Timing belt clarification Question

[SHOtimer]

The SHO goes into the garage tomorrow afternoon for it's first frontal 60k in it's life! I have eveything planned out, using my Helms and the search function. But, have one question regarding the timing belt. The OEM one says KOA on the top and my replacement Gates belt does not. So, the Gates belt reads 't248' if I remember correctly. With the belt installed should I be able to read it right side up standing on the drivers side of the car (that is what I think is right?) or standing on the passenger side of the car (what I think is wrong?). Thanx, for the clarification.

Doug

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

here ya go:

Readable from the DRIVERS fender wink

 

[Ishodu]

I believe its supposed to be read right sid up from the drives side. You will see right away if the lines for the cam marks line up and the line for the damper mark is on the wrong side. This would mean you got to turn it around. Just line up the marks and you will be fine.

 

[Detenator]

Its the marks on it which matter the most. notice how the side that doesn't go near the tensioner is shorter, and the side that does go by the tensioner would be longer. line up the dots on the crankshaft (which is on the lower right side) and the camshafts (which are on top) then see which way would make those marks on the belt fit correctly. And one more word of advice (this is where i screwed up when i did my 60k) Relese the tensioner and put everything back together, then spin the engine at least two to four revolutions, then open up that little door by the tensioner and tighten it down. This ensures that the belt is properly tensioned. My mechanic told me that mine skipped a good 90 degrees on one of the banks and a few teeth on the other bank. While i don't believe him when he said this, i do know that it ran like crap. Good luck.

 

[DHMag]

the marks on the belt arent as important as the marks on the heads/cam gears and block/crank. get those lined up, and it youve done it right, when the belt slides on, the marks on the belt will match the index marks on the cams/crank. the marks on the belt are for reference only.

but anyway, once the belt is installed, you want to be able to read the right side up print on the belt from the driver side.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Doug, you are right about the alignment reading right-side-up from the driver side (or upside-down from the pass. side where you'll be doing it from!). Maybe this picture will make it a little clearer...

 

[SHOtimer]

Alright, thank you everybody for your responses. I always like to go into a project knowing exactly how everything is going to go and how I'm going to do it, and having my questions answered ahead of time. But, as with the SHO it will not always go perfectly but at least I am perfectly clear on what should be going on.

Detonator, my SHO is an ATX so it has the automatic tensioner I don't think that I need to rotate the engine and retighten to get the proper tension, if I'm correct that is only on the 3.0.

Thank you for the quick replys, and I will be starting on saturday morning so you will probably be hearing from me again real soon.

Thanx, Doug

<small>[ December 19, 2003, 12:44 AM: Message edited by: SHOtimer ]</small>

 

[sdpatt]

SHOooo:
Doug, you are right about the alignment reading right-side-up from the driver side (or upside-down from the pass. side where you'll be doing it from!). Maybe this picture will make it a little clearer...

Hmmm. That picture looks vaguely familiar. It was taken during my 269,000 mile timing belt change.

I beg to differ about the value of the white marks on the belt during the initial installation. If the pulleys are aligned exactly to the 12:00 (cams) and 5:00 (crankshaft) positions, the lines should match up with the index marks on the pulleys. However, if the pulley index marks are off just a small amount, you can install the belt one tooth off. I have had to apply effort or reorient the pulleys with a strap wrench on occasion to allow the belt to slide on with the pulley index marks and belt lines in the correct relationship. It can be done without the white marks, but you must be very accurate and very careful.