aligned. The first time I fired it up with the timming reset, the car was sluggish to start, and I had to give it a little gas, (not unusual for this car when first starting) and it eventually idled fine, and I thought it was a done deal. When I go for the maiden voyage with the newer waterpump and everything correct, suddenly it doesn't want to idle. I try to just go around the block, now I'm thinking so how my timming got 1 tooth off or something, I just pulled the covers again, and guess what .. everything is perfectly aligned. I know my next step could be to mark and then loosen the distributor and see if a slight adjustment would be in order (don't have a timming light handy) however b4 I take this step, just wana know if anyone has a suggestion to try/check first.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Dayn

Better question, did you replace the idler and tensioner?

 

They seem to magically go bad after a timing belt is replaced. I think the release of tension from the old belt allows the (worn) bearings to move and show its age.

 

 

nipper

Better question, did you replace the idler and tensioner?

 

They seem to magically go bad after a timing belt is replaced. I think the release of tension from the old belt allows the (worn) bearings to move and show its age.

 

 

nipper

 

This makes sense. Timing belts get tighter the faster the engine is running, so the timing might self-correct if you're able to get up above idle far enough. Sometimes you can hear tensioners clacking at low engine speeds if it gets really worn.

hmmm well in this case, the belts were in great shape and I never needed to go inside in the first place as I only needed a new thermostat. The belt tension seems to be fine, never disturbed the pass side belt, just driver's side where the water pump is buried behind it. How do I check for a bad tensioner?

hmmm well in this case, the belts were in great shape and I never needed to go inside in the first place as I only needed a new thermostat. The belt tension seems to be fine, never disturbed the pass side belt, just driver's side where the water pump is buried behind it. How do I check for a bad tensioner?

 

spin it it shouldnt make any noise. there shold be absoloutly no free play whatsoever.

 

When was the last time you did the timing belts. You really should replace both of them as long as you are there.

 

nipper

Ya, I agree, but in this case, money is tight and I can't see any wear or play in pullys and the belts look very good, I got this car from someone who had it maintained extreamly well. I am very certain that these belts have less than 20-30k miles on them based on the mileage of the car.

Ya, I agree, but in this case, money is tight and I can't see any wear or play in pullys and the belts look very good, I got this car from someone who had it maintained extreamly well. I am very certain that these belts have less than 20-30k miles on them based on the mileage of the car.

 

Ok

 

nipper

Ok! I was losing my mind :-p I got tricked into a silly mistake .. I saw the pics in my chilton and thought that both cam timming marks were supposed to be at 12 'oclock I missed the part about rotating the crankshaft 1 full turn b4 ligning up the driver's side cam .. I put it back in the right spot and everything works fine again