Might be a dumb question but Im trying to check to make sure my timing belt didnt jump any teeth. I know some of the marks on the belt and gears wont line up after being rotated and Im positive my timing was perfect when I installed the belt but I just want to double check everything. I have the LH timing belt cover pulled. What should I look for? Thanks.

Pull the right cover off too, and rotate the crank it til they line up.

Pull the right cover off too, and rotate the crank it til they line up.

is it the double lines or the single lines that wont ever line up to eachother again after the initial install?

They will line up every other full rotation. Where you are now they don't line up... rotate it again and they should line up.

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They will line up every other full rotation. Where you are now they don't line up... rotate it again and they should line up.

def


So, the double lines on the gears will line up along with the single lines on the gears/ belt/ rear cover?? I could have sworn I read on here that some of the lines will never line up with eachother after the initial install.....:confused:

So, the double lines on the gears will line up along with the single lines on the gears/ belt/ rear cover?? I could have sworn I read on here that some of the lines will never line up with eachother after the initial install.....:confused:

Forget about the lines on the belt. They are for installation only. It takes alot of crankshaft revolutions before the belt makes 1 complete revolution.

Just use the marks on the gears and rear cover.

right they should all line up at the same time... turning the crank until the lines on the belt line up could take one turn or a lot...

This isn't difficult. Turn the crank until the marks on the intake cam gear line up with the marks on the exhaust cam gear. They should be dead nuts. If they are off a touch it could be off a tooth.

I should have clarified... every CRANK revolution... see the crank is half the size of the cam gears. Every one rotation for them is 2 crank rotations. So rotate the crank until it lines up. If the cams are off, turn the over one more time... if they are still off, then the timing is off. If not, they are good.

def

Well........Here is what I found, and I have absolutley no idea how it happend.

Car was running PERFECT and Im positive the timing was set correctly durring install.
Tensioner seems fine aswell.....Any ideas? I hope I didnt bend any valves....:confused:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/8URSTI/wrx103.jpg

What does the passenger side look like?

Well........Here is what I found, and I have absolutley no idea how it happend.

Car was running PERFECT and Im positive the timing was set correctly durring install.
Tensioner seems fine aswell.....Any ideas? I hope I didnt bend any valves....:confused:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c301/8URSTI/wrx103.jpg

Do one more complete rotation of the that intake cam... so its in line again.

def

Do one more complete rotation of the that intake cam... so its in line again.

def


I rotated the crank like 10 times and every time they lined up like this. The other side looks similiar with the single mark falling a couple teeth short of the mark on the timing cover.

What exactly do you mean to rotate it till it line up again? So the 2 double cam gear marks line up with eachother?

^^^^^?

Your belt has slipped. You need to reset it. AFAIK the valves should not hit each other as it is right now, but your exhaust timing is really retarded so your intake charge will suffer.

Your belt has slipped. You need to reset it. AFAIK the valves should not hit each other as it is right now, but your exhaust timing is really retarded so your intake charge will suffer.

Thanks. I will reset it and see what happens.

BTW. Can I re-set the timing with the motor still in the car?

BTW. Can I re-set the timing with the motor still in the car?
Absolutely.

BTW. Can I re-set the timing with the motor still in the car?

Yes but its kind of tricky. It will be about impossible with the radiator in. so take that out and then proceed. Some times the gears jump a single tooth when the belt is first warming up and slightly expanding but it looks like you are off a few teeth. Dont know exactly why. Just be very careful and take your time to line everything up right. Its kind of hard to see the marks on the side of the belt down by the exhaust gears when you are doing it with the motor in the car. It really helps to have a second person there to hold things in place for you if you don't have the driver side gear positioning tool.

Good luck

With an extra person or two, you can tackle the job without removing the radiator at all. IIRC, you really need someone to hold a tool on the driver's side intake cam. All of the others aren't bad at all.

I gotta order the cam sprocket tool because the Harmonic balancer bolt is being a pain in the ass to get off......

one tip:

always turn the engine in direction of forward rotation.

you can tell which direction this is by making sure that rotating the crank does NOT cause a lot of pressure on the belt tensioner as it pulls the belt against the resistance of the cam gears.

I gotta order the cam sprocket tool because the Harmonic balancer bolt is being a pain in the ass to get off......
The crank pulley? Put the car in 5th gear, yank the e-brake and/or have a friend stand on the brake pedal, then attack that bolt with a breaker bar. :)

The crank pulley? Put the car in 5th gear, yank the e-brake and/or have a friend stand on the brake pedal, then attack that bolt with a breaker bar. :)

Good idea. I will do that then. But im still gonna need that tool to tighten down the sprocket once the timing is set...... And I always moved the crank in the forward rotation, as in clockwise.......

Good idea. I will do that then. But im still gonna need that tool to tighten down the sprocket once the timing is set...... And I always moved the crank in the forward rotation, as in clockwise.......

For a timing belt change you shouldnt have to remove the cam sprokets......

But if you need a tool for them, find your old timing belt, and some heavy duty vicegrips, wrap around and clamp. Worked good for me.

BTW: I re-set the timing with the radiator in, by myself, with no special tools. I seriously thought it was gonna be a lot harder than it was. Car fired right up and runs perfect. I think it slipped a few teeth when I first started the car and then a few more when I tried to do a leakdown test a few weeks ago....either way it prolly was my fault but Im glad no damage was done. Thanks for the help guys!

thank you for the update!

what kind of timing belt is that? PE?

Yep. Pe.