Timing belt tensioner is giving me a hard time

[damilleniumboy]

My timing belt was the problem in my previous post. Well, I'm ready to put the car back together, but I'm a bit tired, and I can't get the belt over the tensioner or the crankshaft sprocket. Help!!! I'm going to take a nap; I have to work in the morning. How do I get the tensioner un-tensioned? Thanks for all your help in advance.

[damilleniumboy]

I think I read about it. It has a 6mm hex key that i'm supposed to use to get the tensioner loose. I tought it was like your regular car's bolt head that you used to get the accesorie belts on and off by. Am I right?

[quicksilverdon]

Have you read this? Hope it helps...
Timming Belt Change Help-Getting to tensioner

[bobdole369]

I sincerely hope that you don't have bent valves like I did. When the belt broke my wife was driving, it broke mid turn going perhaps 10 mph and barely accellerating. We have 3 bent valves on cylinder 1 (both exhaust, one intake, 1 each on 2 and 3 (both exhaust).

Have you done a CLT on each cylinder?

[elijah]

Originally Posted by quicksilverdon

Have you read this? Hope it helps...
Timming Belt Change Help-Getting to tensioner

This is quite a helpful post because my friend is looking for a DIY of timing belt tensioner because he's still not quite good in troubleshooting and replacing stuffs and I'm also a noob too in that thing. Well, at least we found a resourceful information and thanks for sharing it.

[dmills483]

I too couldn't get the belt over the 2nd generation tensioner!!!!

I read nearly every post on many sites none of which helped. I measured the diameter of the old and new tensioner and they were within 6 thousandths of each other.... so that's not the problem.

What I determind is that there is no way you can get the 2nd generation belt tensioner to retract far enough to get the belt over it.

So I removed the tensioner roller from it's bracket by loosening and removing it's pivot bolt.... and set it aside.

First, I made sure that the crankshaft was alinged with crankcase mark on the back edge of the crankshaft tooth.

Second, I made sure the right side valve cam sprocket mark was horizonal.... I did this by aligning a flexable metal ruler across the center of each valve cam sprocket bolt....

Third, I then threaded the timing belt around the crankshaft sprocket... the water pump... the timing belt pivot pulley.... and the right side valve cam sprocket.... at that point placed a small visegrip on the timing belt and right side valve cam sprocket.... this held the belt and the crank and right side valve cam from moving.

I then positioned the left side valve cam sprocket one half tooth below the right side valve cam sprocket, positioned the belt over the left side cam and reinstalled the belt tensioner roller making sure the tensioner spring was between the mounting bracket tangs. I removed the small visegrip... tensioned the tensioner as per instructions .... turned the the crankshaft two revolutions and everything align as it should.

So there is no magic way to pre-position the 2nd generation tensioner