When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So im doing my timing belt on my 1998 lexus ls400. Im following online guide linked below. I took the belt off last night, replaced the water pump, let it sit, snd this morning went to put the belt back on. As you can see in the photos, it is WAY out of time. What do I do? Can I just turn the cam back CCW so its in time? The guide says a little is okay, but I feel this is more than just a little.
the white dot is my timing mark on the cam, as you can see its a good inch and a half off
Update: So I simply just turned my cam back ccw, got it into time, and the car runs just fine. For the exception of a massive leak of a mystery fluid (its dripping pretty consistently) and a belt squeak. Figured I would update everyone.
Last edited by haydenadler1; 07-08-24 at 07:16 AM.
If you didn't rotate anything, theoretically you should be able to install the belt with the marks lined up on the cam sprockets and it should still be in time.
If you're lucky, you might still be able to rotate the cams into proper alignment without piston/valve clash.
If anything was rotated, you're pretty much screwed. You can't just rotate and align everything to the marks without the belt installed. Because this is an interference engine and you'll get piston/valve clash. The only remedy in this case would be to pull the cams (you need to lock the scissor gears with an M6 bolt before removal), rotate the crankshaft so that No. 1 is at TDC and then drop in the cams with their timing marks lined up.
BTW, the new belt as shown might be backwards with respect to the timing marks. I "think" it makes a difference if the markings are "right reading" facing you as opposed to what's shown in your images.
If you didn't rotate anything, theoretically you should be able to install the belt with the marks lined up on the cam sprockets and it should still be in time.
If you're lucky, you might still be able to rotate the cams into proper alignment without piston/valve clash.
If anything was rotated, you're pretty much screwed. You can't just rotate and align everything to the marks without the belt installed. Because this is an interference engine and you'll get piston/valve clash. The only remedy in this case would be to pull the cams (you need to lock the scissor gears with an M6 bolt before removal), rotate the crankshaft so that No. 1 is at TDC and then drop in the cams with their timing marks lined up.
BTW, the new belt as shown might be backwards with respect to the timing marks. I "think" it makes a difference if the markings are "right reading" facing you as opposed to what's shown in your images.
Well I rotated my crank 50 deg past tdc, so thats why my passanger side cam is rotated. The only one messed up here is my drivers side cam, and in the photo its rotated just a little too far clockwise. if you look at the guide, youll see his passanger side cam matches mine, and his driver side cam is rotated a little more ccw than mine. I looked at my photos that I took previously, and my drivers cam rotated the second i took the belt off, I guess I just never noticed. He says you can rotate it a bit to get it back in time, but I dont know if this is just a bit. I dont wanna mess anything up here
Looking at your pictures, I would gently rotate everything backwards (counter clockwise). You’re only going a few degrees, not ideal, but it’ll be ok. If you don’t want to do that, you can spin the cams independently. It’s not ideal, and you want to be gentle doing it, you want to rotate the crank and cams each a little at a time, if you feel something making contact then you need move to the next component, try turning the cams 1/4 a turn then turn the crank a 1/4, you need to get your timing synced up correctly. And you need to do It with the crank on 5deg and the cams on the T mark on the right, if you do it at 0deg, the cams can jump really easily. Once you get everything lined up, jam a big flat head screw driver in where the tensioner raises the idler pulley, so the belt is tight and then rotate the crank a couple times to make sure you’re all synced up. And remember those marks on the belt, are only going to return the original spot after you spin the motor times, o ignore them after you use them for the initial line up
07-04-24, 12:32 PM
Timing belt
