cam belt grr-ness

hey guys... am a smidge stuck... I cant get the flippin cambelt back on... grr its a tight little git aint it!

How did you guys get yours back on?

Put the belt on first, then fit the tensioner.

kk, is it the whole tensioner that needs to come off or just the wheel?

sounds like your on about the idler pulley, take the tensioner out with the 2 Bolts. this then frees that pulley and it will swivvle. Then you should be able to get your belt on, it is a bit tight but it will go on once your happy put the tensioner in. Your need a vice and a small alan key to put it back on tho.

ok.. ill go give that a go now... if I come back crying you know I have not done it

Its not hard mate, you just need to think about it.

the get it done way......undo the two tensioner bolts and the wheel will back off enough to put the belt on, do them back up!

the proper way undo it completely, compress the tensioner pin and fit a thin metal pin through one side of it on through the centre pin and out through the other hole in the tensioner. Refit the tensioner and then pull the pin hand grenade sytle.

Leave the wheel on, remove the tensioner assembly (2 bolts - you might need to loosen the alternator to get at the back one). Carefully compress the tensioner in a vice until the small hole in the body just under the rubber piston seal lines up with the small hole in the piston and lock into place by using a small allen key or drill bit. Fit the belt over the crank and cam pulleys making sure the belt is tight between the crank and intake cam, then slide the belt over the tensioner pulley. Refit the tensioner and tighten the 2 bolts, then pull the locking pin out of the tensioner so it tightens the rest of the belt.

I cant believe you got all the rest off and are struggling on this part tho.

lol i havent gotten all of the rest off... i dont think I can remove the tensioner because I have not removed the crank bolt... which is an arse to work around!!!

Also how do I know what position the crank should be in apart from TCD...? how do I know when its TDC?

humm... i need to find these two tensioner bolts... can it come off if I havent removed the crank bolt/plates?

How do you change the cam belt without removing the crank pulley and lower belt cover?

ahh, im not changing the belt.. im putting the belt back on.. i needed to remove the left cam in order to have room to get at the water pump.. so the belt is already wound around the crank...

I think there might be more to it then just take the cam pulley off on the one side, Im sure there are bolts hidden under the covers for the water pump. Are you changing it?

yeah the water pump is changed and all sorted, theres no probs there.. here is where the prob is...

I dont have a clamp big enough and small enough at the same time to push this down and then be able to move the wheel to the get tension on the timing belt propper... :s

As said above, just slacken or remove the tensioner. You can see it in your picture, just below the red circle.

ahh see this is where I am not understanding correctly... how do I adjust the tensioner?

The tensioner is the circled part "B" in this pic : http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/attachment.php?attachmentid=17827&d=1120675436

You can't adjust it as such, it's self adjusting. You can temporarily loosen it off by undoing the two bolt that hold it in place. The two bolts are accessed from underneath.

See also this for refitting : http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/attachment.php?attachmentid=17942&d=1120869108

TDC can be detemined by the mark on your crank pulley a slot in the outer edge lining up with the a mark on the bit of plastic that hopefully you can still see on whats left of the lower cover, if you can 't see the mark you'll have to fish that plastic bit out of the bin........

I'm afraid bodging it like that, you have just made a relatively easy job a lot harder:blink:

Why didn't you just do it properly? or take it to somebody that could?

what makes you think I have bodged it? cause the casing is cracked?

Its cracked cause I have had a front end shunt in it and I am replacing parts that needed replacing.

... but thanks for your constructive comments?

TDC can be detemined by the mark on your crank pulley a slot in the outer edge lining up with the a mark on the bit of plastic that hopefully you can still see on whats left of the lower cover, if you can 't see the mark you'll have to fish that plastic bit out of the bin........

Thanks for that... I have set the timing in place now, I still have the casing that was cracked so I was able to do that.

Cheers for the guides Jake, I shall give em a read ta

Just tell it like i see it, if you have had a crash that has resulted in that sort of damage, and from your pic the crank pulley is damaged, and will eventually damage your ancillary belt, the sensible option would have been to take the lot off and inspect for hidden damage, and if you leave the bottom cover like it is, all it will take is a stone or debris to get into the belt run and you will be repeating the whole process again, so common sense really.

If you post wanting help and people tell you the truth, there is no point having an attitude because of it:)

:)I will replace the front cover when I have the rest done.. just, kinda thought it was a little rude to assume I was bodging it just from one pic thats all... Im sure you'd feel the same if I did the same to you... but thats enough of that...

You need a new crank pulley mate, i agree with ricky .It all wanted stripping down on the front to see the other damage to bend that crank pulley well i wouldnt be happy with it you hear of them falling off.

So is it all sorted now?