Laddis

Attaching the TB I follow the procedure: start at crank-oil pump-camsaft 1 -water pump - camshaft 2 then have all the slack in the area where the tensioner pulley goes. I have been trying to put the tension pulley arrangement on at this stage but there is no way I manage to get it on the pivot bolt, the belt around it AND the tensioner stud into its dimple at the same time its just too tight.
I have also tried the opposite, tensioner pulley on and the TB routed as above, but then there is not enough slack to get it around the camshaft 2. I also tried to use a long C grip to keep the tensioner pulley and tensioner back.

How is this supposed to work?

The tensioner adjustent screw is all the way out, but I still feel the tensioner rod protrudes too far out of the tensioner boot.

Mongo

Hi,

I found this link to be very informative when reinstalling my timing belt during the last service. I highly recommend checking it out. Good luck!

http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/tbelt.html

Hilton

First check - do you have the belt the right side of the idler pulley? It should match the pic I posted in your other thread. (yes, some people actually manage to get the belt round the wrong side of the pulleys).

If so, then with all new gears, it can be a pain. With all new gears, new belt, and rebuilt tensioner, I found it a very tight fit the first time I did it. Oddly, not a problem I've had since even with all-new gears, so the difficulty could be related to doing the belt at wrong TDC, although thats only just occurred to me, so is just anecdotal.

First, remove the rotor off the 1-4 cam gear, and put your 30mm spanner within arms reach.

Then start by putting the belt round the cam gear, oil pump and up to the 5-8 cam gear, keeping it taught, and around the water pump to the 1-4 cam. Once its wrapped around the 1-4 cam (making sure you're on the right teeth), you'll need to use the 30mm spanner on the 1-4 cam gear washer to pull all the slack out of the system and get just enough belt to slide it over the tensioner pulley.

Bilal928S4

Also, don't have the belt all the way on the first cam gear, just enough to hold it. Then slide it over the other cam. And THEN slide the belt all the way over both cams. HTH

Laddis

Thanks for the advice.
Here is a picture of where I'm at.
I have done the routing which is fairly tight and secured the TB onto the cams with some grips so they don't pop off.

I am still curious about my tensioner though. Does it look to be about correct in terms of protrusion. Some other pictures from the forum suggests theirs are further in. In fact, when I did the tensioner I only counted 33 bimetal disks so I definitely do not have too many in there..

Bilal928S4

I have had all the rollers and tensioner installed before installing the belt. Make sure the tensioner bolt is all the way lose.

Hobibill

I too found the belt a little tight when I got to the last cam gear. It would just start in the slots but was too tight to slide the rest of the way on. I "gently" coaxed the belt the rest of the way on with a rubber mallet. Gently!

WallyP

I hope that you did put the tensioner disks in in sets, and do not have every other one turned around...

dr bob

Late to the party...

Put the tensioner bits on and get them secured before you start putting the belt on.

The disks go on in a very specific pattern. I don't have the WSM handy or I'd share the diagram. Mix up the disks and the tensioner can be too far extended. Note that there are different disk patterns for the various vintages of tensioner, so be sure to use the one appropriate for your model.

DO NOT use a mallet to even "gently coax" the belt onto the gears. One tap that folds the belt as you "tap" on it can damage the belt, not worth teh risk in my opinion.

Fit the belt on the tensioner rollers, indexing starting at the crank end. Pull the belt tight to the driver's side gear, with the gear lined up. Put a spring clamp around the belt and gear to keep them together correctly, with the belt as far forward on the gear as possible. Fit the belt on the other cam gear, pulling it tight. I end up with a wrench on the pass side gear, turn it slightly clockwise to engage the belt, slide the belt on some, then pulling counterclockwise to make sure it's all indexed correctly as belt tension is added by the pulling.

Wire ties are your friend when it comes to holding the belt onto the gears. Once you have the belt in the right place on the gears, replace the spring clamps with cable ties. That way there's no chance of the belt and gear indexing to change as you fiddle with the tensioner. This is particularly handy as you fit a Porkensioner, since you effectively get one 'easy' shot at releasing the tensioner pin. I found some reusable "ball ties" that get a workout for the belt projects. Don't forget to remove the ties before you spin the crank to prove tension and indexing.


HTH.

Rob Edwards

Here's a pic of the Bellville washer stack. Don't bother going any farther until you have 35 washers, in this orientation, in the tensioner:

Mongo

And that is why the Porkensioner exists...

mark kibort

that's impossible. you need to remove the tensioner roller before you install the belt, right?

anyway, you don't need anything to install the belt except a couple or even one, large vice grip.

just install the belt, then the tensioner arm and then feed the belt around the driver side cam, and pull stuff tight until you are then putting the cam belt on the passenger side cam pulley.
at that point, you want to have a big vice grip over the large nut on the cam to manever it. same on the driver side, to keep that one at the proper aligned position. slip the passenger side on and then start tighting the tensioner. rotate the engine 2 revolutions and recheck... done.

SeanR

I install the belt in all the parts except the passenger cam gear, install the tensioner roller arm, then loop the belt over the passenger gear.

mark kibort

didn't I just say this?

SeanR

Don't know, normally don't read your posts. So we agree on something, wunderbar.