Timing belt - dodged a bullet
01-03-2022, 11:36 PM
#1
9th Gear
Thread Starter
Timing belt - dodged a bullet
I recently bought a 2007 TL 3.2 for my grand-daughter. It has 144,000 miles on it. It is in good condition but with that mileage I worried about the timing belt. The previous owner had no idea if it was the original belt or not.
I replaced the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and crank seal. I’m 71 and work very slowly. It took half a day to get the crank pulley bolt off. When I was done, I started it up. A few cylinders were firing but it would not run. I tried again and the same thing. I may have tried a third time.
I figured I must have done something wrong. I took it apart again (much faster the second time), and saw that the crank and front cam were perfectly aligned. The back cam was rotated about 45 degrees past the mark. I think I did something wrong when mounting the tensioner and the back cam slipped, quite a bit. I was sure I had bent or broken some valves and maybe damaged some pistons.
I lined everything up, put it back together and checked the compression. Compression looked great on all cylinders. I started it up and it runs smooth. The Acura Gods had mercy on a weary old man.
I replaced the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and crank seal. I’m 71 and work very slowly. It took half a day to get the crank pulley bolt off. When I was done, I started it up. A few cylinders were firing but it would not run. I tried again and the same thing. I may have tried a third time.
I figured I must have done something wrong. I took it apart again (much faster the second time), and saw that the crank and front cam were perfectly aligned. The back cam was rotated about 45 degrees past the mark. I think I did something wrong when mounting the tensioner and the back cam slipped, quite a bit. I was sure I had bent or broken some valves and maybe damaged some pistons.
I lined everything up, put it back together and checked the compression. Compression looked great on all cylinders. I started it up and it runs smooth. The Acura Gods had mercy on a weary old man.
The following 2 users liked this post by Flounderguy:
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01-04-2022, 02:16 PM
#3
AZ Community Team
Glad it all worked out.
Quick tip whenever I do timing belts, line up TDC on the pulley crank then I temporarily put a beefy zip-tip between the cam belt sprocket openings (that fan out from the center and somewhere on the head so they don't move then release TB tensioner and remove the TB. Then do the reverse, amd after checking the TB alignment cut off the ziptie. In ~30 TB replacements I was also once off by one tooth and learned my lesson as I had to take it apart and redo it.
Quick tip whenever I do timing belts, line up TDC on the pulley crank then I temporarily put a beefy zip-tip between the cam belt sprocket openings (that fan out from the center and somewhere on the head so they don't move then release TB tensioner and remove the TB. Then do the reverse, amd after checking the TB alignment cut off the ziptie. In ~30 TB replacements I was also once off by one tooth and learned my lesson as I had to take it apart and redo it.
Last edited by thoiboi; 01-06-2022 at 01:35 AM.
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MarQuis2005 (01-10-2022)
01-04-2022, 04:42 PM
#4
AZ Community Team
^ beef zip-tie 
shoulda said beefy zip-tie
shoulda said beefy zip-tie
01-04-2022, 05:55 PM
#7
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
For the next time, I have found removing the spark plugs aids tremendously in keeping the rear cam from moving.
Also, before starting the engine the Helms states to rotate the crankshaft pulley six turns clockwise so the timing belt positions itself on the pulleys.
This is a good time to verify that all of the timing marks sync with each other as appropriate. If they don't, then you can catch / fix the timining BEFORE you ever start the engine.
Also, before starting the engine the Helms states to rotate the crankshaft pulley six turns clockwise so the timing belt positions itself on the pulleys.
This is a good time to verify that all of the timing marks sync with each other as appropriate. If they don't, then you can catch / fix the timining BEFORE you ever start the engine.
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01-05-2022, 09:55 PM
#9
Glad it all worked out.
01-06-2022, 01:35 AM
#10
Senior Moderator
01-06-2022, 09:24 AM
#11
These interference motors are more resilient than we give them credit for.
I've done maybe a dozen timing belt jobs on Honda's where they mark TDC on the crank sprocket with the keyway. When I built my first Subaru engine with forged internals and when it came time to put the timing belt on, out of habit I put the keyway on the crank gear at 12 o'clock position, like I was used to. But what I was supposed to put at TDC was the ARROW on the sprocket, and the arrow and keyway are 90* off, and I tried starting it up like that for maybe a couple dozen times. I was so scared after dumping thousands into a built engine that I completely FUBAR'd it before she even ran once, from one very stupid mistake.
With the timing belt back on correctly, she fired right on up without a hiccup
I've done maybe a dozen timing belt jobs on Honda's where they mark TDC on the crank sprocket with the keyway. When I built my first Subaru engine with forged internals and when it came time to put the timing belt on, out of habit I put the keyway on the crank gear at 12 o'clock position, like I was used to. But what I was supposed to put at TDC was the ARROW on the sprocket, and the arrow and keyway are 90* off, and I tried starting it up like that for maybe a couple dozen times. I was so scared after dumping thousands into a built engine that I completely FUBAR'd it before she even ran once, from one very stupid mistake.
With the timing belt back on correctly, she fired right on up without a hiccup
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