Stuck on lining up the timing belt!! 100+ tire rotations...

[loganbro28]

Hey all!! Thanks again for everyone's help diagnosing my 92 SHO MTX in my previous post.
So I ordered a timing belt, water pump, main seal and CPS. Shout out shosource.

My brother and I got around to tearing everything out, with instructions from Uday Kamath.
It went pretty smoothly except for stripping the head on one of the bolts mounting the damper to the block. So we get all the belts and pulleys off, drain the radiator, take off the timing belt covers and then we go to line up the belt with the camshaft pulley and cover.....

We turned the wheel clockwise maybe about 100+ times and couldn't get it to line up. It looks like someone had done the timing belt previously because it was a NAPA auto parts belt and seemed to be in pretty good condition. At one point the marks on the belt (which were hella faded) seem to line up with the pulleys, except they were one tick off clockwise....

So am I doing something wrong? Was the previous install incorrect? I feel like I shouldn't have had to turn it so many times.
We got tired out and had to end work for the day, so I rolled my car forward out of the driveway.
Which leads me to my other question..

Is it okay for me to roll the car backwards so I have better access when we work on it next? I heard you aren't supposed to retard the timing so I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks in advance for the help y'all.
-Logan

 

[shaldaya]

So when i replace my timing belt (done to many to keep count) i found it easier to take the belt off, turn each pully to location, then reattach the belt

Otherwise, like you experienced, you'll have to turn the belt seemingly a billion times for the belt and gears to lign up

 

[shaldaya]

Also, as long as the wheels are on (I take off the pasanger wheel for better crank pully access) then yes you should be able to move the car safely

 

[Irish Pride]

You don't need to line the belt up with the timing marks before you take it off. Once the belt is installed and the engine rotates one time the belt will no longer line up with the marks. The marks on the belt are there for installation only. Line the dots on the cam sprockets up with the marks on the timing cover and line the dot on the crank sprocket up with the mark on the oil pump then install the new belt. That's all there is to it.

-Chad

 

[rubydist]

And, if you are not careful when installing the belt, it is very easy to get it installed one tooth off. I find that I need to leave the crankshaft almost one tooth CCW from the mark in order to easily get the belt slipped on with the timing marks all lined up. Then, once the tensioner is set correctly, everything lines up like it should.

 

[loganbro28]

Thanks so much for the help y’all!! I’ll update the thread when I work on it next.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kevinspann]

Also, the marks on the belt will only line up with the writing on the belt being upside down, if you're looking at it from the front (passenger side) of the engine. There's also a 3.0 and a 3.2 crank line on the belt, which may not be labeled.