Jadz928

On another note, I wish you well with your project. You are off to a good start. Halfway is optimistic (which is good), but you'll have in just as much time cleaning as putting together.

May wany to consider doing the tstat, water bridge orings, and oil filler neck oring (some say replace the neck if it's warped at the base). Good time to do it because your coolant is drained.
Dwayne's writup on this

WallyP

If you call Jeannie at (828) 766-9280, she can send you a kit of ALL of the correct-sized and correct-type A/C O-rings that are good for R-12 and R-134a. And a set of the correct O-rings and the back seal for the coolant bridge and thermostat.

Brett Jenkins

Do you have a flywheel lock or tensioner tool? You can borrow mine if you don't.

IndyMatt

Brett, thanks for the offer. I do have them!

I replaced the thermostat and gasket last night. Used plenty of RTV sealant to make sure there isn't a leak. I snapped the plastic breather fitting on top of the radiator as well as the plastic drain plug. As a tip, heat up a flat blade screw driver, carefully pressed into the plug and plug only. Let it cool and remove the portion that was stuck in the radiator.

I will replace filler o-ring for the oil filler.

I know that cleaning this beast will be horrible. There is oil and PS fluid grim everywhere!

Jadz928

I did the same thing. Torx bit worked well too....

Reads like you are doing the right things.

SolReaver

Yea, that happens. For future ref, I swear by 6 point flank drive to keep the bolts from stripping. If you are using superhuman strength to remove a stubborn one, double check that the socket is really snug. Go so far as to "resurface the bolt with a file and use a smaller size or SAE socket. If still loose hammer the socket on with a shim made of can stock. Still things happen and bolts refuse to be taken alive. There exists a solution to such bolt woes..Oxy-acetylene Torch. Both for heating (actually frying) the bolt or what it is stuck in and for removing the bolt. With practice you can use these things with surgical precision. Heat the offender to cherry red and then give it a blast of cutting mode. you can liquefy one piece of metal while lightly scorching the surrounding area. As always...Mr safety cautions all readers to be careful when playing with fire and use the appropriate protective eye wear and clothing.

IndyMatt

Man a torch would have been nice for this one! The caliper bolts are counter sunk into the caliper a little bit and have the allen head in them. I cut a slot in it to try to remove it with a pry bar. Then drilled a hole through the exposed portion and broke two punches off. Needless to say it was stuck in there.

IndyMatt

Well, I got the entire exhaust off today and took my cracked lower bell housing off replaced it whiled checking for TBF. No TBF since the pinch bolt only moved 1mm after prying the flywheel to the most rearward position. So now I got the flywheel lock in, the exhaust off (putting on a motorsports X with highflow cats), will be ready to remove the crank pulley. Then it will be time to remove the air pump and do some serious cleaning!

IndyMatt

Ok Worley and others I think I screwed up, I turned the crank one full turn to 45 again without a timing belt connected. So the question I have now is how do I get thing back in the right alignment? So basically the crank turned one full turn clockwise and the two camshaft sprockets did not since there wasn't a TB connected.

worf928

Ugh. Yes. You screwed up. If you are exceedingly lucky you may not have destroyed any valves. (I have heard - once - of an S4 engine turning over from the starter with no belt and no damage to the valves.)

How is it that you managed to turn the crank shaft with your flywheel lock in place? Is it because you were not using a flywheel lock? (Rhetorical questions. Don't answer...)

There are only two acceptable conditions for the motor when you are doing a timing belt:
1) timing belt installed and no flywheel lock
2) flywheel lock installed, crank at 45 degrees, and no timing belt.

Do not turn the crank anymore without a t-belt on.

Buy a flywheel lock. Buy, beg or borrow a set of Porken's 32v cam timing tools.

Did you mark the sprockets before you removed the belt?

Looks like you did - BUT, from your pictures both sprockets turned after you removed your belt.

With the crank at 45 degrees install your flywheel lock. Next turn the cams so that your marks once again line up with the little cut-out in the back-side belt cover. Then mark the sprockets again at 180 degrees opposite your first marks.

Turn the cams 180 degrees so that your bottom marks are exchanged with the top marks.

Install your old belt. Best would be to use Porken's 32v cam timing tools to check/set your cam timing. But, if you are 100% sure that your first set of marks on the sprockets were correct before you removed the belt then you can dispense with that until you know your motor's ok.

If you are UNSURE about the first marks then we'll need to do something else.


Next, I'd do a leak-down test or put everything back together enough to do a compression test. Or, you can remove the old belt, start over, do the new belt and pray that nothing in the heads is too badly damaged.

SharkSkin

Wait, if the engine is at 45°, why complicate things? Can't he just spin the cams around till the cast-in marks line up and thread the belt? If not, why not? The whole 180° thing is what's throwing me -- I don't see the point.

IndyMatt

I didn't turn the engine over, I hand turned the crank another turn. I didn't have any resistance while hand turning so the valves should be fine. I put the flywheel lock in after turning the crank. I have the 32vr timing tool so that isn't a problem.

With the Timing Belt On:
This is what I did exactly, the cast in marks of the cam sprockets lined up with the engine at TDC 0. Next I turned the crank to the 45 degree mark, marked the cam sprockets. I then turned the crank two additional turns and the marks continued to line up. Removed the belt part way. I then went to put the flywheel lock in and the lower bell housing was cracked and damaged where you put the flywheel lock. So, yesterday I dropped the exhaust removed the damaged lower bell housing and checked for TBF, only with the crank at its position I couldn't loosen the pinch bolt.

So With the Timing Belt Off:
I used a breaker bar with 27mm socket and turned the crank clockwise so I could loosed the pinch bolt. Then after I finished with the TBF check, I took the breaker bar and turned the crank again to 45 degrees. I then put the new lower bell housing on, and put the flywheel lock in place.

Like I said I didn't feel resistance, so unless the valves are made of tinfoil I doubt they were hit or bent.
So my question now is where do I go from here?

SharkSkin

I'm a bit foggy on the younger cars -- do 32v cars have a mark on the cam sprockets for the 45° position?

Bill Ball

No. It's 3 cam teeth before the TDC mark. I usually put a paint mark there.

As Dave C actually indicated in his original post on this, Indymatt could have just left things as they were, installed the belt and then checked the timing after the belt was installed. OR, as I have done when I was in the same situation, just turned the cams 180 degrees (to 3 teeth before TDC) LEAVING THE CRANK ALONE to get the cam timing to the usual spot. Turning the crank 360 degrees didn't accomplish anything and by most accounts should have hit some valves, but as there was no resistance, it looks like nothing bad may have happened.

IndyMatt

Alright I will go ahead and rotate the cam sprockets 180 degrees. I will then check the timing with the 32VR tool and go from there.