+1

 

i checked mine while i was in there... its twists 90* just fine

 

If you still have the belt covers off, put a listening hose down by each pulley and see if the noise is coming from any one of them. Or just loosen the balance shaft belt slightly and see if the noise changes or goes away.

 

I've done many belts and always used 90 deg. for the timing belt only; 180 deg for the BS is about the correct tension. 90 deg. is too tight and it will whine bad and wear the rollers out sooner. YMMV

 

whoa 180* for balance shaft?? Ok ya, thats what it is then

 

Yep...look for Van's waterpump change vids...he shows you the proper tensioning of the BB....You should be able to run your finger over the roller under the belt with a fair amount of ease, plus there should be approx a credit card thickness of gap between the BB and the idler roller above the lower BB tensioning sprocket.

 

if its too tight would that cause excessive vibrations in the cabin? or are my motor mounts likely shot?

 

I had a passenger side motor mount go bad and it vibrated really badly when the engine was under load on hills. I could see the outside rear view mirrors vibrating. Smooth as glass after changing the mount.

 

well its not that bad... but its definitely not smooth as glass... shakes pretty good at idle