Hey Guys- I had a quick question for you- I'm changing my timing belt for the first time- i know really exiting right - but here's the thing- you know how the manual and everyone says to turn the crank and make sure that the timing marks are all lined up after two revolutions- no one says what to do if they are not lined up- and i'm not talking about the installation marks on the belt itself; but the marks on the actual timing cover and cams/ crank etc- i haven't started yet but i like to know what to do if i were to run into any problems- thanks for all of your input and i know that timing belt questions are a little over done-

 

If you want a foolproof method do the following:

Line up your crank pulley to the ZERO mark, make sure your camshaft marks are at the top. If your new belt does not have white timing marks on it, then paint marks on your old belt, carefully transfer those to your new belt. Install your belt using the marks, rotate the crank 2 revolutions and check your crankshaft marks again. Done.

A tip for putting the belt on, thread it around the various points (your tensioner should not be installed) and install the idler bearing (directly in the center) last by putting it against the belt and pushing downward until you can thread in the bolt. If you are re-using the hydraulic tensioner, you will have to compress it and insert a metal pin to hold it while it is being installed. It also helps to put clips on the cams to hold the belt on, I have some plastic ones not sure where I got them. A large paper clip might work but not ideal.

 

If you're talking about the step that happens before you remove your old belt, then you just have to keep spinning the crank pulley until they line up.

 

thanks for your replies- i was wondering if after you put the belt on, and you are assuming that everything is all lined up correctly because you checked it- and you do the two revolutions like the fsm asks , and then you find that the marks are off- what do you then do- i mean ideally if you put the belt on lined up then it should stay that way, but sometimes it must be off because the fsm says to check it

 

If the marks are off, you will see why. You will just have to take it off and put it back on again.

 

Hmmm, I did an earlier post but did not show up? The FSM is simply having you do a 'sanity' check on the timing before turning the key. If you did make a mistake then you would want to correct it. And the way to correct it would be to remove the tensioner, compress the pin and start all over again with threading the belt. If careful, everything will go fine.

 

You rotate the crank 2 revolutions to verify timing is correct. We are talking about the marks on the camshafts and housing, not the marks on the belt those will not line up again for many revolutions.

 

great advice guys- so if i see that i'm off on the cams but lined up on the crank - i could just take the belt off and re thread it - but is it safe to turn the cams in any direction because the rotation of the engine is clockwise- i mean we are only talking about a few degrees- but if the cams are on and the crank is off what would you do then- would you give preference to the crank being lined up first because that can only rotate in one direction?

 

Always line up the crank first, then match the camshaft marks. You can safely turn the engine (the cams actually the crank does not matter) counter-clockwise but not much just a few degrees. But trust me, if you line up the marks on the belt to the marks on the crank and cams, it is impossible to do the job wrong!

 

As long as the tension is set correctly.

 

Does not matter, if the marks on the belt match the cams and crank, either can rotate all they want. The hydraulic tensioner will take up any slack when it is installed. All that matters is the correct amount of teeth/cogs exist between each gear, using the marks on the belt completely takes out the guess work, that is what they are there for.

 

Thanks for your help guys- I'm doing it now and i'm at the part where you need to jack the engine up in order to get the water pump cover off- do you just need to remove the bolt off the front engine mount from the top and jack the engine up with carpet- where is the best jack point on the engine - it only needs to be lifted about an inch to get clearance and also is there a difference between the sides of the timing belt guide that goes on the crankshaft- thanks as always

 

What year is your car?

 

It appears to be an '01 based on your profile. So, I am curious as to why you think you need to raise the engine. Yes, there is a difference in the sides of the guide. Take lots of digital pics along the way.
Have you seen this youTube video of a 2000 belt change?

->

 

it is a 2001 - I was able to remove the cover without jacking up the engine- which surprised me because in all of those videos, that real fixes real fast one on youtube, and tutorials people said that they needed to- but i was able to skip a step- so that was great- i was working on it with a friend of mine and when we were threading the new belt he got a little over zealous and pulled on the belt and snapped the left cam over clockwise by about an inch or so- not moving anything else, just that one cam - no joke i could have sworn that i heard a bang but i turned it back to tdc and threaded the belt and re assembled everything - someone called a toyota mechanic and they said that it was ok, but it wasn't their car- it was mine - so i really hope nothing was bent or damaged so i don't know i'll hope for the best but honestly i was really concerned when it happened