Finally finished my first go at a timing belt job. All seeems ok when I took the car out. I have a few questions:

1) When I first stated car the motor was whining. I hear this could be because balance belt is too tight. After the test drive the whining was gone at idle but I heard it when I gave it some gas. Will it go away?

2) There was a wierd smell after I turned the car off. Do the belts smell when new?

3) Is there a "break in" period after changing the belts or am I "good to go"?

I also replaced te cap, rotor, spark plugs and bypass valve.

 

Hi Dan

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the tension should be re-checked after the first 1000 miles.

On another note...I finally found one of those costco jacks in the store today (saw online but did not want to order/ship)...so it's sitting comfortably in the garage now!

Thinking about Cubby's again in march....hope to see you!

best

Joe

 

mmmmm cubbys. I miss you guys!

but I dont miss 12k a year for real estate taxes.

i just found a site trackpedia.com that had a turn by turn guide to lime rock and a video of it.

then i watched the video of a mustang at pueblo. at least i have something to look forward to. i think I can DE the S2 with the BMW club too.

 

we could always fed-x you a hot-dog!

 

i always make them slightly tight at first. THe belts stretch alot in the first few hundred miles so i usually recheck them after about 500 or so- even though they say to do it after 1500. The whine should go away after a day or so- if not maybe loosen slightly.

 

Funny you should mention Cubby's. When I finished the t-belt I was starving and wasthinking of a nice cheese steak hero. Then Cubby's came to mind. Is something planned yet for Cubby's or is that just wishful thinking? Hope you like the jack.

Tom - You should come back!

 

Been a few people who've mentioned it.

Before I post something....how's March 22/23 or 29/30 ? One of those 4 days is what I am thinking.

 

March 29th and 30th is out. I have an autocross onthe 30th.

 

blow it off. you are not important to the day anyway.

 

I am going to throw it out there for the 23rd and see what happens...

Tom...ROAD TRIP !

 

I am important. It is my first event and I have to be there. If i am not there they can't ask for my resignation.

 

So that date is still on?

In my experience the whining never went away. I had to loosen the balance belt a bit to stop it. That usually happens the first time you do the belts, there is always a tendency to go tighter than it should be.

 

Wishful thinking. I still do not have any more info.

The whining did stop a little. When I tensioned the balance belt I did the 90 degree thing and it went more then 90 degress and I left it. In my opinion it was very loose but I know people said it would seem to loose so I left it.

 

You're supposed to recheck the belts in 500 - 2,000 miles. So if the whining is not bad, leave it until then and if it needs to be adjusted still, just do it at that time.

 

I have done three Tbelt jobs so far and only had 1 whine (the first one). After taking the cover
off and rechecking everything I found the upper idler on the balance belt was just barely
touching the belt. Readjusted the pulley to the correct spacing and no more noise.