2004 PT Turbo Timing belt blues!

[ptpasto]

Hello guys and gals, (this post is a continue from my first post: 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo. Help needed Please)

OH My I feel stupid and there is no fixing that!!! YIKES...
So first of all I had to wake up at 5am this morning and work a full day. When I got home I read and saw all the great post you guys left me. Sooo I went outside and said yeah I can do this No problem!!! I check to make sure my pistons were TDC by taking off the spark pugs and seeing where the cylinder was at and all was good with that. I lined up all my timing marks and started putting on the belt. I was very happy when I noticed that w/no slack in the belt I was finally able to get it over the tensioner!! WOOHOO I was like YEAH I did it , I even did a little happy dance.
I went ahead and tighten up the tensioner and made sure that was correctly done. (that was fun too) So I took a pic so I could post, and thought ok Ill start it up for a few seconds to make sure all is well. BOY was I WRONG.... (Im posting a quick video so you can hear out horrible it sounded) After I came back inside, feeling defeated I decided to really look at my picture and shorten my video. Only to discover how many things I had done wrong. 1. My left Cam Sprocket was off (upside meaning the 2.4 and up arrow was on not in the right place) and needed to have it rotated so it was in the correct position. UGH!! (STUPID)... 2. Some how the little marks had moved on me and were not completely straight with each other. So off w/the timing belt and I tried and tried again to get it back on but it was getting dark and I was getting frustrated so I quit for the night w/my head hanging low and my pride left to the pasture . MY goodness Now usually I don't make these types of mistakes but today I think I was way to tired to be doing any of this. So sit back and enjoy how much FUN im having being Stupid. I will give all this another try tomorrow and see if I can get it right. Now If you would like to look at my picture and my video and tell me how much damage I did, I would sure like to know before going any further.

YAY for me and BOOO for the car! Boy Do I need HELP and SLEEP!


2004pt (5).jpg
for those of you who are very alert or aware, yes the left cam sprocket is not "as new" as the right, this car only has 50,000 miles on it, but the left sprocket is out of a turbo gt that has 120,000 and had been sitting for a while. don't even ask what happened to the original one that's a whole different story!

https://youtu.be/rOE_hBeQueY

[ptpasto]

UPDATE!! I went a head and put on the old belt lining everything up as it needed to be and sure enough it started up with no problem! Nothing was harmed and all was well. Now I just have to replace the old belt (50k miles on it and looks good but I don't want to chance it) and put on the new belt, which by the way is very tight. I tried for a little bit but had to step away from the car and will try later! keep all posted.

[RickinPA]

We fail our way to success.

I'm not even going to mention the stupid thing I did to my wife's car A/C this weekend (well, OK, I overfilled it and found out there's a pressure relief valve in the system). Fortunately, I "dodged a bullet" and all is well. That's how we learn.

[ptpasto]

Originally Posted by ptpasto

Hello guys and gals, (this post is a continue from my first post: 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo. Help needed Please)

OH My I feel stupid and there is no fixing that!!! YIKES...
So first of all I had to wake up at 5am this morning and work a full day. When I got home I read and saw all the great post you guys left me. Sooo I went outside and said yeah I can do this No problem!!! I check to make sure my pistons were TDC by taking off the spark pugs and seeing where the cylinder was at and all was good with that. I lined up all my timing marks and started putting on the belt. I was very happy when I noticed that w/no slack in the belt I was finally able to get it over the tensioner!! WOOHOO I was like YEAH I did it , I even did a little happy dance.
I went ahead and tighten up the tensioner and made sure that was correctly done. (that was fun too) So I took a pic so I could post, and thought ok Ill start it up for a few seconds to make sure all is well. BOY was I WRONG.... (Im posting a quick video so you can hear out horrible it sounded) After I came back inside, feeling defeated I decided to really look at my picture and shorten my video. Only to discover how many things I had done wrong. 1. My left Cam Sprocket was off (upside meaning the 2.4 and up arrow was on not in the right place) and needed to have it rotated so it was in the correct position. UGH!! (STUPID).... Some how the little marks had moved on me and were not completely straight with each other. So off w/the timing belt and I tried and tried again to get it back on but it was getting dark and I was getting frustrated so I quit for the night w/my head hanging low and my pride left to the pasture . MY goodness Now usually I don't make these types of mistakes but today I think I was way to tired to be doing any of this. So sit back and enjoy how much FUN im having being Stupid. I will give all this another try tomorrow and see if I can get it right. Now If you would like to look at my picture and my video and tell me how much damage I did, I would sure like to know before going any further.

YAY for me and BOOO for the car! Boy Do I need HELP and SLEEP!


Attachment 30498
for those of you who are very alert or aware, yes the left cam sprocket is not "as new" as the right, this car only has 50,000 miles on it, but the left sprocket is out of a turbo gt that has 120,000 and had been sitting for a while. don't even ask what happened to the original one that's a whole different story!

https://youtu.be/rOE_hBeQueY

New Update! I Was able to finally put on the new Belt. I have some advice that may help you if you are having a horrible time getting this on like i did. Because the new belt is a lot tighter you will HAVE TO MAKE sure that the is NO and I mean NO slack as you bring the belt up from the water pump and idler. To help with this bring the intake (right cam sprocket) forward after you get the belt over it. It may be tricky because you want to make sure your marks are centered but leave some room for adjusting before you put the belt on. After you get ALLLLLL the slack out of the belt bring it over the exhaust (left cam sprocket) by bringing that sprocket down a 1/2 tooth lower than the right. You will still have a very tight fit but keep at it and it WIll make it. If you cant get it after a try or two, walk away for a few mins and start over and try again. Wearing a good pair of mechanics gloves helps with your hand not getting all chewed up It is a pain but doable, whoever designed this engine/car needs to be given an award for being the worlds most thoughtless person!!

[RickinPA]

I had a good tip from a friend who is an ace mechanically. If replacing an old belt, where the old belt is still timed properly: Line up your marks. Then use a permanent marker to transfer the marks to the old belt. Then, carefully transfer the marks to the new belt (go absolutely exactly, tooth by tooth). Install the new belt, making sure the non-tensioner side has NO SLACK, and line up the marks. It will be properly timed.

I did this on a single cam Neon and it worked like a charm. Of course I checked the positioning of the timing marks on the sprockets, pulled it around once and double checked the marks again. Marking the belt helped the install and was an extra check on the positioning. It gave me confidence the timing was set properly.