Adj. Cam gear initial setup

[northwestsupra]

OK so I'm finally putting my engine back together and while I was setting up the timing belt I noticed that my can gears weren't really aiming at the mark. Now I'm new to adj. Can gears and didn't buy them new so I don't know if they are already adjusted or if this is the cause of machining the head and block. Give me the input. Or if this is just fine

sent from my ultimate droid

 

[whitemike]

Kind of looks like too much slack between the gears + one tooth off on the exhaust cam.. hard to tell from the first pic though. What's the slack like?

 

[northwestsupra]

there is very little, .360" of movement "slack" between the gears. the intake cam is literally on the mark, the exhaust also to me looks like its a tooth off, which it very well could be. but no matter what it wont match up to the mark lol

 

[whitemike]

The tensioner should compensate for any extra slack caused by the decked block not to mention your head gasket adds some thickness (or should if you measured correctly) so I don't see that being the problem. You should be able to slip the belt on the one gear, and pull it taut over the next gear while both are at TDC.

Did you hold the stock gears next to the aftermarket gears to compare the pin spacing? The only way I can see this being the gear's fault is if the pin is offset on the new gears..

Mike

 

[northwestsupra]

The tensioner should compensate for any extra slack caused by the decked block not to mention your head gasket adds some thickness (or should if you measured correctly) so I don't see that being the problem. You should be able to slip the belt on the one gear, and pull it taut over the next gear while both are at TDC.

Did you hold the stock gears next to the aftermarket gears to compare the pin spacing? The only way I can see this being the gear's fault is if the pin is offset on the new gears..

Mike

what i do is slip it over the intake cam first then the exhaust, the aftermarket gears are fidenza's btw.
they are the same size as the stocks, as for the spacing i mean by eye it looks the same, there are 3 holes on them.

 

[Van]

what i do is slip it over the intake cam first then the exhaust, the aftermarket gears are fidenza's btw.
they are the same size as the stocks, as for the spacing i mean by eye it looks the same, there are 3 holes on them.

I too had this challenge with those same gears. I kept working with the set and eventually got everything pointed in the correct direction. I did find that by using a pry bar on the idler wheel, I was able to take the slack out, they both lined up, then I tightened the idler wheel bolt to spec, checked for TDC and all was good.
The next challenge was the CPS alignment... HTH. Van

 

[IwantMKIII]

^the timing belt should not have that much tension on it (ie using a pry bar)

 

[Poodles]

Timing tensioner has a spring for a reason, it's there to set the tension, then you tighten. DO NOT use a prybar on it.

 

[northwestsupra]

ummmm i thought tsrm says that you temporarly tighten it so you can get the belt fitted, then once its fitted you loosen the tensioner bolt it will spring back then thats when you tighten it again to i think 32ft. lbs. "self tension" so there is no need for a pry bar, only a screw driver to pull the tensioner to the left to loosen the belt for removal/fitment.

 

[Poodles]

Correct. You push it over so it's out of the way and snug the bolt. Put the belt on, loosen bolt, spin crank 2 rotations, double check timing marks, torque bolt to spec.

 

[northwestsupra]

whoops i tightened the bolt first then 2 rotations hahaha im such a loser. ill have to try that maybe tomorrow. thanks poodle for letting me figure out the brain fart. funny thing was the first time i put it on and i rotated it i noticed that the belt was walking out to the front and starting to rub on the timing cover, i was like wtf.. well when i took everything apart last time i just took the belt off of the cams and loosened the tensioner, didnt realise it but the tensioner wasnt even tightened at all lol. tightened it up and tada it was fixed lol. its the simple things i swear.

 

[Van]

whoops i tightened the bolt first then 2 rotations hahaha im such a loser. ill have to try that maybe tomorrow. thanks poodle for letting me figure out the brain fart. funny thing was the first time i put it on and i rotated it i noticed that the belt was walking out to the front and starting to rub on the timing cover, i was like wtf.. well when i took everything apart last time i just took the belt off of the cams and loosened the tensioner, didnt realise it but the tensioner wasnt even tightened at all lol. tightened it up and tada it was fixed lol. its the simple things i swear.

One warning: Don't over tighten the belt using the prey bar; make sure the timing belt deflection between the timing gears is per TSRM spec (New belt = 4-6mm, Used = 5-7mm) Take a look at TSRM page EM-31. Van

 

[whitemike]

Also, be CAREFUL to not overtighten the tensioner bolt. You can warp cyl 1 and lose compression according to IJ.

 

[Van]

Also, be CAREFUL to not overtighten the tensioner bolt. You can warp cyl 1 and lose compression according to IJ.

That's correct. TSRM spec is 36 ft-lb. Van

 

[northwestsupra]

One warning: Don't over tighten the belt using the prey bar; make sure the timing belt deflection between the timing gears is per TSRM spec (New belt = 4-6mm, Used = 5-7mm) Take a look at TSRM page EM-31. Van

That's what I did. I was reading it while working LOL.

sent from my ultimate droid

 

[northwestsupra]

well i did what we talked about, and it ended up i needed to move it a tooth over, its still not dead on but its alot closer than it was and at least aiming at it lol.

i know its blury but it was dark, and cold, and didnt feel like staying out there any longer than i needed to

 

[Van]

I have those same cam gears and had the same challenge. The stock gears were easier to set I believed so I put them on; not... Replaced them with the Fidanza gears. I just made sure the gears were both pointed in the same direction.
My next challenge was setting the CPS according to TSRM. That took several times, but I finally managed to get the 7M running, timed and is now waiting on new 7M ignition coils and a dyno tune. Van

 

[northwestsupra]

ahh the cps is super easy lol, i know what your talking about though