Please tell me I don't have anything to worry about and that this is normal.

I installed new rollers, sprockets, and a new T-belt on my car about 500 miles ago. When I opened the belt covers this weekend, I saw that there was some very fine rubber "dust" inside.

What's going on here? I'm thinking, and hoping, that the teeth of the new sprockets was a little sharp, thus causing the dust from the belts.

 

There will always be a little rubber dust in the covers, it's normal. Just make sure that you did the belts correctly, re-tension them after a few thousand miles and you'll be fine.

Dal.

 

Ditto, just keep an eye on them. If you continue to get dust a couple thousand miles later, it could be from assembling the crank pulley parts in an incorrect sequence, causing the timing belt to rub on one side and leave the dust. Monitor the belt and make sure that it isn't wearing more on one side than the other. If it continues, remove the crank pulleys, check the PET and factory manuals to make sure everything is properly oriented and install a new timing belt. I've seen a break because of this very cause.

 

Thanks for the reassurance guys.

Dave -
I guess when you say "rub on one side", you mean that the t-belt might be rubbing agains the inner belt cover? I check that and it seems ok.

Thanks!

 

sm, I opened mine up about 6 months ago and there was dust at the cam housing, it was kinda "built up" in there, but as we didn't see noticable wear on the belt we left it. I am changing them in 2 weeks.

 

The rubbing I was refering to was the belt walking up against the plate on the engine side of the crank sprocket. It was slowly eroding the belt away until it didn't have the structural integrity to do the job any longer and broke. I don't think there is any way for it to rub the covers except the cam sprocket and if that happens, you're really in deep poo from other problems.